Author: Marshall Schott

Whoowee, have we been busy! With so much going on, we’ve been forced to temporarily shift our focus, but not too much. We maintain our commitment to publishing new xBmt results every Monday as well as something a little different ever Thursday. If you’ve been wondering where The Hop Chronicles have been, fear not, we’ve got some going right now and will be getting back to publishing them more regularly very shortly. Today, I wanted to address a few issues that have come up over the last few months, present some new stuff, and beg you to take a short survey.

Survey Time!

Please take 2-3 minutes to complete this brief survey regarding perceptual abilities. The data is anonymous and the results will be made available very soon. It isn’t crazy long like last year’s Modern Homebrewer survey, I promise, there are only 7 questions.

SURVEY NO LONGER ACTIVE – RESULTS COMING SOON!

Update On Vent-Matic Faucet Review

There are times in life when decisions are made with good intentions yet end up resulting in problems. When it comes to product reviews, many are aware of my less-than-conventional approach, basically that I’ll only publish reviews of products I truly believe are great while refusing to publish negative reviews. This isn’t to be sneaky or manipulative, though I understand it’s a philosophy that some view as slanted in some way. I’m okay with. I don’t see the point in talking shit and would prefer to invest my energy in being positive, both in brewing and in life. Unfortunately, things don’t always go as planned…

In October of last year, I published a review for Vent-Matic faucets. As is the case with every product review we do on Brülosophy, I didn’t just accept the product in exchange for promotion, but spent quite a bit of time going back-and-forth with the owner, investigating the company, and going over other users’ reviews. After a 2 hour phone call, I agreed to try the faucets out and thought they were truly amazing, a sentiment I continue to feel today. The review, well, it sort of blew up, which neither Vent-Matic nor I expected. Within hours, they had depleted nearly all of their stock. I was stoked for them and for all the customers who I trusted would be receiving badass faucets. Some did, but sadly, many didn’t.

Over the following couple of months after publishing the review, I began to field complaints from people who received faucets of obviously lesser quality than what I got, folks who reported negative interactions with Vent-Matic customer service, and a few who simply never received the product they paid for. I personally reached out to Vent-Matic and was assured the problems with quality were being worked out, that they were seeking a new American manufacturer to make the quality product I reviewed, and that they would soon be able to keep up with demand. Things seemed to quiet down a bit, just a few trickling complaints, then suddenly over the last few weeks, an uptick. People reporting similar problems as before. Again, I emailed Vent-Matic, only this time I received no response, so I emailed them again 2 weeks later, this time explaining I would be forced to publicly address the issue for integrity’s sake if I didn’t hear back from them within a reasonable amount of time. That was nearly 2 weeks ago. So, this is me addressing the issue publicly.

I cannot comfortably recommend purchasing Vent-Matic faucets at this time. Despite my wonderful experience with their product, the unpredictable quality and lack of communication has brought me to this point. Plus, their website appears to have gone down anyway. A commenter on the review article recently mentioned hearing back from the folks at Vent-Matic who said they were working on the website as well as a new faucet style, one Brad had told me about last year. While I’ve yet to hear anything of this sort, I truly hope it’s accurate and look forward to seeing Vent-Matic come back strong so that others can experience the great quality pours I have been.

Until then, if you’re in the market for quality faucets, I would recommend Perlick 630SS, which I’ve used on a couple recent builds. They work great and sell for $39.99 at both MoreBeer and Adventures In Homebrewing.

I apologize for any issues anyone experienced as a result of my review. It will remain on the site with a disclaimer, which will be removed once I’ve regained confidence in Vent-Matic.

What The Hell Is That?!

Not many, but a few people have asked about the recent introduction of ads on the site. Yep, I went there, kinda had to given the costs of running this gig. I know some people view this as the epitome of evil, a sure sign I’ve sold out, which I can sort of relate with. I love doing this, more than I ever imagined, but I honestly had no clue how expensive it would get. So, oh well. If you abhor ads, download a blocker; if you appreciate what we’re doing and want to support our cause, consider allowing the ads on this site. It’s not much, but every little bit helps us bring you the content we do. If you see something other than words below this line, your support is very much appreciated! If not, cheers, we love you all the same 🙂

UPDATE: I’ve received quite a few recommendations to start a Patreon account, primarily from those who want to support Brülosophy while avoiding ads. I went ahead and setup an account with a few different reward levels, for those who are interested. Thank you!

Brülosophy T-Shirt, The Motto is Silent

We just launched an adapted version of the standard Brülosophy t-shirt on Teespring that does not have the motto. The idea for this comes from my wife who not only doesn’t drink beer, but spends a decent portion of her time in situations less conducive to overtly beer related attire, yet wants to wear a shirt. Available in 9 colors, be sure to select the one you prefer. Check it out!

Rad Contest Starting Soon!!

Over the last week, I’ve been working with a few of our sponsors who offer some of the most badass brewing equipment out there. We’ve decided to run a contest on the Brülosophy Facebook page where not just 1, but 3 very lucky people are going to win truly incredible prize packages. Entering couldn’t be any easier, all you have to do is help us get the word out about the contest by liking and sharing the post with others. That’s it. At the end of the contest, 3 (maybe more) winners will be chosen at random. I’ll be revealing all of the details when the contest is announced, so if you like the rad gear you’ve seen featured in so many of our articles, I strongly encourage you to go follow Brülosophy on Facebook right now so you don’t miss this killer opportunity!

Let’s Hang Out

If you haven’t already, go register for HomebrewCon 2016 right now. My excitement for this awesome meeting of the brewing minds grows with every passing day, I can’t wait for all the beer tasting, people meeting, crop dusting, karaoke singing (if we’re lucky), and seminar attending! And I mean it, if you’re going, I’d love to meet you. If you’re wearing a Brülosophy shirt, I’ll even give you a hug… ehh, I’ll hug you anyway. Cheers!

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| Good Deals |

10% Off Chapman Equipment ThermoBarrels using code: THINKBEERDRINKBEER03

Brand New 5 gallon ball lock kegs discounted to $75 at Adventures in Homebrewing

ThermoWorks Super-Fast Pocket Thermometer On Sale for $19 – $10 discount

Sale and Clearance Items at MoreBeer.com

If you enjoy this stuff and feel compelled to support Brulosophy.com, please check out the Support Us page for details on how you can very easily do so. Thanks!

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