Pico Model C

I am now on my third batch of beer with the PicoBrew C and loving every part of the process (ok, maybe I’m enjoying the drinking part more than the other parts, but its all fun). The manual is very clear but the videos they have online worked even better for getting me up and running. Setup was very simple and once you explore the different parts that come in the box it all starts to make sense how it works and what the different parts are for. My first session was the Stargazer IPA from Rooftop brewing in Seattle. If anything the process was too simple; I followed the instructions for loading the Pikopak and water and then hit the button to start. The PicoBrew started making noises and humming and told me it would be done in less than 3 hours. I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t really telling me what it was doing. So I wandered off to login online and see what information showed there. What a pleasant surprise! There is a graph of temperatures and a better description of what part of the process the Pico is running through at the time. The process concludes with the beer pumped into a cute little keg ready for fermentation. You let it sit until room temp (24 hours) and then add the yeast. The keg then sits in a warm room for a week or two depending on the recipe to magically generate alcohol. At this point you use the PicoBrew to pump the beer into this cute little 5L dispensing keg and then add sugar. Once the keg has sat for a couple weeks it becomes carbonated and is ready to drink. At this point I ran into my only real challenge… I came home on a Friday and was excited to crack into my first beer. Just before I opened it I though “wait a second; wont it start to go flat once I open it?”. I wasn’t sure I was ready to commit to roughly 13 bottles worth of 7.0 ABV in one weekend. I was able to solve this problem by calling a couple of friends and we were able to power through most of it while I showed them how to brew my next batch. Like I said; lots of fun through the whole process.

The Pico Model C is pretty great. I wanted to give home brewing a shoot but I didn't want to mess around the house with countless buckets and tubes. With the Pico the brewing process is simplified however you still feel like you are brewing your own beer. I just finished my first brew and I was very nervous if I was doing everything correctly so I had a laptop near by and I went though each step. This isn't really necessary since the machine will tell you what to do anyways but being a first timer I didn't even know the basic process. It's pretty cool. You connect the Pico to your WiFi and perform the first rinse. After that all you have to do is add the picopak and water to the pico model c. The machine does everything until the wart is ready. From there you let it cool overnight or 24 hours and after it's cool you add the yeast. This is now the fermentation process, which just means the beer sitting out for 10-15 days (depending on your beer). After this you transfer the beer into a keg and cold crash then carbonate. Once it's carbonated it's ready to consume. My beer (Pico Pils) turn out pretty well being my first brew. I was pretty amazed how easy it was to do and at the end have a quality beer. Whats really cool is you can micobrew from brewery's all over the country. This selection that PicoBrew has is amazing and it's growing daily. I would however recommend for everyone to get Star-San, this simplify the decontamination part of the process for me.

Bought this as a gift for my husband for our anniversary. He is big into craft beer and had been considering making his own. He appreciates the ease of it and the first brew went well and the beer was pretty good, at least according to him. The second brew is fermenting now. Biggest downside we see is a lack of real creativity for making brews that are really your own. They have some options, but they are ultimately pretty minimal. We are hoping they make changes in that direction soon.

First, be aware that the product does NOT come with a brewing pack, so you will have to buy one and wait several days for it to arrive, so plan accordingly. Also, you only get a "get started" instructions, for the manual, you must register on their web site and download it. The product works as advertised, but support is not that good. For a product that is worthless without the company that makes it, that's pretty important. I tried to contact them several times for very minor things, including the replacement of the plastic bucket that came cracked, and it was a struggle. To date I still have not received a response. The online chat is worthless, so save your time. Overall, nice product, but remember that you cannot use it unless the company is in business, so customer service should be paramount, and it is not. I guess I should right an update. After getting the first pack, the brewing process was easy, but while fermenting, I figured I would get a regulator from pico and a five pack of CO2. Tg he first regulator did not work, it would leak CO2. After several days and a back and forth with support, they shipped me another regulator and another five pack. Today I went to rack my second pack, guess what, regulator gauge not working. I have no idea whether it works, leaks, or how much pressure it is putting in the beer. Very frustrating experience, my advice, look at something else.

Can't wait to start brewing my own beer.

What an absolute FAIL this was. The item came very poorly packed. And it was missing - at least - 2 major parts. The picopak, and the lid. The manufacturer offered literally zero way to help or assist, and said : oops, sorry about that. Bust carry the 40lb package back to a post office and promise we'll give you your money back.... Not to mention the other pack, sanatizer and distilled water that I bought already while waiting to receive this.... HUGE FAIL. VERY UNHAPPY