Whirlpool Boils Up The Vessi...
If you haven’t heard, Whirlpool recently introduced a new automated fermenting and dispensing appliance for homebrewers called the “Vessi”. And according to IndieGogo, they’re putting their hand out to the public with a crowdfunding campaign to do it.
Pre-ordering new products via crowdfunding is becoming more popular in recent years. With so many new products being introduced in such a way, who can blame a big company like Whirlpool for jumping on the “free-money bandwagon”. But is the Vessi worth its salt?
What is the Vessi?
The Vessi appliance is basically a hollowed out kegerator with a conical fermenter embedded inside. Excuse me, a “Cylindroconical Tank”. It claims to ferment, carbonate, and dispense beer in an all-in-one system. It also offers a professional bottling system using an attachment purchased separately. The bottling attachment will be the first of its kind for B2C brewing products, mostly due to the fact it auto-injects CO2 into the bottles before filling.
Don’t panic yet my fellow die hards, homebrewers will still have to brew their beer the old fashioned way. But once you pitch your yeast, the Vessi does the rest. It can ferment both lagers and ales with a temperature-control range between 35 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Homebrewers obviously will benefit, for starters the reduction in post-boil labor. It also saves space and requires somewhat less vessels and brewing tools. But most importantly, brewers can now ditch their unwanted and bulky keezers, freezers, and fridges-- Its own best selling point for the brewer’s “significant other”.
Is It A Trend or Fad?
Every year a new crop of innovative brewing products are manufactured and delivered using crowdfunding sources. Whether this is fad or trend remains to be seen, however the introduction of Whirlpool’s Vessi shows us how Homebrewing is advancing to new levels. Perhaps one day, perhaps sooner than later, we’ll see these Whirlpool beer fermenters lined up next to Whirlpool dishwashers as we stroll through the aisles of Sears or BestBuy.
Whirlpool is launching the appliance under the brand “Vessi”, perhaps a hint towards a future line of products. The word “Vessi” is translated in most languages as vessi or vess. The closest to a definition we can find is from two Italian and Catalan translations: convex and spill. Sounds appropriate enough for us. The early bird special price of $1199 has already sold out, which is not too surprising since the MSRP is almost $2000.
If anyone’s interested, they’re still taking orders for the $1399 specially marked price (at the time of this post). At least tonight we can all tip our glasses to Whirlpool for throwing their hat in the ring with the Vessi.