KegLand RAPT Pill Update - Bluetooth Functionality Enabled

Since it's release in 2021, KegLand's RAPT Pill was touted as having Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity options, however users have been only able to access and use the Wi-Fi functionality up until now.

A recent firmware update for the Pill has enabled Bluetooth functionality which has prompted the RAPT developer, Trent Devers to clarify exactly how the Bluetooth feature works with the Pill.

The following text has been copied directly from Trent's post in the RAPT Users Group on Facebook. If you're a RAPT Pill (or other RAPT product user), it's a great idea to join so you can keep up to date on these features as well.

Q. What is the purpose of the Bluetooth feature?
A. The bluetooth feature allows Rapt Devices to talk to each other. This allows tight integration of Rapt devices and will allow us to expand the feature set of the Rapt ecosystem.

Q. Will Bluetooth on the Pill help me with my Wifi signal problems?
A. Yes - but you need to pair it to a Rapt Fermentation Chamber or Temperature Controller. The paired (bridging) device will pickup the bluetooth readings from the pill and include them when the bridging device submits its telemetry. Users with wifi signal problems typically have their pills inside a stainless fermenter that is inside a fridge and multiple brick walls between their wifi router. The Fermentation Chamber & Temperature Controller are usually not located within a steel "Faraday Cage" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage) and can usually get a decent signal from a shed or garage even when the wifi router is inside the house. These device can easily pickup the bluetooth signal and relay it on behalf of the pill and should resolve wifi signal problems.

Q. Can I use the Pills temperature probe to control the temperature of my Rapt Fermentation Chamber or Temperature Controller?
A. Yes. User manuals will be updated soon with instructions on how to do this.

Q. Can I use the Rapt Mobile App on my phone to talk to a bluetooth enabled Rapt device?
A. No

Q. Can I build a device/write my own code to read the Bluetooth signals from the Pill?
A. Yes, but we aren't offering any technical assistance on how to decode the bluetooth data.

Q. If I write my own code to read the bluetooth signal, can I submit it to the Rapt Cloud.
A. No. The public Api for Rapt Cloud only allows you to read data and not submit data.

Q. Will any Rapt Devices be able to talk to other non-Rapt devices like the InkBird Temperature Controller in the future?
A. No.

The timing of this update couldn't be better for us personally. We just completed our most recent brew, which was the first in our new stainless conical Cheeky Peak Nano-X Fermenter. We experienced the exact issue Trent outlined in the second question above with our Pill not able to reliably submit telemetry because of issues connecting to our Wi-Fi network due to being in a stainless fermenter enclosed in a refrigerator. 

We were looking at Wi-Fi range extenders to help boost the signal in our garage where the fermentation fridge is located to address this, but may instead look at getting a RAPT Temperature Controller instead to replace our InkBird ITC-308 temp controller.

No doubt the Bluetooth functionality isn't going to meet the expectations of what some users were hoping for as not everyone wants to (or is able to) submit their telemetry to the cloud and would rather just be able to have the Pill report to a device locally via Bluetooth.

Check out our guide on How to connect RAPT Pill to RAPT Temperature Controller for detailed instructions on how to link the RAPT Pill and RAPT Temperature Controller together.

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Keg King - Apollo Titan 30L Stainless Conical Fermenter - Preview

We recently noticed a new product added to Keg King's website for their Apollo Titan 30L stainless steel pressure capable fermenter - pictured below. It certainly caught our attention so we thought we'd take a closer look and break down our thoughts and findings.

Keg King's Apollo Titan 30L Stainless Conical Fermenter
Image Copyright of Keg King

Pressure fermenting is all the rage these days in the homebrewing community - and rightfully so. It offers loads of benefits over fermenting at regular atmospheric pressure, so it's only natural that companies and manufacturers start focusing their products on meeting the demands of what brewers want - and at the moment it's pressure capable fermenters.

Plenty of brewers are no doubt looking for a more affordable next step up, after typically starting their homebrewing journey on some kind of plastic based fermeter. This next step open involves upgrading their equipment to stainless steel, but the price often makes it prohibitive to do so. This is obviously a problem Keg King identified and have created an attractive solution for.

Enter the Apollo Titan - a 30L stainless steel fermenter capable of withstanding pressures up to 35psi. At the moment, most home brewers opt for pressure fermenters made of PET plastic due to their attractive price point making them easily accessible - like Keg King's Fermenter King and Apollo range, and although these fermenters are great and certainly have their benefits, they do have some limitations.

So what have we got in the Apollo Titan? Let's break it down and take a look.

Firstly, the body is made entirely of stainless steel. Three steel legs support the fermenter, with leg extensions available to raise the height from 574mm to 754mm (measuring to the top of the ball lock posts on the lid). Total width is quoted at 367mm.

The body itself has the conical shape at the bottom allowing the trub and yeast cake to collect, allowing more of the fresh beer to be settled and accessed from on top using a floating dip tube. 

There are 3 x 1.5" openings with tri clover clamps. One at the very bottom of the cone could have a dump valve fitted to allow the trub/yeast cake to be easily removed.

The next opening located part way up the cone could allow a sight glass, sampling tap, carbonation stone or other ball valve attachment to be fitted, for racking or drawing samples.

The upper most 1.5" opening could be used for a thermowell or temperature probe, though this may not even be necessary because of the clever lid design.

And this is the beauty of tri clover openings/attachments - they're a standard fitting, meaning you can fit just about any attachment you like that matches the 1.5" size, giving brewers enormous flexibility and customisation options to have their fermenter configured just the way they like. You can even opt to fit nothing to it and just attach the end caps that are included with the fermenter to blank off the ports.

Looking at the aforementioned lid and it appears that the same 115mm lid that is fitted to the PET-based Fermenter King and Apollo has been kept and reused for the Apollo Titan. The lid features two ball lock disconnects (1 for gas, 1 for liquid), a centralised port for a thermowell, plus a screw in pressure release valve (PRV) which doubles as a dry hopping port.

Apollo Titan Lid
Image Copyright of Keg King

No doubt it's this clever lid design that gives the Apollo Titan the ability to withstand such high pressures as 35psi. Most other stainless fermenters feature a much larger lid - usually the entire diameter of the top of the fermenter body meaning they are limited to how much pressure they can withstand. A smaller lid/opening also means it's easier to seal and less likely to leak which is often a source of frustration for brewers with pressure fermenting.

Having a body made entirely of stainless steel means you essentially have a 30L keg. PET plastics inevitably leech some oxygen over extended periods of time, but there's no such risk with stainless steel meaning you can ferment and store your beer in the same vessel indefinitely if you wanted to. Stainless is also much more durable when it comes to cleaning and the types of cleaning agents that can be used on them.

Keg King state that the body is actually the same size as the Apollo fermenter meaning some of the accessories like the insulating jacket and cooling coils are interchangeable between the models.

Currently on the Keg King website at AU$399, the price point is seriously sharp and attractive, with an anticipated release date of mid to late July 2022. The inclusion of tri clover ports means that brewers can upgrade and add parts later on if they wish to, and the use of stainless steel means their investment will last a very long time if looked after.

What do you think about the new Apollo Titan? Will you be upgrading? Let us know in the comments below.

Now that this has been released and is available for sale, you can check out our full Hands on Review of the Apollo Titan fermenter.

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USA Hop Growers - 2021 Statistical Report Breakdown

We recently came across the USA Hop Growers statistical report for 2021. After having a read through it there were definitely some interesting takeaways which give a great insight into the brewing industry - from homebrewing all the way through to full scale brew houses.

The USA are responsible for providing the majority of "new world" hop varieties used in modern day brewing, and with the explosion in recent times of heavily hopped beers like Hazy/NEIPA's, it's no surprise to see the hop industry in the USA growing year on year.

There was a total production increase of 11.18% in US hop crops in 2021 compared to 2020.

Below is a table taken directly from the report showing the top 10 Pacific North West (PNW) Region Hop Varieties by acreage

Source: USA Hop Growers 2021 Statistical Report

Unsurprisingly, Citra is the top hop and has held the number one position since 2018. We're a big fan of citra hops (as are lots of other people apparently). According to the report nearly 1 out of every 5 hop bines in the PNW region was for Citra!

Mosaic has claimed the number two spot for the first time and has steadily been increasing it's ranking since 2018.

CTZ - or Columbus, Tomahawk and Zeus was relegated from 2nd to 3rd on the list, with the remaining varieties and rankings staying relatively the same, with the exception of Simcoe and Cascade swapping places compared to 2020.

Over the past 10 years, hop acreage has increased by 109% from just under 30,000 acres to now just over 62,000. This growth has also seen a shift from a 50/50 split in alpha/bittering and aroma hops to 80.5% aroma varieties in 2021, meaning 19.5% of the crops were for alpha/bittering hops. Would be interesting to understand how dual purpose hops (like Citra) are classified here as they're often used for bittering and aroma/flavour.

Here's another interesting graphic giving a visual representation of the crop volume (acreage) for each of the top 10 varieties.

Source: USA Hop Growers 2021 Statistical Report

This really gives a good insight into just how popular these top 10 varieties of hops are, with the top 3 varieties accounting for just over 40% of total crops.

When you consider how many other hop varieties are available, it's pretty astounding to see these figures, with the countless other hop varieties account for just over 30% of total crops.

We've used nearly all of these top ten varieties at some point in our brewing journey, with the exception of Pahto. Sounds like we might be missing out on something here so we'll be keeping an eye out for this variety for future brews.

Check out the 2021 Hop Growers of America Statistical Report for yourself.

Nomad Brewing Co - 2022 Art Series NEIPA - Beer Review

Review Date: 18/6/2022
Brewery Name: Nomad Brewing Co (Brookvale, NSW, Australia)
Beer Name: NEIPA (2022 Art Series)

"Big tropical Hazy NEIPA - Citrus + Stone Fruit + Pineapple. Inspired out of covid isolation boredom, Elana Larkin painted the view from her Northern Rivers garden. While wearing a big hat & the smell of sunscreenWhile sunscreen this masterpiece was born, “Midday gone Cray"

Nomad Brewing Co - 2022 Art Series - NEIPA Can

General

Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 6% (High)

Label/Design: 9/10

Serving Style: Can

Region of Origin: Pacific (Australia, New Zealand)

Style Family: IPA

Malts/Adjuncts: Unknown

Hops: Amarillo, Idaho, BRU-1

IBU's: Unknown

Nomad Brewing Co - 2022 Art Series - NEIPA Can Notes

Appearance

Colour: Straw

Clarity

Brilliant

Clear

Slight Haze

Hazy

Collar of Foam & Head Retention

None

Poor (Up to 15 secs)

Moderate (15 - 60 secs)

Good (more than 60 secs)

Foam Texture

N/A

Thin

Fluffy

Mousse-Like

Carbonation (Visible)

None

Slow

Medium

Fast-Rising Bubbles

Alcohol Aroma

Not Detectable

Mild

Noticeable

Strong

Harsh

Aroma & Flavour

Esters Aroma: None
Phenols: None

Alcohol Taste:

Not Detectable

Mild

Noticeable

Strong

Harsh

Hop Pungency:

Mild

Moderate

Strong

Extreme

Hop Bitterness:

Restrained

Moderate

Aggressive

Harsh

Malt Sweetness:

Low

Medium

High

Cloying (Excessive)

Astringency: 

Low

Medium

High

Palate/Mouthfeel: 

Light Bodied (Thin/Watery)

Medium Bodied (Light + Full)

Full Bodied (Round, Rich & Creamy)

Palate Carbonation: 

Low

Medium

High

Length/Finish:

Short (Up to 15 seconds)

Medium (15 to 60 seconds)

Long (More than 60 seconds)

Oxidative/Aged Qualities: None

Nomad Brewing Co - 2022 Art Series - NEIPA in the Craftd Alpha glass

Overall

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall Impression: 7/10

Notes

Loads of tropical fruit and citrus flavours from the hops. Clean and neutral malt base as you'd expect to let the hops do their thing. Relatively low carbonation, and a well disguised alcohol presence. A really good and enjoyable beer, but not quite sure it fits the NEIPA style. Definitely not as hazy as other NEIPA's we've had, and the soft, creamy and silky mouthfeel from a decent whack of oats or other adjuncts that the style is renowned for appeared to be missing. This strikes us as more of a west coast IPA than a NEIPA. Still a really good beer and very enjoyable, but not quite what we were expecting from a beer labelled as a "NEIPA".

The can art is a cool feature too and is part of a collaboration between Nomad and the National Art School. There's a blurb on the can from the artist explaining the piece that is featured on the can.

AliExpress - Digital Refractometer Testing

In our previous blog post, we gave a quick run down on our recently purchased digital refractometer from AliExpress. In this post, we're going to outline a quick side by side comparison we did to compare the results when measuring a simple solution of dextrose and water using a standard floating hydrometer, and our new digital refractometer. 

After mixing up the sugar solution in a glass pyrex jar (to simulate our wort), we poured a sample into the floating hydrometer tube and floated the hydrometer and took a reading. We then took a small sample from the hydrometer tube and used this on the digital refractometer. After each test, we returned the solution from the floating hydrometer into the pyrex jar, then added more dextrose (or in some cases added water to re-dilute) to get different and randomised levels of sugar in the solution. I didn't measure the amount of dextrose used, just simply "free poured" then stirred it in thoroughly.

Interestingly, we found we were getting more accurate results by adding 5-6 drops onto the digital refractometer which is contrary to what we found in our previous/initial testing of the device.

Our first comparison after adding only a small amount of dextrose, sees a reading of around 1.008 on the floating hydrometer and 1.005 on the digital refractometer. As you can see from the display of the digital refractometer, the temperature of the water was quite cold at a little over 15c. The floating hydrometer is calibrated at around 20c so using morebeer's hydrometer temperature correction calculator, the actual reading would be 1.007, meaning a difference of 2 gravity points between them.

Our next comparison shows a value of 1.028 on the floating hydrometer and 1.026 on the digital refractometer. Our sample temperature is now a more reliable 19c, so once again we have a difference of 2 gravity points.

For the next side by side test, we unfortunately didn't break the meniscus on the floating hydrometer sufficiently before taking our photo, so we'll go off the reading of 1.052. Our digital refractometer read 1.049 giving us a difference of 3 gravity points.

This next test was surprising, as we had a reading of 1.080 on the floating hydrometer and exactly the same reading on our digital refractometer!

Next we revisited our previous reading where we failed to break the miniscus on the floating hydrometer properly (by diluting our 1.080 sample). This time around we had a reading of around 1.050 on the floating hydrometer and a surprisingly low 1.044 on the digital refractometer. A difference of 6 gravity points which is significant.

Next up we had 1.036 on the floating  hydrometer and 1.034 on the digital refractometer. Once again, giving us a difference of 2 gravity points.

Our final test and we have a reading of 1.054 on the floating hydrometer and 1.053 on the digital refractometer, giving us a difference of 1 gravity point.

Here's a table outlining the results of our tests.

Floating Hydrometer	Digital Refractometer	Difference
1.007	1.005	-0.002
1.028	1.026	-0.002
1.052	1.049	-0.003
1.080	1.080	0
1.050	1.044	-0.006
1.036	1.034	-0.002
1.054	1.053	-0.001

The table outlined above shows the digital refractometer consistently had a lower gravity reading than the floating hydrometer. For the majority of tests, the reading was within 2 gravity points of the floating hydrometer. The advertisement for the digital refractometer states it's accurate to within +- 0.001 gravity points, and given floating hydrometers aren't necessarily 100% accurate either, this all seems reasonable. 

We'll write off the test with a difference of 6 gravity points as an outlier - perhaps the digital refractometer screen wasn't cleaned properly, or the sample was otherwise contaminated or diluted which may have affected the reading.

Our initial concern was that perhaps in the range of 1.050, the digital refractometer wasn't accurate - but was more accurate at higher gravity readings such as 1.080, however our last test at 1.054/1.053 indicates this isn't the case.

What can we take away from this? We think it demonstrates that the readings are reasonably accurate, especially for homebrewers where having measurements 1 or 2 points off really aren't that big a deal. We're not calculating alcohol percentage for tax and labelling/packaging purposes after all so the implications of a slightly inaccurate reading are almost negligible. The convenience of much lower sample sizes is a major benefit in using the digital refractometer, but I think we'll end up taking measurements with both for the next few batches to see how they compare.

You can check out our previous review of our AliExpress Digital Refractometer here.

Custom 3D Printed Beer Tap Decals

We're fortunate to have access to a 3D Printer as well as CAD software - so after purchasing a couple of beer decal holders to attach to the taps of our kegerator we figured we'd have a go at designing and printing some beer tap decals ourselves.