🍺 BrewKegs Instructions

Setup guide for BrewKegs, iSpindel fermentation monitoring, Raspberry Pi KegScales, Live Keg View and pour notifications.

🏠 Home 📰 Release Notes 🌡️ Manage iSpindels ⚖️ Manage KegScales 🍺 Keg Analytics

✨ What's New in BrewKegs v2.1

🍺 Live Keg View

A visual keg graphic shows beer remaining, litres, pints and percentage full.

🍻 Pour Detection

BrewKegs can detect a drop in beer level and record it as a pour.

📧 Pour Emails

Optional email alerts can be sent to the account user when a pour is detected.

⚖️ Empty Weight Memory

Each keg stores its own empty weight so KegScales can calculate beer left accurately.

1. Overview 2. iSpindel setup 3. Starting and transferring brews 4. KegScales setup 5. Empty keg weights 6. Keg Analytics and Live Keg View 7. Pour notifications 8. Time synchronisation 9. Troubleshooting

1. BrewKegs Overview

BrewKegs tracks a beer from fermentation through to the final pint. The normal workflow is:

Start a new brew using Beer Brews.
Monitor fermentation using an iSpindel.
Capture or enter Original Gravity and Final Gravity.
Transfer the finished brew to a keg.
Use KegScales to measure beer remaining by weight.
Use Keg Analytics and Live Keg View to see beer left, pints left and pour history.

2. iSpindel Setup

Go to Manage iSpindels.
Add a new iSpindel device.
Copy the generated receiver details into your iSpindel configuration.
Set the iSpindel send interval, normally 300, 600 or 900 seconds.
Once readings arrive, use Beer Brews to start a new brew.

Smart sync: BrewKegs uses the configured interval to show Awaiting next sync, Delayed or Offline.

3. Starting and Transferring a Brew

Start a Brew

Open Beer Brews.
Select the correct iSpindel.
Press Start New Brew.
Enter brew name, start date, original gravity and recipe details.
Optionally tick Share this brew for the public recipes page.

Transfer to Keg

When fermentation finishes, capture or enter Final Gravity.
Select the keg.
Enter transferred volume and priming sugar if used.
Press Transfer Brew To Selected Keg.

This links the brew to the keg so KegScales can use the correct final gravity when calculating litres remaining.

4. KegScales Raspberry Pi Setup

The Pi local web app is normally available at:

http://kegscales:5000/
http://kegscales.local:5000/
or http://your-pi-ip:5000/

BrewKegs API settings

Setting	Value
Web Address	`http://api.brewkegs.co.uk`
Receiver Path	`kegscale_receiver.php`
Kegs Path	`kegscale_kegs.php`
Token	Your generated KegScales token/code

Enter these on the Raspberry Pi KegScales Setup page.

HX711 wiring

HX711	Raspberry Pi
VCC	3.3V recommended
GND	GND
DT	GPIO 5
SCK	GPIO 6

Safety: Raspberry Pi GPIO pins are 3.3V. Using 3.3V for the HX711 is safer.

5. Empty Keg Weights

Each keg has its own saved empty weight. Once saved, you do not need to zero every time you swap kegs.

Put the empty keg on the KegScales platform.
Open the Pi page.
Select the correct keg.
Press Save current weight as empty keg.

Example: Keg 1 empty = 4.130kg, Keg 2 empty = 4.085kg. BrewKegs remembers each one.

6. Keg Analytics and Live Keg View

Keg Analytics shows:

Beer remaining in litres.
Pints remaining.
Last synced time.
KegScales online/offline state.
Beer level chart for the last 24 hours.
Detected pour history.
Estimated empty date where enough data exists.

The Live Keg View gives a quick visual indication of beer left in the keg.

7. Pour Notifications

BrewKegs can send an email when a pour is detected. The Keg Analytics page shows:

The email address notifications are sent to.
Whether email notifications are enabled.
Whether each pour email was sent successfully.

You can enable or disable pour emails from the Keg Analytics page.

Detection rule: BrewKegs ignores tiny weight noise and very large drops where the keg was probably lifted or changed.

8. Time Synchronisation

BrewKegs stores new API readings in UTC and displays them in the user's configured timezone. For UK users this means winter time and British Summer Time should be handled correctly.

Database storage: UTC.
Website display: user timezone.
Pi display: local Raspberry Pi time.

9. Troubleshooting

Problem	Check
Pi page does not load	Try `http://kegscales:5000/`, `http://kegscales.local:5000/` or the Pi IP address.
Weight is wrong	Re-zero and recalibrate with a known weight near working range.
Beer left is wrong	Check selected keg, empty keg weight, transferred brew and Final Gravity.
No pour emails	Check email notifications are enabled and the account email address is correct.
Device offline	Check Pi power, Wi-Fi and API settings.
Wrong time	Check the latest reading is being saved by the current API receiver and that display pages use timezone conversion.