This Machine Lets You Instantly Make Beer Out of Water

Brewers turn water into beer every day, but a more miraculous feat would be to do so within the space of a minute. If you've ever wanted to try that whole homebrewing thing without all the complicated stuff about "hops" and "fermenting," you're in luck: SodaStream is now selling an instant beer machine that will give consumers the (liquid) golden touch.

SodaStream has come out with a special beer concentrate formula called "Blondie," which will fit into their home soda-machine systems and let people make a glass of 4.5 percent ABV beer with what they say has a "smooth authentic taste and a hop-filled aroma."

A lot of people want a Keurig-style beer machine. Last December, one homebrew system called Pico raised $1.4 million on Kickstarter, and SodaStream's stock popped 10 percent when their instant beer was announced.

Anyone familiar with the other insta-brewing platforms out there—we're talking about coffee—knows that quality is often a compromise for convenience. The first to try the Blondie will be a body of discerning customers: The product will go on sale first in Switzerland and Germany, and will roll out in other markets later this year and in early 2017. Surely, the Germans won't be skeptical of a concentrated beer formula produced by a brewery in Italy, right? No word on how instant beer jibes with the Reinheitsgebot (aka the "German Beer Purity Law").

SodaStream is selling a liter of Blondie formula (enough to produce three liters of beer) and two beer glasses for 10 euros, so you can pump out quite a few brews on the cheap. One liter of the beer costs just three euros.

The possibilities that an instant homebrewing machine can offer are somewhat awe-inspiring. Imagine a world where beer runs are a thing of the past, and you can place a funnel directly beneath a magical beer fountain. The future looks bright.