FAQ

SmartBrew is the only fully automated brewing system designed for: Restaurants, bars, hotels, casinos, brew pubs, or any location that wants to brew their own fresh craft beer or cider. SmartBrew requires no brewing experience and utilizes smaller foot prints — basically if you were unable to become a brewery with the traditional full mash systems – now you potentially can with SmartBrew..

SmartBrew can brew world-class craft beers onsite in as little as 150 square feet.  A standard SmartBrew fully automated system has four (4) 5BBL fermenters ( model: 4x5BBL ) and is capable of producing 20 to 80 kegs per month – SmartBrew does have larger systems that increase capacity to 240 kegs a month – so we do have multiple options to fit the need of the owner/operator capacity requirements.

SmartBrew allows the owner/operator to brew any craft beer using the SmartBrew system and the proprietary High Gravity Wort that the owner uses to ferment on-premise fresh craft beer. The owner / operator works with the SmartBrew BrewMaster (Brian Watson) to create craft beer recipes for the SmartBrew owner/operator to ferment on-premise to deliver fresh beer to customers.

Wort. … Wort (/ˈwɜːrt/) is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol. Therefore, Wort is the raw material to produce beer. It is made in one of our breweries in New Zealand and Germany and then converted to High Gravity Wort and then packaged to be used by our SmartBrew Owner/Operators. Our High Gravity Wort is brewed in our production facility, under the supervision of our BrewMaster Brian Watson. The beer goes through the same brewing process as any other premium craft brewed beer — the SmartBrew System just automates the process and ensures a consistent, high-quality craft beer. There are no preservatives, just pure freshly brewed natural beer.

More on High Gravity Wort Here

NO, SmartBrew does NOT use extract or concentrate(s).

Like most large reputable breweries around the world, we produce multiple streams of High Gravity Wort made from wort.  Through a proprietary evaporation process, the wort is converted into High Gravity Wort made from the best ingredients for delivery to brewers around the world without sacrificing any quality.

We will never use any process that may degrade the quality of beer.  

We use only fresh High Gravity Wort made by world-class breweries, not from extract. Our award-winning proprietary High Gravity Wort is shipped in a proprietary packaging and then shipped to the SmartBrew Customer. The High Gravity Wort is then connected to the SmartBrew Control Unit that transfers it to the selected fermenter tank, where the fresh, High Gravity Wort is fermented, carbonated and chilled ready to serve. Once the beer has been served, the SmartBrew fermenters clean and sanitize automatically and prepare the system for the next brew.

Yes! Our SmartBrew customers have won medals using the SmartBrew system.  To date our SmartBrew customers have been awarded 30 medals at multiple international competitions against thousands of competitive entries. 

We encourage you to visit an operating SmartBrew customer and we want nothing more than to have you sample what will likely be the finest craft beers you’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking.

Not only do we recommend tasting the beer, but also soak in the amazing atmosphere generated from a SmartBrew® System.

Contact your local sales rep and ask where you can see one.

Your beer can be stored in the SmartBrew fermenter/brite tanks, kegged or served direct from the fermenter/brite tank to draft system.  Our beverage dispense partners will be able to provide all of your bar needs, including connections to beer line, beer systems, manifolds, kegging equipment, beer pumps for a complete dispense solution.

Contact sales to learn more.

The base model comes with four (4) fermenters.  This means you can make four (4) beers at a time, kegged off and start the process all over again. The beer takes 5 – 12 days to ferment / produce, depending on the style being brewed. Brian Watson has created High Gravity Wort streams that allows venues to create virtually every style or type of craft beer.

Installation is a cinch, taking a maximum of four days and is scheduled to minimize impact on your existing business operations. Where operators are required to place the fermenters in their preferred designated area, SmartBrew takes care of the rest. You will just need water access ( cold and hot ), electrical 220 single phase, air compressor, CO2, and a drain.

Demand is high. You should anticipate  a four-month lead-time from receipt of deposit to installation. 

Yes, they are! Any SmartBrew system can be scaled to incorporate a total of six fermenters on one control unit. We can add these after your original install so you can grow your system as your business demands.  Note that 5bbl fermenters can only be added to 5bbl systems, and  10bbl systems can only be added to 10bbl systems.  We have systems with capacities from 20 to 240 kegs per month.

Yes, you do – we have a 24/7 online help desk!  We’re lucky enough to have offices and brilliant staff in multiple timezones around the world, which means our support ticket system is extremely efficient – 15 mins or less for urgent response.   AND our  software is extremely intuitive and directs the operator through every stage of the brewing process.

A 4x5bbl brewery occupies 150 sq. feet with dimensions of 18 ft x 4 ft and 9 ft high (10 sq. meters with dimensions of 5 m x 2 m x 3 m high). You will need a 10.5-ft ceiling clearance (3.5 m) to open the fermenter hatches. Recommended space for a 4 x 5bbl system is 18′ x 9′.  This allows the necessary room to move around the system. 

YOU operate it, and NO, you DO NOT need brewing experience!  The SmartBrew system is fully automated and we train your local team when we install the system. If you have questions we have an Online Help Desk and can remotely connect to the system and assist you as well.

The SmartBrew is fully automated.  You simply enter in the recipe and follow the intuitive instructions on the screen.   Simply connect the High Gravity Wort containers to the system. Touch screen commands initiate the transfer of High Gravity Wort to the selected tank. Then you will need to add the Yeast  to the tank and the system then adds the local water to make your own craft beer. From this point forward the beer’s condition is monitored by the SmartBrew Control Unit. Ten minutes daily is all you require to test a small sample of beer using the simple gravity test kit supplied. The system can be monitored by any computer, tablet, or smartphone — which will confirm when the beer has completed fermentation. The SmartBrew  system even automatically removes excess yeast from the tank, and carbonates — and most importantly it cleans itself.   

There are operational SmartBrew® systems in United States, Canada, New Zealand, Caribbean and Australia. 

The SmartBrew® system includes: three to six stainless fermenters ( pending your model you purchase ) from which the beer can be fermented, conditioned and served. An automatic Control Unit with touchscreen controls, houses the PLC; automated valves; pumps and instrumentation. A glycol chiller for cooling the fermenters in selected systems.

Yes, these are made to have your BRAND name on them!

It is indeed.  Reach out to us and we’ll gladly connect you with our preferred lenders.  Your costs can be as low as $ 1, 495.00 per month with approved credit.

Natural Brew Inc. has a full-time brewmaster and brewing team, a logistics coordinator, and technical support available as required. Support can be reached via our fully staffed online help-desk. The SmartBrew system can also be monitored remotely via a computer, tablet, or smartphone — which our team can access your system as well. Our business supports you as you make and sell the best beers possible. 

The raw materials used to brew great beer includes High Gravity Wort, yeast, yeast food, and various hop products. We will provide all materials as it relates to your High Gravity Wort needs.  We have preferred vendors for the other items you will need to brew your beer(s) so you can use your local ingredients.

Every region has its own codes governing brewing alcohol. In most cases, you require a local producer’s license and a federal excise license (TTB). These are relatively straightforward to obtain. It is also important to be aware of local, state or provincial regulations affecting the production of liquor. These are your responsibility to obtain such license(s).

You can easily fill growlers, crowlers or cans directly from your tank or in some cases your actual beer taps ( growlers or crowlers only). However, whether or not you can sell packed beer to your patrons to take home will depend on local laws. In many parts of North America, you will only be able to sell packaged beer after obtaining a special license. 

The system is backed by a warranty which is outlined in your sales contract.  The Controller has Two Years; and the Fermenters have five years – terms and conditions are in the sales contract.

Basically one 5BBL  Fermenter Tank will product 10 Kegs ( 1/2 barrel ), and one 10BBL Fermenter will product 20 Kegs ( 1/2 barrel ). So depending your model you purchase you can product 20 to 240 kegs per month.