Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Build Your Own BSD Beer Brewing Control System

Posted by michael on from the worthy-endeavors dept.

gnuguru writes "Here's a great use for some of your old hardware, a BSD beer brewing kit! Components: one 486, FreeBSD, a temperature logger kit, a relay board, some odds and ends from the useful box, and some time. Summer's just around the corner, so get to work gang!" You'll have to use this recipe, naturally.

167 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. Cool by ikkibr · · Score: 1, Funny

    Finally I found an use for my Old Pentium 100!
    Now I can make my own beer and spend my money on geek things and not in beer anymore!

    1. Re:Cool by tomofdarknesss · · Score: 1

      you know the wrong geeks.

      --
      ------ Free Mac Mini! Better than an iPod! h
    2. Re:Cool by the+angry+liberal · · Score: 1

      Now I can make my own beer and spend my money on geek things and not in beer anymore!

      Actually, by the time you factor in the energy costs associated with making your own beer - buying from the store is actually cheaper.

      Not always better, but definitely less expensive.

    3. Re:Cool by misleb · · Score: 2, Informative

      Energy costs? I just brewed 5 gallons of ale and it didn't take more energy than it takes to run a gas burner for 60 minutes. All the fermenting and aging was done at room temperature.

      Maybe it takes a lot of energy to brew a lager, but not an ale. I like ales better anyway...

      -matthew

      --
      "THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
    4. Re:Cool by courious1 · · Score: 2, Informative

      As a EX beer and wine maker I know by the time you factor in all the costs it is cheaper to buy. I made my beer from grain and talk about alot of labour. :( and to be able to get QUALITY BEER it takes patience and many failures.

    5. Re:Cool by Bush+Pig · · Score: 2, Informative

      I've been avoiding using grain for just that reason. If you make it out of malt syrup and hop pellets (all of which can be bought cheaply in bulk) and recycle the yeast for a few brews, it is considerably cheaper (about $A12 for 22 litres - which is about 60 stubbies, only I keg it these days). I don't even usually need to worry about temperature control. I brew ales in summer (the temperature gets a bit high sometimes, giving a bit of a butterscotch taste, but it's rare I have a complete failure) and lagers in winter (they ferment at around 13C, which is a bit high, but it works OK). My only energy cost is boiling about 6 litres of water with the malt and hops for about 30-40 minutes. Adelaide has a pretty good climate for brewing.

      --
      What a long, strange trip it's been.
    6. Re:Cool by courious1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Mashing was a learning experience and agreat hobbie. I had a keg system (with cold beer always on tap) and belonged to a local club. Made beers ales stouts brown ales the only thing I never tried was larger. It was simple enough just never got around to it. I used two s/s beer kegs with the tops cut off one for mashing the other for boiling. I used a 75,000 BTU burner. Had to build a exhaust to outside and air intake. Built a filter system and a counter pressure bottle filler (that was a challenge) I found beer to be so much more fogiving than wine. Even looked at distillation (illegal) but legal in Ausie land. You have fine brewing and bend the elbow for me. Living in NS Canada had great brewing weather. Later

    7. Re:Cool by Bush+Pig · · Score: 1

      I intend to try mashing when I retire - it's a bit too labour-intensive to fit around work, whereas using extract gives almost as good a result with about 10% of the effort.

      As for distillation, it's illegal in Australia also (although I've never heard of anyone getting busted unless they were trying to sell it), but it's apparently legal in New Zealand. The home-brew shops here all sell reflux stills for extracting *cough* "essential oils". They also provide, just to satisfy a quite natural intellectual curiousity of course, complete instructions on how to, in principle, distill spirits. Just for information, you understand.

      --
      What a long, strange trip it's been.
    8. Re:Cool by courious1 · · Score: 1

      Oppps New Zealand is it's own state. I should be careful not to confuse them to Austrailia. India as well a few selected countries have similar laws. I read 150 people dying or becoming sick at a wedding in India over poorly made liquor. I built a small system (to distill water of course)using a second hand pressure cooker, stainless steel tubing, a 1 Gal. paint can(for cooling) a 1 QT paint can for a slobber box and thermomator. It did not look pretty but was very effiecient. I think half the fun was building everything. I researched and studied the theroy for 3 months before attempting to build. Talk about temperatures being critical. My advice "be careful" doing this at home, a mistake can cause you your life. If you wish to chat on this subject or brewing more would be glad to give you e mail address.

    9. Re:Cool by Bush+Pig · · Score: 1

      I'm not too interested in distilling - I very rarely drink spirits, and I'd rather pay for something good than make something second-rate. Beer's easy, but I think a decent whiskey would be much harder to make, and not really cost-effective in the quantities I drink.

      I guess that putting a working still together would be pretty satisfying though.

      --
      What a long, strange trip it's been.
    10. Re:Cool by devphaeton · · Score: 1

      As a EX beer and wine maker I know by the time you factor in all the costs it is cheaper to buy. I made my beer from grain and talk about alot of labour. :( and to be able to get QUALITY BEER it takes patience and many failures.

      Oh sure... but don't EVER post any woes to a geek-oriented site about exchanging labor for quality in the end result ;)

      By your argument I must be insane. I want to grow my own wheat, barley, corn and hops to use for making my own lagers. :-D

      w00h00!!

      --


      do() || do_not(); // try();
    11. Re:Cool by courious1 · · Score: 1

      And I thought I was the only crack case. It is definitely a labour of love. Can grains be grown by hydroponics? Good grief I may have a new idea. Never done a larger but you bend the elbow for me once, or twice, oh hell have a bunch. Can that be sent via email. Last USE LOTS OF HOPS yummmmm! Later

    12. Re:Cool by Bush+Pig · · Score: 1

      Yeah - I probably could, but I wouldn't bother. I've found a really nice scotch which is matured in chardonnay casks, and I don't drink the stuff fast enough to justify trying to make my own.

      I believe the parts of the distillate you throw out are the first cup (methanol) and the last cup (fusel oils), btw. They aren't a problem when they're in your beer, but they'll kill you once you've distilled them.

      --
      What a long, strange trip it's been.
  2. Alternative ideas for this system... by ZiZ · · Score: 2, Interesting
    This really sounds like a neat system - not just for beer, but for anything for which a relatively constant temperature is useful or important. Like, say, you could hook it up to (or really, instead of) your classic thermostat, although a mercury switch has the advantage of not needing to reboot if it goes out due to a power outage...

    I wonder how feasable it would be to set one of these up to regulate the water temperature in your shower. Set it for something warm and cozy, and it will run at that temperature until the hot water starts to decline, sound a warning, and maintain as high a temperature as possible following that, with a gradual return to the desired temperature if the supply of hot water returns to normal...

    --
    This flies in the face of science.
    1. Re:Alternative ideas for this system... by commodoresloat · · Score: 2, Insightful
      This really sounds like a neat system - not just for beer, but for anything for which a relatively constant temperature is useful or important

      There's something more useful or important than beer?

    2. Re:Alternative ideas for this system... by groggy-P · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Shower temperature regulation is one of the things I've been thinking
      of for decades. It requires much faster responses than beer brewing,
      and to do it right you need to understand the differential pressures
      of the hot and cold water. It's a lot simpler to buy a thermostatic
      valve.

      Greg

    3. Re:Alternative ideas for this system... by flashgc · · Score: 1

      Yeah... you have to pick your feedback device and its inherent response times. Then compare it to cost and make your decision. Most of us get by fine by tweaking the two handles in the shower to get it right.

      --
      Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket?
    4. Re:Alternative ideas for this system... by vthome · · Score: 1
      Oh man... Are you sure you want to buy one?

      A good quality thermostatic valve (up to $500) also requires a device called a "valve rough" (couple of hundred), plumber's services (couple of hundred), provided you have the tile or whatever is there stripped off to solder/braze the water pipes, plus tile installation (can be bloody, up to three-five hundred).

      Ask me how I know...

      Though must say that it works perfectly. The only downside is that the hot water ends really abruptly when the hot water tank goes empty :D

    5. Re:Alternative ideas for this system... by rah1420 · · Score: 1

      The only downside is that the hot water ends really abruptly when the hot water tank goes empty.

      When I gave the builder the specs for our new house, I made damn sure that wouldn't happen. I'm in a McMansion with a jacuzzi tub in the master bath, and to service this I specified a 50-gallon HW heater for the whole house EXCEPT the master bath suite, and an additional 75 gallon HW heater for the master bath suite (the tub is a 70-gallon capacity tub.) The builder looked at me like I was nuts, but I have the last laugh...

      No more running out of hot water if I'm doing laundry and dishes at the same time, and SWMBO wants to take a bubble bath or jump in the shower.

      It sounds wasteful, but the incremental cost to keep 75 gallons heated is minimal. These are super-insulated Bradford-White units. They turn on about every 4 hours when idling, and run for about 2 minutes. Dunno how much NG that equates to but it's gotta be trivial.

      SWMBO hates running out of hot water. This was a miniscule investment in domestic harmony.

      --
      Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.
    6. Re:Alternative ideas for this system... by groggy-P · · Score: 1

      Strange. I just had a shower using a thermostatic valve that I bought for $50 and which was a screw-in replacement for a standard DIN mixing valve. Looks like you've been ripped off.

      Greg

    7. Re:Alternative ideas for this system... by vthome · · Score: 1

      Nah... One of possible reasons may have been that I was replacing a custom valve installed about 20 years ago.

    8. Re:Alternative ideas for this system... by courious1 · · Score: 1

      Sounds reasomable to me. They put a man on the moon! Actually you can control lights, temps, with a computer using a temp sensor through the USB port or a timer the same way. Good grief I scare myself don't know where that came from. Can be done.

  3. BSD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    BSD: The Beer Service Device.

    1. Re:BSD by gstoddart · · Score: 1
      BSD: The Beer Service Device.


      Leading to the BSoD ... Beer Screen of Death? :-P

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:BSD by evilmousse · · Score: 1

      it's the kind i asked deadbeat college roomies to get me: Buy Some Damn Beer!

  4. Accessories? by Eziril · · Score: 4, Informative

    Now to put some in my Peltier Beer cooler http://www.stud.ntnu.no/~arnesen/peltierbeer/

    --
    Aw, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14 percent of all people know that. --Homer Simpson
    1. Re:Accessories? by Kargan · · Score: 1

      Let your Guinness warm up. You'll find it has much more flavor and aroma that way.* The Guinness Extra Stout is best, I find, when consumed at somewhere between cellar and room temperature.

      This is true of virtually all ales that are worth drinking, and a rather high percentage of quality lagers (as in "bottom-fermented beers", not meant in the "fizzy and yellow" sense) as well.

      --
      Palaces, barricades, threats, meet promises
    2. Re:Accessories? by G-funk · · Score: 2, Funny

      He said beer, not guiness.... Why anybody would want to drink vegemite instead of just putting it on toast is still a mystery to me of course.

      --
      Send lawyers, guns, and money!
    3. Re:Accessories? by niktesla · · Score: 1

      Or for a more geeky approach (or atleast more dangerous!) try the Jet Powered Beer Cooler.

      --
      I've discovered a remarkable proof, but this margin is too small to contain it...
  5. Summer? by BladeMelbourne · · Score: 3, Funny
    Summer's just around the corner, so get to work gang!

    Being the 15th of January, it is exactly half way through Melbourne's 3 month summer season now. You self centered US folk :p

    1. Re:Summer? by Doctor+Crumb · · Score: 1

      And Jan 14th is the dead of winter in most northern latitudes. My home town is suffering temperatures of -40 right now, which makes it very very difficult to see summer as being "just around the corner".

    2. Re:Summer? by BladeMelbourne · · Score: 1

      Psst... Dont use the word "dead" in a story about BSD. You will probably be modded down. [ducks]

    3. Re:Summer? by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      besides.. don't they drink during winter?

      and damn snobs! you can brew without fancy computers!

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    4. Re:Summer? by tie_guy_matt · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Not just US centered. Face it most of the Earth's land mass -- and therefore most of the human population, live in the Northern hemisphere where it is the dead of winter right now. Not that being in the Southern hemisphere, and therefore being different is a bad thing; IMO being different is good!

    5. Re:Summer? by ChairmanMeow · · Score: 1

      Just yesterday it was 70F here, while it is normally closer to 0...

      --
    6. Re:Summer? by ElderKorean · · Score: 1

      But what of the new theory that both hemispheres have similar levels of intelligence?

      The total intelligence of the northern hemisphere is roughly equalled by the total of the southern hemisphere.
      Therefore as there are many fewer people down south, they must be of a (much) higher average intelligence.

      I agree with that statement.

      Well I would, I made it.

      But it is a good premise to start from hey?

      Anyone?

    7. Re:Summer? by BladeMelbourne · · Score: 1

      Providing a link to this theory would be appropriate - most of us have probably never heard of it.

      Despite descending from convicts, Australians are intelligent. Allow me to demonstrate:

      1
      +1
      ----
      = 11

    8. Re:Summer? by bladesjester · · Score: 1

      Valid math problem, but counting in base 1 is rather impractical at times...

      --
      Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
    9. Re:Summer? by groggy-P · · Score: 1

      That's right, mate, maintain the image. We don't have to tell them that summer in Melbourne is three days after Australia day.

      Greg

    10. Re:Summer? by ozmanjusri · · Score: 1

      it is exactly half way through Melbourne's 3 month summer season now

      3 Months? Melbourne has all four seasons in a day, then it rains for the rest of the year...

      You're better off migrating to one of the more sensible parts of Australia where we experience climate rather than weather.

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
    11. Re:Summer? by eap · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I don't know why they mention summer. If you're lagering your beer you need to ferment it around 55 degrees fahrenheit, and it's hard to keep the temperature that low for weeks on end during the hot summer. If you don't, your beer will end up with nasty banana flavored esters, and you will get headaches when you drink it. You can, of course, brew ales, but they still need to be kept relatively cool.

      This is one reason the Czechs brew their Pilsner before it gets too hot, and then age it in cool cellars until fall. Bacteria grow easier when it is hot too, increasing the chance of brewing an infected batch. This is not to say you can't brew great beer in the summer, it's just harder.

    12. Re:Summer? by Bush+Pig · · Score: 1

      That's what you get for living in Melbourne ...

      --
      What a long, strange trip it's been.
  6. Hey... by FuturePastNow · · Score: 2, Funny

    The first time I read that headline, I thought it said "BSD Beer Brewing System."

    Oh, wait...

    --
    Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life.
    1. Re:Hey... by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 2, Funny

      The first time I read your post, I thought it was an overused joke that was lame to begain with.

      Oh wait...

      --
      "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
    2. Re:Hey... by spac3manspiff · · Score: 1

      Im still waiting...

    3. Re:Hey... by cperciva · · Score: 1

      The first time I read your post, I thought it was a self-referential joke that was lame to begin with.

      Oh wait...

      --
      Tarsnap: Online backups for the truly paranoid
    4. Re:Hey... by FuturePastNow · · Score: 1

      That's all right, as long as one person thought it was funny, I can be happy.

      --
      Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life.
    5. Re:Hey... by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 1

      Exactly.

      --
      "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
  7. Free, as in? by Ghostgate · · Score: 5, Funny

    This brings new meaning to the phrase: "Free(BSD) as in beer."

    1. Re:Free, as in? by r.muk · · Score: 1

      by Ghostgate (800445) on 6:56 Saturday 15 January 2005 (#11370030)
      This brings new meaning to the phrase: "Free(BSD) as in beer."

      Not to mention "Open Sauce".

  8. An aussie who got his priorities right.... by ZombieEngineer · · Score: 1
    ... up there with the first commercial use of refridgeration by another Australian, keeping the beer cold of course!!.

    Zombie Engineer

  9. Let me see if I've got this straight.... by trs9000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, now, I can make beer that's free as in speech? I'm confused.

    1. Re:Let me see if I've got this straight.... by LoRdTAW · · Score: 1

      Or free as in slurred speach.

  10. Great for work by nizo · · Score: 3, Funny

    The fun part is explaining to your boss why you need a fridge for the new computer "disk pack".

    --
    I Am My Own Worst Enemy
  11. Time to remove by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    The software produces output in a number of formats. The most obvious one is a text display of the temperatures on a screen. You can also get up-to-date information about the current temperatures by contacting my machine.

    [...]

    It's possible that somebody will try to compromise this system via telnet. They won't succeed, but if they bombard me with enough traffic, it'll be expensive anyway. If this happens, I'll remove the facility.

    bombard with traffic? why we would never!

    1. Re:Time to remove by groggy-P · · Score: 1

      The funny thing is, even now there aren't very many hits on the port,
      only about one a minute. But of course I'm monitoring the situation :-)

      Jan 15 13:16:48 brewer tempcontrol: Query from pcp0010467984pcs.brghtn01.mi.comcast.net (68.43.71.178)
      Jan 15 13:17:01 brewer tempcontrol: Query from wantadilla.lemis.com (192.109.197.135)
      Jan 15 13:18:16 brewer tempcontrol: Query from 186-222.35-65.tampabay.rr.com (65.35.222.186)
      Jan 15 13:18:21 brewer tempcontrol: Query from h000c41483a1f.ne.client2.attbi.com (65.96.182.214)
      Jan 15 13:18:34 brewer tempcontrol: Query from host81-152-215-192.range81-152.btcentralplus.com (81.152.215.192)

      Oh, I didn't say that I might publish your address, did I?

      Greg

    2. Re:Time to remove by glib909 · · Score: 1

      Lou: Looks like there's something goin' on at the old Simpson place.
      Wiggum: [whines] Aw, it's two blocks away.
      Lou: Looks like there's beer coming out of the chimney.
      Wiggum: I am proceeding on foot! Put out an APB, a 402!

      --
      Suudsu, that stuff is G-E-W-D.
    3. Re:Time to remove by groggy-P · · Score: 1
      An update:

      Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2005 08:55:52 +1030
      From: Greg 'groggy' Lehey
      To: abuse@optonline.net
      Subject: Attempted breakin from your network

      I have just blocked 68.194.48.0/24 from our network following a series
      of attempts to break in to brewer.lemis.com:
      07:48:21.890190 < 68.194.48.16.49458 > 192.109.197.147.35846: S 1756009650:1756009650(0) win 1024
      07:48:21.961893 < 68.194.48.16.49459 > 192.109.197.147.27225: S 1756075187:1756075187(0) win 3072
      07:48:22.204138 < 68.194.48.16.49459 > 192.109.197.147.30331: S 1756075187:1756075187(0) win 3072
      07:48:22.208404 < 68.194.48.16.49460 > 192.109.197.147.59035: S 1756140724:1756140724(0) win 4096
      07:48:22.220790 < 68.194.48.16.49457 > 192.109.197.147.61826: S 1755944113:1755944113(0) win 3072

      08:49:29.940607 sm200d < ool-44c23010.dyn.optonline.net.49459 > brewer.lemis.com.16637: S 1756075187:1756075187(0) win
      +4096
      08:49:29.940692 sm200d < ool-44c23010.dyn.optonline.net.49459 > brewer.lemis.com.6813: S 1756075187:1756075187(0) win
      +3072
      08:49:29.940775 sm200d < ool-44c23010.dyn.optonline.net.49459 > brewer.lemis.com.38262: S 1756075187:1756075187(0) win
      +3072
      08:49:29.940955 sm200d < ool-44c23010.dyn.optonline.net.49456 > brewer.lemis.com.35376: S 1755878576:1755878576(0) win
      +1024
      In total, there were several thousand such attempts. The appear to
      follow a legitimate query on port 4135:
      Jan 16 07:48:09 brewer tempcontrol: Query rom ool-44c23010.dyn.optonline.net (68.194.48.16)
      I assume that this is a result of a recent slashdot posting about the
      temperature control hardware on this machine ("telnet brewer.lemis.com
      4135"). Please take appropriate action.

      Greg Lehey
  12. Open Source Beer? by kingjosh · · Score: 3, Funny

    As with any open source project . . . we'll need a lot of testing. Any volunteers?

    1. Re:Open Source Beer? by dabigpaybackski · · Score: 1

      I'm in, as long as there's no coding involved.

      --
      "OH SHIT, THERE'S A HORSE IN THE HOSPITAL!"
    2. Re:Open Source Beer? by __int64 · · Score: 1

      Hell yes!! Now if only I can get someone to let test out their pot smoking robot...

  13. Coincidence? by nuxx · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wow, what a weird post to read right now... I'm actually brewing beer as I type this. There's about 52 minutes left in the boil. Unfortunately I'm doing it the old analog method.

    If anyone is interested in reading the recipe for the beer I'm making, look here.

    1. Re:Coincidence? by kingjosh · · Score: 1

      What license does your beer have? Hoping its the FreeBSD license, that GPL one has too many restrictions, it's easier if I can just slap another label on your beer and call it my own . . .

    2. Re:Coincidence? by belgar · · Score: 1

      And you're reading slashdot instead of stirring? Methinks your wort runneth over....:P

      --
      What does it mean to wake out of a dream
      and be wearing someone else's shorts?
      BNL, Born on a Pirate Ship (1998)
    3. Re:Coincidence? by nuxx · · Score: 1

      Hehe... Actually, I'd just taken care of the foam from the first hop addition and there's 15 minutes left before the toasted coriander and Mt. Hood hops go in. :D

    4. Re:Coincidence? by nuxx · · Score: 1

      Creative Commons. Help yourself. :)

    5. Re:Coincidence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      here's 15 minutes left before the toasted coriander

      GODDAMNIT! CORIANDER HAS NO PLACE IN BEER!!!!!!

    6. Re:Coincidence? by dbIII · · Score: 1
      I'm actually brewing beer as I type this
      Technology and beer go together. My first use of USENET or really the internet at all was to get hold of part of "The Jolly Brewer", written by plenty of people on alt.rec.brewing.
    7. Re:Coincidence? by conform · · Score: 1

      there's nothing in his post that indicates that he's an extract brewer... everybody boils.

    8. Re:Coincidence? by molnarcs · · Score: 2, Funny
      I know you're joking, but just for clarity's sake: the BSD licence does allow to put another label on your beer, but it doesn't allow you to claim it is your own.

      Basically, the BSD licence is similar to PHK's (another FreeBSD developer) Beer-Ware Licence

      * "THE BEER-WARE LICENSE" (Revision 42):
      * <phk@FreeBSD.ORG> wrote this file. As long as you retain this notice you
      * can do whatever you want with this stuff. If we meet some day, and you think
      * this stuff is worth it, you can buy me a beer in return Poul-Henning Kamp
      I wonder how many have adopted this licence :)))

      ps. Now this" is really funny! :)))))

    9. Re:Coincidence? by Brandybuck · · Score: 1

      If you're talking Americans, Brits or Germans, I would agree, but those Flemish dudes can do some amazing things with coriander and malt...

      --
      Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
    10. Re:Coincidence? by misleb · · Score: 1

      Neat. I just tasted the first of my 5 gallons of brown ale. Fortunately, temperature controls are not necessary when brewing an ale. Room temperature will suffice. Good luck with your brew. Looks good!

      -matthew

      --
      "THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
    11. Re:Coincidence? by nuxx · · Score: 1

      Thank you, and congrats on your brown ale. That was the first beer I ever made, and it came out surprisingly good. I personally don't like it too much, but my friends do... The aforementioned batch is the third I've done, and the second (a very, very hoppy strong ale) should be done bottle conditioning in about a week.

      I'm doing some minor temp control for this ale... The person I got the recipe from specified 70F-75F and... Well... that's warmer than I keep my house in the winter. So I'm doing the fermentation in the bathroom with the vent open and door closed. It's currently sitting around 74F in there. It seems to me like it might be a bit hot, but we'll see...

      If you are interested, I have two pictures of the fermenting setup, as of about four hours ago: 1 2

    12. Re:Coincidence? by misleb · · Score: 1

      Heh, I have the same "Ale Pail" ;-)

      My home is colder than 70F as well. I also kept the fermenter in the bathroom next to a radiator. Seems to have worked well. My next beer is a nice dark Porter. Although I suspect that I will have a much smaller audience for that one.

      -matthew

      --
      "THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
    13. Re:Coincidence? by VTBassMatt · · Score: 1

      In another coincidence for this thread, I'm doing a porter right now. Boiled it on Wednesday, so I'm not far along. I, too, have that "Ale Pail" kit. Small world, eh?

    14. Re:Coincidence? by 23skiddoo · · Score: 1

      Do you use ProMash or qbrew? I'd like to use ProMash, but then I'd have to boot into Windows and I don't want to do that. Qbrew is nice but lacks many of the features that makes ProMash such a great tool. I'd like to help code it, but it's not written in perl. :)

      --

      [ insert your own witty .sig here ]

    15. Re:Coincidence? by nuxx · · Score: 1

      Actually, I don't use either. A Windows box for ProMash isn't a problem, and I've got it installed, I just haven't found much of a need for it yet. Occasionally I'll fire it up in order to use some of the calculators, but the recipe sections just aren't for me yet. Perhaps in a few months time it'll come in handy, but for now I'm just going off of recipes that I find / modify, and not really designing any of my own.

    16. Re:Coincidence? by 23skiddoo · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I still almost exclusively use pen-and-paper to build recipes and log brewing sessions. The latter is what I would find most helpful in brewing software. Prost!

      --

      [ insert your own witty .sig here ]

    17. Re:Coincidence? by loucura! · · Score: 1

      Only if you distribute your urine to anyone else. If you use your urine for personal use, or just don't distribute it you can keep your derivations private.

      --
      Black and grey are both shades of white.
  14. About Time !!! by freedom_india · · Score: 1
    About time someone brought such a coool use for BSD...

    Imagine a Beowulf cluster of those....

    --
    "Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer
    1. Re:About Time !!! by sugar+and+acid · · Score: 1

      "Imagine a Beowulf cluster of those...."

      That would be a brewery.

  15. Beer recipe English version anyone? by urbieta · · Score: 1

    Excuse me but I have not seen the recipe in english, someone please translate, thanks :)

    I need an open source drink heh

    1. Re:Beer recipe English version anyone? by kingjosh · · Score: 1

      That's the beauty of Open Source beer, you can translate it, submit your changes, get it approved and whalla . . . Open Source beer the english version :-)

    2. Re:Beer recipe English version anyone? by thhamm · · Score: 1

      GPBL? general public beer license?! i welcome ... nah. good night.

    3. Re:Beer recipe English version anyone? by WindBourne · · Score: 1

      Use konqueror, goto the tools menu=>Translate Web Page => German to English. Voila, problem solved.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    4. Re:Beer recipe English version anyone? by AndroidCat · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but after a while, people will start forking their beer.

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
    5. Re:Beer recipe English version anyone? by The_Dougster · · Score: 1
      Take ten pounds of cane sugar, one bottle of blackstrap molasses, and 10-20 pine cones (to taste). Boil them up for a while, then strain out the pine cones as you pour it into a 5 gallon plastic garbage can (unused). Add water to make 5 gallons, and dump in a couple packs of yeast. Cover it up best you can.

      After its done working (about 2 weeks), siphon the beer off and put it into bottles. Add about 1/4 teaspoon of sugar per bottle. Cap them up and wait a couple more weeks. Chill and serve.

      By using different ingredients, you can make different kinds of beer.

      --
      Clickety Click ...
  16. How long until... by Krankheit · · Score: 1

    How long until Coors brewing sues all of the open source beer users?

    --
    Powered by caffeine and sugar; BSD
    1. Re:How long until... by Stevyn · · Score: 2, Funny

      What does the Coors brewing company have to do with beer?

  17. Toldja FreeBSD wasn't dead!!!... by cepler · · Score: 5, Insightful

    See, FreeBSD isn't dead! Just drunk!

  18. A simple thermostat isn't good enough... by ZombieEngineer · · Score: 5, Informative
    The purpose from the article was to provide a temperature profile. Biological processes are a tad bit complicated with the desired product sometimes will only be produced under certain circumstances, from memory Penicilin is only formed by a certain fungus during the "death stage" of fermentation at a specific temperature. eg: all the culture is used up and the biomas starts to consume itself)

    By controlling the temperature profile during fermentation it is possible to radically change the "taste" of the product. That is why the Australian / South African wine growers can churn out a reasonably good product cheaply (as opposed to the French) as they use large temperature controlled stainless steel vats with scorched oak chips rather than small wooden casks.

    Zombie Engineer

    1. Re:A simple thermostat isn't good enough... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      On the other hand, I use a simple thermostatic heater for my beer brewing. I made the thermostatic controller myself using bits and bobs in a biscuit tin; a lot cheaper and much lower power consumption than a 486, not to mention no risk of crashing or having trouble recovering from a powerout. It's better in some ways than this computer controlled malarky because *my* temperature sensor sits in the wort (so it needs cleaning between brews - so what?) and the heater heats the wort evenly all round the bottom of the brewing vessel. If you look at that 486-thermostat setup, you'll see he's got a sensor on the outside of his brewing vessel. Hmm...

      Would a cunning temperature profile over the brew cycle improve the flavour? Gawd knows - just keeping things clean enough for a decent taste and making sure you're brewing a good recipe with good ingredients is hard enough if you ask me. I note that the graphs of the chap with the 486 thermostat indicate that he's not trying for a varying target temperature over the brewing cycle, but a static temperature target, just like me.

      I tell you, those beer brewing ancient Egyptians would be amazed that anyone would want all that computery junk just to brew beer at home.

    2. Re:A simple thermostat isn't good enough... by medoc · · Score: 3, Informative

      For your information, in France as elsewhere, the fermentation phase of wine brewing is done in large containers (inox or wood or cement vats).

      The wine is only transferred to casks when the fermentation is done.

      The period while the wine stays in casks is called elevage (can't remember the english term), and aims at refining the wine taste before bottling (this can last up to a few years). Not all wines go through a cask elevage.

      There are a few cases of fermentation in casks, but they are truely the exception.

  19. BSD eh? by digitalgimpus · · Score: 2, Funny

    Beer Software Distribution

    Should have known.

    A distro dedicated to beer...how wonderful.

    So when will we see Windows XP "Hard Lemonade" Edition?

    1. Re:BSD eh? by kingjosh · · Score: 1

      . . . I thought we were already using that version!

    2. Re:BSD eh? by discogravy · · Score: 1

      right after the windows coders stop drinking long enough weren't the different windows codenames based on bars?

      --
      FreeBSD for the impatient.
  20. So will this be free? by bennomatic · · Score: 2, Funny

    As in beer?

    --
    The CB App. What's your 20?
  21. hmm. beeer. by thhamm · · Score: 1

    YES.

    hmm. beer.
    i for one, welcome my new beerbrewing overlord. because at my place, the beer brews me.

    wait a sec ...

    1. Re:hmm. beeer. by Justin205 · · Score: 1

      Here's a hint... When you combine three or four overused jokes into one it doesn't make it funny. Try one (and only one per post), and only when it seems truly appropriate. Appropriate as in the particular subject matter makes it funny.

      For example...
      A beer-brewing overlord is not really appropriate here... It just doesn't fit in. Although a Beowolf cluster of these systems might seem funny (or at least amusing) to some.

      --
      "Your effort to remain what you are is what limits you."
  22. Re:Slashdot Sucks Worse Everyday by thhamm · · Score: 1, Insightful

    beer matters anytime. coward.

  23. Don't slashdot the telnet server by siskbc · · Score: 1
    They won't succeed, but if they bombard me with enough traffic, it'll be expensive anyway.

    Let's not nuke the guy's interactive telnet temp server, OK?

    --

    -Looking for a job as a materials chemist or multivariat

  24. Not the first open source beer recipe by GaryOlson · · Score: 1

    The beer recipe does not follow the first open source brewing requirements as published in the German Beer Purity Law

    --
    Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
    1. Re:Not the first open source beer recipe by Brandybuck · · Score: 1

      Go grab my QBrew software. It includes several recipes that are reinheitsgebot, Open Source, and predate this guy's "world's first" by several years.

      --
      Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
    2. Re:Not the first open source beer recipe by VTBassMatt · · Score: 1

      QBrew just earned you a spot in my friends list :) Thanks for putting that out there.

  25. Too Expensive by macz · · Score: 1

    That is true, but I like the temperature graphing for tracking fermentation. You can really get some good data and avoid the alkaloids that give you "skunky beer"

    --
    ...But I digress. TREMBLE PUNY HUMANS!ONE DAY MY SPECIES WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!
  26. Loves it. by certel · · Score: 1

    Oh! The BSD beer brewing kit. Great find. Hope it doesn't have minumum system requirements!

    --
    [%] Cingular Ringtones
  27. This is not a "Brewing" device, it is a Fermenter by macz · · Score: 1
    I would like to see some something like this earlier in brew cycle. Temperature controls on relay assisted valves in a 3 or 4 pot brewing system would be a great addition. You could go from raw materials to chilled wort in a short time, and your brewing results would be more consistent. Add a USB capable pycnometer for measuring the specific gravity and then ferment in the refrigerator described.

    Of course you might as well pony up the dough for a real microbrewery at that point, but if we are going to dream about these sorts of systems, we might as well dream big...

    --
    ...But I digress. TREMBLE PUNY HUMANS!ONE DAY MY SPECIES WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!
  28. Can I use something similar for coffee roasting? by Fiz+Ocelot · · Score: 1
    I roast my own coffee at home, currently using an iRoast which allows me to input temperatures to form a roast curve. Now I'm wondering if it would be possible to modify what the article mentions (or similar) with a thermocouple rated for 500F+ ?

    Some coffee geeks even modify espresso machines & coffee roasters with a PID (a type of temperature controller). This kind of data logger would be very useful. There are thermometers that do this, but they are expensive.

    Oh and btw, coffee made from beans roasted less than 1 week ago is amazing! :)

  29. Woohoo Kegstands errrr.... by sponga · · Score: 1

    maybe Casestands?

  30. how about a networked hydrometer/refractometer by mo · · Score: 1

    Temperature sensors are good and all, but what would really rule would be a networked hydrometer or refractometer inside the fermentation tank giving you gravity readings. For non-homebrewers, the hydrometer reading shows the amount of dissolved sugars in your beer. This value decreases as the beer ferments (yeast eats sugar and turns it into alcohol), thus showing you when the beer is done fermenting. Normally it's a royal pain to measure because you have to extract small amounts of beer from the tank without contaminating the contents with airborne bacteria. However, with a hydrometer floating in the tank the whole time with some kind of sensors attached to it, you would know the instant your beer is ready to drink. Not only that, but correlating the slope of the hydrometer graph (fermentation velocity) with fermentation temperature would be a homebrewers wet dream. This is because certain yeast have ideal temperatures to ferment at. Too hot and the fermentation goes too quick, generating weird tastes and esters. Too slow and the yeast falls asleep. Armed with an rrdtool graph of temp and gravity though and your beer would always be juuuusst right.

    1. Re:how about a networked hydrometer/refractometer by boomer_rehfield · · Score: 1

      Your comments are insteresting so I started looking around. Can't name a price but apparently there are digital hydrometers to measure the alcohol and specific gravity. I've seen rigs where guys have drilled holes into the side of either the mash tun or the brewing container and welded a post thermometer so it could sample the active temperature and I'm thinking the same thing could be done with the hydrometer. Hmmm. Might be do able to fashion something into the plastic fermentation vessels as well. No idea what you'd do with glass carboys. Thanks for the idea though, I'm off to buy more electronics now... ;)

      --
      Carpe Canem - Seize the Dog
  31. One word by peggus · · Score: 1

    Overkill

  32. Re:Too Expensive by zymurgy_cat · · Score: 1

    Skunky beer comes from light exposure. The isohumulones react with light at a specific wavelength (exact on escapes me at this moment) to form the compounds that smell and taste skunky.

    --
    -- Fugacity: Confusing chemists since 1908
  33. Interesting, I'm glad someone has done this... by ErikZ · · Score: 1


    I've been trying to design a computer controlled distiller. The worst part is trying to come up with the temperature sensors and the interface.

    The sensors have to be able to go a bit over 100C, and I'm still not sure how to interface them with the PC. Too many temperature interfaces will only accept one or two probes.

    --
    Democrats or Republicans. They are both taking us to the same place and they are not afraid of us anymore.
    1. Re:Interesting, I'm glad someone has done this... by groggy-P · · Score: 1
      There are a number of components of the system:
      1. The hardware. The sensors I'm using are rated up to 85, which isn't enough for what
        you want. You could use thermocouples, though.
      2. The software. I'm still experimenting with that, but I'd expect that you could easily
        modify it to your requirements. Contact me if you have any problems.
      BTW, the software version out there works, but it's a little out of date. I'm still
      working on fine tuning, and my next project is to run multiple fridges (anybody got a
      spare fridge for sale?). Watch the web page: I'll be releasing something soon.

      Greg
    2. Re:Interesting, I'm glad someone has done this... by x00101010x · · Score: 1

      Not sure about your temperature range, I was mainly on the software side... But I did some industrial automation projects related to SoCal Edison's energy curtailment incentive program for Ducommun Aerostructures... In this system we actually used simple thermistors connected to an A2F board my step-father (energyoptions-wind.com) had built specially for the application. It was Analog to a Frequency pulse readable by the 24v inputs in the IDEC PLC we were using, however, you could just make it 5v and pulse a pin on your parallel port or even one of the pins on your RS232 port (I like the ring pin for that sorta stuff myself). Point is, depending on precision needed, you don't need expensive A2D cards and temperature interface hardware, a simple circuit with a few off the shelf ICs can take a simple thermistor and generate a pulse signal. Precision depends on your temperature range, my step-father's board had precision and range inversely related, trade one for the other. In our application (managing HVAC units) 1Hz represented something near room temperature and 40Hz was around 120F, so our precision bottleneck ended up on the IDEC PLC, not the sensor. It came out to about +/-4F, but we were using cheep thermistors because that was more precise than we needed to be (just needed enough to lower the electric bill without making the guys in the offices sweat too much).

      --
      DONT PANIC
    3. Re:Interesting, I'm glad someone has done this... by microbrewer · · Score: 1

      Why not just get hack a digital Johnson Controll Digital teprature thermostat that would be alot easier but more expensive.
      Matt Donellan uses them at his St Peters Brewery where he makes St Peters Blonde.

      http://www.blueridgecompany.com/cgi-bin/detail.c gi ?itemId=287

    4. Re:Interesting, I'm glad someone has done this... by ErikZ · · Score: 1


      I was poking around and found some sensors that are exactly what I need. Then I found Crystalfontz uses them for their PC temp sensors!

      It's not just the IC probe, it's already assembled into a harness which can daisy chain, and they sell the extra sensors here: http://www.crystalfontz.com/cgi-bin/pricing.pl?pro duct=cables

      It's the second from the bottom.

      --
      Democrats or Republicans. They are both taking us to the same place and they are not afraid of us anymore.
    5. Re:Interesting, I'm glad someone has done this... by groggy-P · · Score: 1

      That link is a double 404.

      But the answer is probably "because it won't do the job well enough". For details read the web page again, and particularly the first attempt, which looks like what I think you're talking about.

      Greg

  34. Mirror by code0 · · Score: 1

    Karma whore!

    http://code0.net/bsdbeer/

    --
    ---------- I laugh at a dumb SysAdmin.
  35. That's an awful lot of work... by Kozz · · Score: 1

    Instead, just build this Son of Fermentation Chiller. Probably a bit less effort.

    --
    I only post comments when someone on the internet is wrong.
    1. Re:That's an awful lot of work... by macz · · Score: 1

      This is a great idea! Use that 2nd law of thermodynamics baby!

      --
      ...But I digress. TREMBLE PUNY HUMANS!ONE DAY MY SPECIES WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!
  36. His top rate==US$180/hr. What a shame by Cryofan · · Score: 1

    The creator of this project, Lehey, is apparently world-renowned in his field. He is an author of an OReilly BSD book, a lecturer at world BSD conventions. ANd yet his top rate for corporate BSD work is 180 bucks an hour as an independent consultant. He charges less for working for edu or private personal projects and less for long term work.

    Yet as a fairly green patent agent, I was hired out at about 100/hr. And almost ANY and EVERY lawyer in America charges somewhere between $US125-250/hr. Any schmoe lawyer, green or whatever. Some for even more. Some for much more....

    And lehey here seems to have over 20 years experience as a systems level hacker.

    You tell me where the money is.....

    And why? Because computer hackers have failed to organize, as lawyers have. Social groups compete for dominance, and organized action is the major tool of extending their dominance.

    Hackers are the unwitting victims of Darwin's Law.

    Now go back to your picayune trolling...and mod me down, too....

    --
    eat shiat and bark at the moon
    1. Re:His top rate==US$180/hr. What a shame by focitrixilous+P · · Score: 1
      Yeah, but how many /. posts have you seen along the lines of "What do you call 6 BSD hackers buried up to their necks in sand / Not enough sand"

      Dignity over profit, I say.

      --
      SAILING MISHAP
    2. Re:His top rate==US$180/hr. What a shame by convolvatron · · Score: 1

      maybe he gets more out of life than he would were he a greedy bottom feeder

  37. Free as in beer by Eric+Giguere · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yet another misinterpretation Richard Stallman's manifesto! It must drive him bonkers.

    Eric
    JavaScript is not Java
  38. No math skills by shadowsurfr1 · · Score: 1

    How much has he drank already? He says the X axis is temperature and the Y axis is time. It's the other way around. Last time I looked at a graph, the X axis was across the bottom and the Y one was going up and down.

    Instead of:

    X axis: temperature.
    Y axis: Time. This should be the local time (Australian CST, 9½ hours ahead of UTC in winter, 10½ hours ahead in summer), but currently it's still showing UTC.

    It should read:

    X axis: Time. This should be the local time (Australian CST, 9½ hours ahead of UTC in winter, 10½ hours ahead in summer), but currently it's still showing UTC.
    Y axis: temperature.

    1. Re:No math skills by groggy-P · · Score: 1

      What do I say? Are you having difficulties with your browser?

      What I've drunk is there for all to see: http://www.lemis.com/grog/brewing/today.

      Greg

    2. Re:No math skills by shadowsurfr1 · · Score: 1

      I was looking at the graphical version of the graph.

  39. Wait until summer!? PSHAW it's LAGERING TIME! by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 1

    Lagering time!!!! Find a cave, or a nice cool spot(but not freezing), and brew yourself some lager. It's the perfect time for it, and we've been having lovely weather for it in some parts of the US.

    --
    The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    1. Re:Wait until summer!? PSHAW it's LAGERING TIME! by AndroidCat · · Score: 1

      Hey .. remember that missle silo that someone was selling as a home on eBay a few years ago? Just the place to brew up some Atlas-F Lager!

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  40. Wait 'til Homeland Security sees this by Un+pobre+guey · · Score: 1

    To them it will resemble a bioterror lab setup. If you can grow yeast, you can grow quite a lot of other things as well.

  41. if you think thats cool, check this out by Prophetic_Truth · · Score: 1

    the barmonkey! uses simlar items such as a relay board and a computer to auto mix various alcohols into new and wonderful drinks.

    --
    time is a perception of a being's consciousness
    time is your 6th sense, the wierd ones are 7+
  42. umm...he's in Australia by Cryofan · · Score: 1

    down under,,,

    --
    eat shiat and bark at the moon
  43. Re:YOu know what goes great wtih beer by brilinux · · Score: 1

    These are the great things about being in school here at Carnegie Mellon:
    Open Source computing (mostly), beer, and the Steelers.

  44. When all you have is a hammer... by Fatty · · Score: 1

    You could probably do this for $15 in parts and a microcontroller. Atmel Applications Journal did something similar a few months ago to keep a ceramic smoker at the right temperature. RS-232 out for stats mind you, but still, far less complex.

    1. Re:When all you have is a hammer... by groggy-P · · Score: 1

      Yes, that's what I did. The price is slightly higher than you quote, but only marginally:
      the temperature sensors cost about $10 (US) each. And you still need the relays, of
      course.

      What difference in complexity do you see?

      Greg

    2. Re:When all you have is a hammer... by surprise_audit · · Score: 1

      Just out of curiousity, what does it cost to get the microcontroller programmed?? That's probably what would bite me. I did a bit of hardware control waaay back (Sinclair Spectrum w/Z80 cpu controlling a bunch of radio-control servos) but I don't have the equipment to work with microcontrollers. Not to mention wife, kids & tight budget... :)

    3. Re:When all you have is a hammer... by Fatty · · Score: 1

      If you go with Microchip PICs, you can get the chips for free through their sample system, and build your own programmer for a couple of bucks. I started with a JDM programmer that ran off the serial port on a piece of veroboard, and later moved up to a Wisp628 that I burned my own PCB with.

  45. More work needed! by gnugie · · Score: 1
    It an interesting way to keep track of and control the fermentation. Might get me thinking about making lagers, even.

    But, is there anyway to automate the brewing and bottling (kegging) processes that take so much of my time?

    A typical brew day: http://home.insightbb.com/~bsenyart/brewday.html

    --
    Don't know; Don't care; Don't ask
  46. Dang! by Lethargica · · Score: 1

    And to think I just laid down $34.95 for Make!

  47. Australian definition of "Queer" by kiore · · Score: 1

    A guy that prefers women to beer.

  48. Further Proof... by uhlume · · Score: 1

    ...That information just wants to be free beer.

    --
    SIERRA TANGO FOXTROT UNIFORM
  49. Mixing caffeine with beer is a bad idea... by bergeron76 · · Score: 1

    Mixing an accelerant (such as caffeine) with a depressant such as alcohol, is a very bad idea. Typically, it leads to violence and violent behaviour.

    If you drink, just drink alcohol with good ole carbs (like normal beer). Avoid drinks like Rum+Coke (alcohol+caffeine) because they tend to make you a "mean drunk".

    Vodka and Tonic = ok
    Jack and Coke = recipe for bad news
    Captain [Morgan] and Coke = bad news
    Liquor and Red Bull = very bad news
    Roy Rogers = ok
    Beer = ok
    Wine = ok
    etc...

    --
    Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
    1. Re:Mixing caffeine with beer is a bad idea... by PopCulture · · Score: 1

      I have it on good authority (after 6 years of undergraduate studies) that an excess of alcohol consumption alone leads to violence and violent behavior in certain people.

      a combination of caffeinated mixers and alcohol is what it is... a tasty cockail.

      cheers.

      --

      Here's to finally giving Bush his exit strategy in November
    2. Re:Mixing caffeine with beer is a bad idea... by obot · · Score: 1

      how about irish coffee..?

    3. Re:Mixing caffeine with beer is a bad idea... by Yakman · · Score: 1

      Irish Coffee is fine.. I mean, since when do we associate acoholism and violence with the Irish?

      (Yes, it's a vague Simpsons reference)

    4. Re:Mixing caffeine with beer is a bad idea... by spikedvodka · · Score: 1

      Jack and Coke... well I guess that's all Jack is good for
      I mean, I sure as hell wouldn't drink that crad straight
      I like my Whisky at least old enough to drive, if not vote.

      --
      I will not give in to the terrorists. I will not become fearful.
    5. Re:Mixing caffeine with beer is a bad idea... by MemoryAid · · Score: 1

      I would agree that mixing an accelerant (such as gasoline) with alcohol (such as rum) is a bad idea. Mixing the accelerant with methanol or low-grade ethanol may make a good fuel. And, of course, the reverse applies to stimulants, such as caffeine.

      --
      Language students: Don't try to learn English here. This ain't it.
  50. Netcraft Confirms BSD by Bodhammer · · Score: 1

    Beer is good!

    --
    "I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
  51. Tooting my own horn by Brandybuck · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Speaking of FreeBSD and brewing, check out QBrew. Open Source brewing software for FreeBSD (or Linux, Unix, OSX, Windows, etc). It's developed on FreeBSD, and as far as I know it's the only (stable and released) native brewing software for Linux, BSD, Unix and OSX. Get it at http://www.usermode.org/code.html and start Open Source brewing today!

    p.s. That last link of the story blurb goes to some folks who claim to have brewed the world's first Open Source beer. Balderdash! They're greenhorn newbies when it comes to Open Source beers and ales! My brewing software and recipes have been Open Source for years prior to their arrival. Heck, they even predate the license they use! So get the Original(tm) Open Source Beer and get QBrew!

    p.p.s. Okay, I'm done blowing my own horn now. I won't do this again until the next beer/brewing story appears on Slashdot...

    --
    Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
  52. Mods, please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Insightful? What the hell?!

  53. Fundamentally flawed by kimanaw · · Score: 2, Informative
    While it maybe kewl (hmm, unintended pun...), its waaaayyy overbuilt, and definitely violates the Homebrewers Prime Directive: "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew" aka. RDWHHB.

    For a simpler (albeit less sexy/techie) solution check here

    Works fine for me, but only during warm temps, since it only turns the fridge off/on, and doesn't control a heat source.

    And as for "open source" beer, there are recipes aplenty freely available on the 'net (e.g., HBD). All you need is a couple buckets with spigots, an airlock, a kettle, some malt, and some yeast. Far less difficult, and much more rewarding, than open source s/w!

    --
    007: "Who are you?"
    Pussy: "My name is Pussy Galore."
    007: "I must be dreaming..."
    1. Re:Fundamentally flawed by Profound · · Score: 1

      My grandfather build a homebrew kit years ago in his back shed. It was a box lined with insulation foam, a fan a lightbulb and a thermometer. The fan constantly ran and the thermometer turned off the lightbulb when the box became too hot. It constantly turned out great beer and I still use it today. He showed it to someone who worked at the local brewery and he said that he wished he could have such good temperature control on his vats.

      You should only go high tech when you have to. Why have a computer control your homebrew or doorbell when low tech will work as well or better? Save your tech skills for things you can't do with primitive equipment.

  54. This sounds like an interesting little hack... by HaloZero · · Score: 1

    Save for the fact that I don't drink. I would absolutely love to use this sort of technology for a water-cooled desktop.

    --
    Informatus Technologicus
    1. Re:This sounds like an interesting little hack... by psiphre · · Score: 1

      I would absolutely love to use this sort of technology for a water-cooled desktop

      precisely what I was thinking. a large closed-loop system that possibly cools multiple boxen (the controlling box included) -- so that it regulates its own temperature as well as your gaming box, file server, game server, etc...

  55. Re:Can I use something similar for coffee roasting by n6mod · · Score: 1

    A week?

    Hell, any *real* coffee shop has roasted everything in inventory in the last week.

    Now, walking into the office with a bag of beans that are still warm from the roaster. *That's* a wonderful thing.

    --
    You have violated Robot's Rules of Order and will be asked to leave the future immediately.
  56. RIMS by dcigary · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Seriously, this whole project could be replaced by one simple device that's been in use for years by homebrewers. (search down the page).

    To see a truly automated brewing system, you need a RIMS system, which are pretty cool.

    /homebrewer for 12 years

    --
    ...my Karma ran over your Dogma...
    1. Re:RIMS by microbrewer · · Score: 1

      Sure you can controll the cooling system with one of those Johnson Controlls Thermostats wired for Homebrewers and its nice and low tech solution .

      Im a brewer and this would be great, so you could monitor the temprature remotely even better would be to have a alarm set up on a remote PC if the temp went above or below set limits, if there is a problem with your Refirgeration equipment you will be alerted instantly and be able to remedy the situation possibly .

      It would also be good for monitoring heat exchangers in a small brewery so the wort will be at the right temprature for the yeast .It would also be handy for setting mash tempratures also with a timer simmilar to a RIMS system .

      If you think Slashdotters are geeks you should out Homebrew Digest @ http://hbd.org/ beer geeks are well and alive .

    2. Re:RIMS by Archerkit · · Score: 1

      There is a digital one that's better (geekier) than the analog controller. Controller II

    3. Re:RIMS by microbrewer · · Score: 1

      The Controller II is a Johnson Contolls A419 .Williams gets them rebranded and wired up for domestic use a nice off the shelf solution .

  57. Advert Jingle!!! by zymurgyboy · · Score: 1
    (To the tune of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine")

    Do Bud and Miller have too little taste for you?
    Does Coors taste too commercialized and spare?
    Are all the microbreweries too much for you?
    Do trips down the beer aisle lead to despair?

    Well there's no need to complain.
    We'll eliminate your pain.
    We can lupulize your brain, you'll feel just FINE!

    Buy a BSD... Brewin' machine!

    Does your own homebrew's quality just get you down?
    Is life without some good hooch just a drag?
    Did your wife just mention that you'd better check around?
    Before you make another awful batch?

    Is your fermentation stressed?
    Is you technique just a mess?
    Put our product to the test you'll do just FINE!

    Build a BSD... Brewin' Machine! [fade out]

    --
    If you never make mistakes, it's probably because you're not doing anything.
    1. Re:Advert Jingle!!! by zymurgyboy · · Score: 1
      lupulize
      I made this word up, from lupulin.

      It fits. It works with theme, and even preserves the character of the origninal S&G lyrics.

      I'm done now.

      --
      If you never make mistakes, it's probably because you're not doing anything.
  58. GPL = Gnu Public Lager by dogfart · · Score: 1
    the license for the open source brew.

    Now we will need an annual BSD brew-hike. http://www.lbw2000.eu.org/

    --

    "dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope"

  59. old jokes never dies! by soapdog · · Score: 1

    to hell with karma! in soviet russia, beer brews you! *ducks*

    --
    -- Por mais que eu ande no vale das trevas e da morte, meu PowerMac G4 Não Travará!!!
  60. Beer'd by drwho · · Score: 1

    Does it come with a faux beard for those who don't have strong enough or correctly placed hair follicles? Or are you just expected to move some down from the top of your head?

    Because both BSD and Beer require a big bushy beard. The belly is self-sustaining.

  61. Re:Too Expensive by Bush+Pig · · Score: 1

    Ultraviolet (that's the _real_ Ultraviolet Catastrophe ...)

    --
    What a long, strange trip it's been.