Knowledge base => Managing your brewery => API and devices

CraftBeerPi3 integration

My CraftBeerPi3 plug-in provides recording of current and target temperatures to the allocated Brewers Chronicle ferment log. It also provides ferment control using the ferment and cold crash schedules in Brewers Chronicle. Link an iSpindel or Tilt digital hydrometer and you can automatically control your ferment based on gravity readings. Manually record gravity readings and you get the same automatic temp control. You can also control your ferments remotely by altering your ferment schedule in the BC website. The next sync between CBPi3 and BC will transmit the new target temperature.

NB: one thing to note is that you will need to have a paid Brewers Chronicle subscription or switch to the personal-free-api subscription to use the API. This is available in the brewery details section.

Note the CBPi fermentor names and temperature devices (highlighted in green rectangles) match up to the Brewers Chronicle asset and device names. The API uses these values to match up readings during synchronisation.

Installation

I am still hoping to get my plug-in added to the standard list so it is simply a click install, but I put my request in last January and have heard nothing, so below are the instructions for installing the plug-in manually.

• Login to your Raspberry Pi
• Open a console and navigate to your Pi plugins directory.
  By default this is /home/pi/craftbeerpi3/modules/plugins
• Paste the below command to use Git to download my plug-in code and install it in your CraftBeerPi installation
  git clone https://github.com/angusgrantBC/cbpi_BrewersChronicle.git BrewersChronicle
• You can then restart the entire Raspberry pi device by selecting the "System" choice from the "Systems" menu. Alternatively you can paste the below statement into the console to simply reboot the CBPi service
  sudo service craftbeerpiboot restart

Set one of your fermentors to automatic. Every 15 minutes the plug-in will report details to Brewers Chronicle. On the first submission a new Brewers Chronicle brewery asset of type fermentor will be created (see first screenshot), and the temperature and target devices attached to this asset. Subsequent readings will be attached to that asset, and once you allocate the asset to a ferment log, readings will be attached to the ferment log.

Once you have installed the plug-in, you will need to go to the "Parameters" page in the "System"section. You will find a new setting "brewerschronicle_api_key". Please click on this and paste in your brewery API key. This will identify readings being submitted in and direct them to your brewery profile inside Brewers Chronicle.

Synchronisation

Every 15 minutes CBPi synchronises with Brewers Chronicle.

• If a ferment log is not allocated the temperature readings are recorded against the devices attached to the brewery asset.
• If a ferment log is allocated,
  • ferment name, target temperature, and latest gravity values are inserted into the matching CBPi fermentor
  • the temperature readings are recorded against the ferment log in Brewers Chronicle

If you have an iSpindel or Tilt digital hydrometer, these devices record gravity readings against the allocated ferment log. If you define a ferment schedule based on gravity readings, the synchronisation process will write the calculated target temperature into the CBPi ferment target temperature.
To display gravity readings inside CBPi3, you will need to create a "BC_GravitySensor" sensor and assign it to sensor 3 on your fermentor.

The plug-in also supports the cold crash schedule feature. You can define a days-based schedule for controlled chilling of your wort once you are happy the ferment has completed and you manually activate the cold-crash schedule.