At 10 am the fair hall in Nuremberg is still very quiet; the fair opened for industry professionals only an hour ago. Brumas' stand is located in hall 7. Volker Rothbauer, by trade an alumnus of Weihenstephan, is cheerful. You can't notice any signs of stress, even though a trade fair as big as the Brau is not exactly a walk in the park for the exhibitors. I start asking questions and quickly a discussion is in full swing about a product he developed: the BrauEule.

In 1991 the penny is dropped: an automatic brewing machine for the hobby brewer is to be developed. The standard was and is high: brewing should be "as easy as making a cup of coffee". However, during the development phase it becomes clear to the inventor that "lautering and fermentation cannot be automated that easily". But even without automating these two processes the actual working hours could be reduced down to one hour; a remarkable saving of time comparing to the six hours one would usually spend with the brew. It took 12 years before the first BrauEule saw the light of day.

As it is with most products, also the BrauEule is continuously developed further,
and so it's no surprise that the BrauEule2 is available in the meantime. The key improvements in the second version are the insulation of the wort kettle and of the carry handles. In addition, BrauEule2 has an increased total capacity of 34 litres.

As far as I'm concerned, the BrauEule makes a very solid impression. Also the opinions at Hobbybrauer.de (Germany hobby brewers board) are mostly positive.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to see a BrauEule in action yet. I'm looking forward to brew with the BrauEule soon. Check the Lautering Blog for updates or read us on Twitter / Facebook.