based on his personal experience with…
The Pinter
The Pinter is a system for home brewing 10 pints of fresh beer at a time. Essentially, you fill the Pinter [the picture shows my Pinter] with 10 pints of cold water, add the pre-produced Fresh Brew of choice [there are over 20 different ales, lagers and ciders to choose from] and the yeast, close up the unit to store at room temperature for around a week, and then place in your fridge for a further week* and then bingo - you should have 10 pints of drinkable alcohol to share! *each drink has a slightly different time for brewing and conditioning before it is ready to drink.
Disappointment comes in many shapes, sizes and experiences, especially when high expectations have not been realised if you’re a glass-half-full positive person…..
I was super excited when, out of the blue, I received a Pinter and two packs of Fresh Brew as a gift. One of my son-in- law’s friends, Adam, had just purchased one himself and my son-in-law thought it would be a bit of fun for me. The first batch of beer was excellent. Each step of the process is explained in short animated videos that are really simple to follow. For the brewing process, you have to connect a ‘dock’ to the main body, which is then removed before you place the Pinter in the fridge [make sure you’ve got a big fridge] to condition. With the first batch of 10 pints quickly consumed, the second brew that came with my gift was prepared. We noticed straight away that attaching the dock to the Pinter was difficult - it took several attempts before it was correctly locked into place, which was noticeable to the first brew when it connected first time. Whilst the Pinter was doing its magic, I ordered another 2 packs of Fresh Brew from Pinter. It wasn’t exactly rocket science, but it was a bit of fun, as was tying the different brews available. To cut a long story short [excellent Spandau Ballet song from the early 1980s], the second brew of 10 pints was ok, but not as ‘fresh’ as the first brew, and from there onwards, the next three brews were undrinkable. Each time the Pinter was re-used, the dock became harder and harder to attach. In fact, although the dock seemed to be perfectly in place on the fourth brew, when I fetched the Pinter from the under-stairs cupboard, it was now loose from the main unit. I carefully carried the Pinter to the sink and hardly had to turn to remove the dock. This was the result.
This was the time for some customer service action. I contacted Pinter, told them about my experiences, and after a few email exchanges they kindly sent me a new dock and a replacement brew of my choice; I decided the Austrian Von Tap would be a good choice. The new dock arrived and easily connected to the main unit. Hurrah. I waited a couple of weeks to make the Von Tap lager and now the dock was once more difficult to attach correctly. With the dock finally in place, and having followed the instructions to the letter, this time I stowed the brew in my bedroom wardrobe to better ensure the constant temperature. There was no repeat explosion of the dock after brewing, but after the conditioning time had ended [I left it a couple of extra days that should produce an even better brew] the result was a glass of foam that eventually settled into an undrinkable dark liquid instead of the thirst quenching Austrian style lager I had been anticipating.
I did say that you would need a big fridge….
Before the dock had been replaced, I had informed the people at Pinter that I had this gut feeling that something was faulty with my Pinter. Having followed the brewing and conditioning instructions to the letter each time, what else could it be? I updated them with news of my latest failure and now asked for them the replace the Pinter for a new one. Instead, I was asked if I had done a ‘deep cleanse’ on my Pinter before making the last brew? Now if you follow the Pinter’s own instructions, you have to add the purifier to water from the hot tap and agitate the Pinter for 30 SECONDS. They now suggested that I should go above and beyond and cleanse for 10 MINUTES. I replied to say that I usually kept the purifier in the Pinter and Dock for around 5 minutes [I personally didn’t think 30 seconds was enough] but politely asked why this had not been suggested to me at the time a new dock was provided after the previous bad outcomes. I again asked Pinter to replace the unit to restore some faith. Of the 50 pints that I had now made, only 10 were fantastic [the first brew] and 10 were good. The rest were poured down the sink….. THAT IS EXPENSIVE HOME BREW IN MY WORLD, AND A MASSIVELY DISAPPOINTING EXPERIENCE. The last email I received from Pinter informed me that the hardware [the Pinter itself] is not the issue. They gave me two explanations as to why the beer hadn’t fermented properly. 1. The temperature during brewing may not have been high enough, meaning the yeast did not activate 2. The Fresh Press, water and Brewing Yeast may not have mixed thoroughly during brewing Pinter again offered to send me some replacement Fresh Brew. I’ve told them that I don’t see the point. They assured me that their hardware is perfect. My heating bill confirms my belief that our home is sufficiently heated for home brewing - my wife and I are working from home most of the time now, and I’ve followed their instructions to the letter. I feel so disheartened with Pinter that I now want to take a sledgehammer to the unit and ensure that it never fails again. Unfortunately, my sledgehammer was lent to a family member and hasn’t yet been returned. I’ve given up on Pinter, but in writing this blog there are two things that I’ve learnt. 1. During 2021, a new Pinter 2 was launched. This new one is aluminium and has a removable tap that is taken out for cleaning separately to the main unit. My plastic Pinter has no such removable tap, so I’m left wondering if the internal tap is difficult to clean and if impurities are left behind that affect the next brew? That might be why a 10 minute cleanse that is at odds with the 30 second cleanse shown in the video has been recommended? 2. And then I thought about my son-in-law’s friend Adam, and wondered how he was getting on with his? Well, it turns out that he had a very similar experience to me. His first two brews were good. The next two undrinkable. Adam doesn’t use his Pinter anymore.
© 2021 DroitwichNet Limited
Time for a Beerwulf? Before I was gifted the Pinter, I had been considering buying a Beerwulf Sub Keg. You buy 2 litre mini-kegs of beer, pre-chill them in the fridge and then pop one into the BeerWulf and pour yourself a glass of beer, or lager, or cider, or IPA. Like Pinter, there’s a great choice of drinks available too. I was going to tell you that it works out a little more expensive per pint than Pinter, but in my experience of 3 totally undrinkable Pinter brews, that’s not been true for me. Nor do you have to keep it in the fridge taking up all the room my wife wants for food and her Prosecco! And once you’ve cracked open your Austrian Lager [Zipfer in my case with my first order] it will keep fresh for up to 17 days, not that 2l of thirst-quenching Austrian lager is going to last 17 days. I’ve also got some Amstel, Moretti, and Pelforth Blond [from Lille] as part of my first order waiting to be untapped. And another little benefit of the BeerWulf system, is that you don’t have to bring the unit to the edge of the work- surface to pour a drink as the tap is high enough to get a glass under. It looks great in our kitchen, and the wife has the room back in her fridge.
https://www.beerwulf.com/
Time for a Beerwulf?
I fully understand - and had bought into - the sustainability advantages of using the Pinter system, but if the outcome is unreliable, that’s an argument that’s difficult to sustain. You only have to look at the reviews on TrustPilot for Pinter to know that mine and Adam’s experiences are from being part of a minority of 2! Here’s one of many: https://uk.trustpilot.com/reviews/61c33cb49f60695a25fd4b28 Maybe the new aluminium Pinter 2 has solved the problems that I have experienced. I gave Pinter the opportunity to provide a new Pinter 1 or Pinter 2 to restore some faith. If I were considering Pinter again, which I’m not having now acquired a Beerwulf and a rich assortment of supplies, then I would have to take into consideration the upfront cost of the unit and how many perfect brews of 10 pints I would expect for it to be financially and sustainably viable. Far more than the 1.5 positive outcomes that I experienced from the first five attempts. But then, maybe it’s just my incompetent ability to follow simple instructions?
Duncan’s Customer Experience
© 2021 DroitwichNet Limited Duncan’s Customer Experience
based on his personal experience with…
The Pinter
The Pinter is a system for home brewing 10 pints of fresh beer at a time. Essentially, you fill the Pinter [the picture shows my Pinter] with 10 pints of cold water, add the pre-produced Fresh Brew of choice [there are over 20 different ales, lagers and ciders to choose from] and the yeast, close up the unit to store at room temperature for around a week, and then place in your fridge for a further week* and then bingo - you should have 10 pints of drinkable alcohol to share! *each drink has a slightly different time for brewing and conditioning before it is ready to drink.
Disappointment comes in many shapes, sizes and experiences, especially when high expectations have not been realised if you’re a glass-half-full positive person…..
I was super excited when, out of the blue, I received a Pinter and two packs of Fresh Brew as a gift. One of my son-in-law’s friends, Adam, had just purchased one himself and my son-in-law thought it would be a bit of fun for me. The first batch of beer was excellent. Each step of the process is explained in short animated videos that are really simple to follow. For the brewing process, you have to connect a ‘dock’ to the main body, which is then removed before you place the Pinter in the fridge [make sure you’ve got a big fridge] to condition. With the first batch of 10 pints quickly consumed, the second brew that came with my gift was prepared. We noticed straight away that attaching the dock to the Pinter was difficult - it took several attempts before it was correctly locked into place, which was noticeable to the first brew when it connected first time. Whilst the Pinter was doing its magic, I ordered another 2 packs of Fresh Brew from Pinter. It wasn’t exactly rocket science, but it was a bit of fun, as was tying the different brews available. To cut a long story short [excellent Spandau Ballet song from the early 1980s], the second brew of 10 pints was ok, but not as ‘fresh’ as the first brew, and from there onwards, the next three brews were undrinkable. Each time the Pinter was re- used, the dock became harder and harder to attach. In fact, although the dock seemed to be perfectly in place on the fourth brew, when I fetched the Pinter from the under- stairs cupboard, it was now loose from the main unit. I carefully carried the Pinter to the sink and hardly had to turn to remove the dock. This was the result.
I did say that you would need a big fridge….
This was the time for some customer service action. I contacted Pinter, told them about my experiences, and after a few email exchanges they kindly sent me a new dock and a replacement brew of my choice; I decided the Austrian Von Tap would be a good choice. The new dock arrived and easily connected to the main unit. Hurrah. I waited a couple of weeks to make the Von Tap lager and now the dock was once more difficult to attach correctly. With the dock finally in place, and having followed the instructions to the letter, this time I stowed the brew in my bedroom wardrobe to better ensure the constant temperature. There was no repeat explosion of the dock after brewing, but after the conditioning time had ended [I left it a couple of extra days that should produce an even better brew] the result was a glass of foam that eventually settled into an undrinkable dark liquid instead of the thirst quenching Austrian style lager I had been anticipating.
Before the dock had been replaced, I had informed the people at Pinter that I had this gut feeling that something was faulty with my Pinter. Having followed the brewing and conditioning instructions to the letter each time, what else could it be? I updated them with news of my latest failure and now asked for them the replace the Pinter for a new one. Instead, I was asked if I had done a ‘deep cleanse’ on my Pinter before making the last brew? Now if you follow the Pinter’s own instructions, you have to add the purifier to water from the hot tap and agitate the Pinter for 30 SECONDS. They now suggested that I should go above and beyond and cleanse for 10 MINUTES. I replied to say that I usually kept the purifier in the Pinter and Dock for around 5 minutes [I personally didn’t think 30 seconds was enough] but politely asked why this had not been suggested to me at the time a new dock was provided after the previous bad outcomes. I again asked Pinter to replace the unit to restore some faith. Of the 50 pints that I had now made, only 10 were fantastic [the first brew] and 10 were good. The rest were poured down the sink….. THAT IS EXPENSIVE HOME BREW IN MY WORLD, AND A MASSIVELY DISAPPOINTING EXPERIENCE. The last email I received from Pinter informed me that the hardware [the Pinter itself] is not the issue. They gave me two explanations as to why the beer hadn’t fermented properly. 1. The temperature during brewing may not have been high enough, meaning the yeast did not activate 2. The Fresh Press, water and Brewing Yeast may not have mixed thoroughly during brewing Pinter again offered to send me some replacement Fresh Brew. I’ve told them that I don’t see the point. They assured me that their hardware is perfect. My heating bill confirms my belief that our home is sufficiently heated for home brewing - my wife and I are working from home most of the time now, and I’ve followed their instructions to the letter. I feel so disheartened with Pinter that I now want to take a sledgehammer to the unit and ensure that it never fails again. Unfortunately, my sledgehammer was lent to a family member and hasn’t yet been returned. I’ve given up on Pinter, but in writing this blog there are two things that I’ve learnt. 1. During 2021, a new Pinter 2 was launched. This new one is aluminium and has a removable tap that is taken out for cleaning separately to the main unit. My plastic Pinter has no such removable tap, so I’m left wondering if the internal tap is difficult to clean and if impurities are left behind that affect the next brew? That might be why a 10 minute cleanse that is at odds with the 30 second cleanse shown in the video has been recommended? 2. And then I thought about my son-in-law’s friend Adam, and wondered how he was getting on with his? Well, it turns out that he had a very similar experience to me. His first two brews were good. The next two undrinkable. Adam doesn’t use his Pinter anymore.
Time for a Beerwulf? Before I was gifted the Pinter, I had been considering buying a Beerwulf Sub Keg. You buy 2 litre mini-kegs of beer, pre-chill them in the fridge and then pop one into the BeerWulf and pour yourself a glass of beer, or lager, or cider, or IPA. Like Pinter, there’s a great choice of drinks available too. I was going to tell you that it works out a little more expensive per pint than Pinter, but in my experience of 3 totally undrinkable Pinter brews, that’s not been true for me. Nor do you have to keep it in the fridge taking up all the room my wife wants for food and her Prosecco! And once you’ve cracked open your Austrian Lager [Zipfer in my case with my first order] it will keep fresh for up to 17 days, not that 2l of thirst-quenching Austrian lager is going to last 17 days. I’ve also got some Amstel, Moretti, and Pelforth Blond [from Lille] as part of my first order waiting to be untapped. And another little benefit of the BeerWulf system, is that you don’t have to bring the unit to the edge of the work-surface to pour a drink as the tap is high enough to get a glass under. It looks great in our kitchen, and the wife has the room back in her fridge.
https://www.beerwulf.com/
Time for a Beerwulf?
I fully understand - and had bought into - the sustainability advantages of using the Pinter system, but if the outcome is unreliable, that’s an argument that’s difficult to sustain. You only have to look at the reviews on TrustPilot for Pinter to know that mine and Adam’s experiences are from being part of a minority of 2! Here’s one of many: https://uk.trustpilot.com/reviews/61c33cb4 9f60695a25fd4b28 Maybe the new aluminium Pinter 2 has solved the problems that I have experienced. I gave Pinter the opportunity to provide a new Pinter 1 or Pinter 2 to restore some faith. If I were considering Pinter again, which I’m not having now acquired a Beerwulf and a rich assortment of supplies, then I would have to take into consideration the upfront cost of the unit and how many perfect brews of 10 pints I would expect for it to be financially and sustainably viable. Far more than the 1.5 positive outcomes that I experienced from the first five attempts. But then, maybe it’s just my incompetent ability to follow simple instructions?