Great review, glad to have an unbiased take on the system. One aspect this machine takes away from the more conventional pot and cooler ( or any typical handyman brew setup) is the involvement the brewer has with the ingredients and process. No machine can keep the creative side intact if it's totally automated. Cheers to whatever way you choose to brew!
Don't fear the viewers seeing you as a sell out. You've been making videos for a long time. Plenty of people have probably learned quite a bit from you. Thanks for being a good teacher. Cheers.
Great video Dono! Solid honest review. Looking forward to see the progress of these auto brewing systems. It seems like there is still too much sacrifice in quality, such a huge investment and batch cost for this to warrant serious consideration from many. Cheers lads!
Ah the Pico Brew which allows urban hipsters to say they "craftbrew" and make their own beer...though a machine does all the work.They are "hands on" via their I phones etc. I started out many years back with 2 coolers and a boil kettle and then upgraded to a Grainfather and that is the limit to automation I would want. The cost of the Pico Brew system is pretty huge and the cost of buying pre-set kits that are sole sourced makes making beer at home with this system seems very expensive. I buy my malt in bulk as well as my hops.I can bang out an IPA and have total control of it on my Grainfather for about $15 and that is with a HUGE grain bill as well as a lot of hops as well as adjuncts such as corriander seed/bitter lemon peel and also the yeast(which does all of the real work) and end up with far superior beer and double the volume. What really bothers me about the Pico Brew system is the need to be connected to the online platform.The biggest concearn I would have is once the market is saturated enough that the company starts up with fees for online access to the system.Very easily done and those that are dependent on the system would pretty much be held hostage vis-a-vis pay the monthly Pico Brew bill or your system becomes USELESS
As someone who has just started homebrewing on a system very similar to yours, Don, I don't understand the appeal of this product, because it doesn't seem to scale well at all. I have settled on 5 gallon batches with my system, but I could easily do anything between 0.5 and 10 gallons I believe. All the equipment is right here: grain mill, mash tun, boil kettle, water and wort transfer containers and fermenters as well as all the tubing and what not. Almost everything in my setup is made from off the shelf components, so I can easily replace things. It's also designed to be modular, so if I want to upgrade my kettle, I wouldn't have to worry about a new mashtun at the same time. What I'm trying to say is: I have control and I put a lot of thought into designing my cheap-ass system that way. And from the research I did most homebrewers seem to do it in similar ways with good results. This device seems to allow more control with all of its sensors and graphs, but it mostly is just a black box and magic things happen on the inside and you only find out later on that a good portion of your grain didn't even get a drop of water on it. What if I want to do a kettle sour? (just did my first) What if I want to make a pumpkin ale with real pumpkin and spices in the boil? (soon) Did this device come with a tool to measure gravity? Does it work if there is not internet connection? If I knew someone right now on a really tight budget or who didn't have much space or just didn't know yet whether he or she wanted to commit to this hobby hard I'd recommend 2.5 gal BIAB with no-chill and buying pre-milled grains for a while. Next to no special equipment needed on the hot side, only fermenters and racking cane. But that approach can be expanded on so easily. Good video, Don. Nice to see you got the whole crew for the tasting bit, I hope to see them again for the stout!
Great comments. I agree and this type of system is definitely not designed with people like you or me in mind. It is extremely limited, not only as to how you can use it, what you can make, but also how much you can produce at once. It's a curious idea though and I'm giving it a try.
Thanks for this Don O! I always wondered what these gadgets produced quality wise in the eyes of a real, actual, homebrewer. I think the craziest thing was the dry grain after the mash. "Wasted potential." As Dawson would say. Doesn't seem like these things are worth the money. If someone wants to have good homebrew just do it the normal way or maybe BIAB. It's worth the little extra effort.
Yes it is kind of loud. I thought about that when editing the clips together like, "if they have the volume set for me talking and then it goes into the next clip, they're going to get blasted" but whaddyagonna do?
Thanks Don. I was just slightly concerned with the amount of time you had the keg open with the wort exposed as well as the finished beer. There is the possibility that may have contributed to the butterscotch flavor. The one fella to your left mentioned oxidized. He may have hit it on the head.
I understand that it is designed for almost hands-free operation but could you have opened the mash container and given it a stir throughout the mash steps? That might give you a few more gravity points, at least. Also, did you get the same uneven lauter with the stout?
Thanks Don- Somehow I see this needing to be scaled up to almost dishwasher size to be useful. But it would be fun if the had a kit to use it to pilot test recipes. Cheers, K
My main concern is I don't know how the boil is happening, so even in a test situation, is it actually testing the ingredients in a full or proper way? Not sure how efficient it is at mashing, either. Interesting idea though. I'll see how the stout turns out.
I have a dish washer that makes that much noise. And I hate it, but if it made beer I might like it better. You have made another good video. I am looking forward to the stout review. Maybe make one of your signature brews vs one you could make at there site and do a side by side comparison. Great UA-cam channel.. Mike
Thanks for the review DonO! Pico is certainly advertising aggressively and I was wondering if they would reach out to you or Chip to check out one of their models. You said it was easier to brew than a standard batch, but was is satisfying? It kinda seems like the TV dinner of beers to me. Place prepackaged ingredients into a machine, wait and consume. Does it feel like that?
I don't think people like me are the target market for this. It still takes a "block" of time even if you aren't doing stuff the entire block. Even if I was not doing all grain, I'd rather do an extract batch in 3 hours than make a batch of this. I'm not exactly sure who is the ideal audience for this product. I mostly was curious to try it for myself and see if I could get a good result.
Not sure, but in my 3rd and probably final Pico review to be posted shortly we drink the "best" beer yet that pretty much tastes like a traditionally homebrewed beer. The 3 of us were pleasantly surprised. As for the how's, I just don't have enough information.
Would you ever do this Through the PBN, you can create your own beer recipes, then publish them as PicoPaks: pre-packaged boxes of all the shelf-stable ingredients a consumer needs to brew your beer at home. Ingredients come in biodegradable containers for sustainable disposal. Just send your recipe to PicoBrew, and we build your PicoPaks on demand in our production facility in Renton, Washington, according to your exacting specifications. This lets buyers taste the freshest beer possible, exactly the the way it was intended.
I would suggest some off flavors could be attributed to the lack of an "open boil", and also, possibly the lack of sufficient levels of O2 in the wort, and especially, usage of a dry yeast strain. Also, what was the fermentation temp?
Here’s my dilemma and I would love advice from an experienced brewer. I want to get into brewing as a big IPA drinker but I don’t know if I’ll actually stick with it or if will be a short lived adventure. I don’t want to use propane like diy brew kits and love products like the Grainmaster for its all in one simplicity however they’re also very expensive. Would the PicoBrew be a good way to get my feet wet and try home brewing?
I would say no because as you see in this video, I don't think the Pico system does a great job with hoppy beers. If you were concerned about trying brewing w/o getting a lot of expensive or involved equipment, I'd suggest looking into 1-2 gallon batches. People do a lot more small scale brewing these days than they did when I started. I just think it's good to actually learn how to brew instead of putting in a kit and pressing a few buttons, but that's just my opinion. You could easily brew 1-2 gallon batches of either extract or probably all grain right in your kitchen. Best of luck.
Great video! Off-vid question: what do you pay for a bottle of fresh squeezed? Trying to figure out how much the smaller breweries are getting raked over for customs to Canada. $4/bottle in Winnipeg. $7/can for Surly's Todd the Axeman and their Abrasive DIPA.
I can get a 6 pack of Deschutes Fresh Squeezed for $10. That's a common price for that kind of beer. Other breweries can sometimes be cheaper if they are maybe more local or a larger producer (Sierra Nevada for example). So for us to pay $25 for 2 six packs of this Pico beer is not cost effective at all. If it were better in some way than the original, one might do it. Abrasive goes for around $16 for a 4pk of cans I think. Todd is around that or maybe $1-2 more.
Yes I have two more videos you can watch if interested. The 2nd one is a strong stout and it was better than this one. The 3rd one was the best yet and I used my own liquid yeast that I had on hand. As for the flavor that I did not like in this beer, I'm not sure exactly. I think we speculated it was either for overpitching a dried yeast, or possibly something with the way the machine does the mash and boil. But the other two batches definitely came out better than this first one.
Well, sure but if your name and address are in the phone book anyone can look you up. Like I said, that is an optional component that I figured I would agree to. It would only be intrusive if people started showing up at your door. :) And maybe they'd bring beer.
Good video.. I like watching you guys. Have you ever thought of doing a brew with the grainfather and maybe what are your thoughts on the grainfather been thinking about looking at it
I learned to brew all grain in a blue cooler watching your videos, reading D Conn’s website (which you referred me to), and BrewingTv. Now you (and Denny) have gone automated. hmmmm. Not sure what to think.
Hell no Dwain. I was only testing this equipment. Check my recent videos and watch more to come. I'm brewing the way I always have. Honestly, I don't even see myself using this Pico unit ever again. Cheers.
Not other than using my natural temps to keep it fermenting at 68 or below. I could probably add a caption to that effect somehow. People commented on possible fermentation problems but... I mean, there weren't any.
Did you pitch the whole pack of yeast like they say to do in the instructions? Other people commented on weird flavors that went away when they used less yeast.
I had that thought too. It's way too much yeast. But yes for this beer I did pitch the whole pack. For the stout, which was a bigger beer, I maybe pitched about 80% of it. That's an interesting idea you bring up though. I even considered using part of a liquid yeast starter if I had one going for a regular batch, for example.
I'm not sure if it's diacetyl in this case, but we are starting to think that over pitching yeast, in this case, could be responsible for some of the unenjoyable flavor.
The age of the hops could be a problem later when sales slow down, too. The kit is going to be the main problem imo. Being able to control your ingredients would make it a little more appealing
Sure. Their Zymatic model allows you to use all your own ingredients and that would be closer to something I would like. Still, not sure about how it does the boil though, and I wonder if that is to blame for some of the bad flavor.
donosborn I️ was considering the zymatic because of its ease of use and it’s hard to take time away from my family on days off for a brew day. I️ felt like it would be the solution, but I’m with you and the “boil” concerns. I️ can get a nice system for the same price...
You can get a LOT of equipment for the price of a Pico Pro or C. All about what a person wants to put into the process and end up with as a result. Cheers.
The zymatic is something that does interest me but at like $800 nowhere near $2000. It does do a full boil inside of the keg, that attaches to it, that's how it does it. Its a great all in one solution. And for me what appeals is the size its better than having a entire closet taken over with pots grains and stuff.
PilsPlease I️ would probably have the zymatic at 800$. The covered boil bugs me about it though. I️ might just get one of those one pot electric systems, my 3 tier/one pump system does great, I️ just wish I️ could make the same quality beer with a set it and forget it machine.
Great video as always. It's hard to ever get a solid reading from one brew. I doubt every Pico pack and brew has your (diacetyl heavy?) result. The things you can reliably review are the price/convenience comparison to regular brewing and the variety/flexibility available for the system. From what I've seen it's way WAY off the price and convenience curve for someone who has any level of experience with BIAB or other basic equipment homebrewing methods. The low volume brewing and being tied to a supplier seem to put it into a particular consumer niche for people who are genuinely clueless (and I'm not criticising people for being there, we all were) about brewing and who have some loose money.
I agree. The target audience for this is a unique group of people, most of whom are probably not regularly watching my channel or other similar homebrewing vids. And yet, look at all the people in my area who have these systems and who were using them right at that moment. That was kind of a revealing moment. So they are definitely selling these things, and recruiting people like me to test and review them. But yeah, not for the full-on homebrewing, I don't think.
I don't know if anyone else has commented because I haven't gone through the comments but how long has the grain been milled in that pack maybe the grain was old?
That is a point that we can not know. But I'm pretty sure the flavors I was getting were not due to grain that was crushed too long ago. I would guess that the grain would not be older than maybe like a month, give or take. And that should still be ok.
I’m not for sure on the price but you can buy some really good brewing equipment for half the price, plus homebrewing is way cheaper than their recipe kits.
Yes, on the equipment and the ingredients. But, this is a product that's out there that some people are curious about. They offered for me to give it a try and I said yes and that is my result. :) Hopefully the stout is better.
I think the system if it was a good deal cheaper would be worth it, sometimes I just don't have time to break out all my all grain stuff and spend 6 hours or more brewing a batch of beer. Then bottling it. It would be nice to have a picobrew for just those cases when I need a beer really short notice
Maybe, but it still takes around 3 hours on brew day. Then you still have to ferment for a week or so, and then package. Finally, you're only getting about a 12 pk, so even then it hardly seems worth the $. Still, a lot of people like it and I wanted to see what came out of it. I'll test the stout in a couple weeks.
Well for me its worth it because it produces enough beer that the beers worth more than what the cartridges cost, and frankly it is faster because I don't need to be present I can use the website to track it while I'm away going to the store or doing other stuff. Saves me from having to be 100% present because I hate being on my feet as much as I am during brew days for hours on end and the huge mess at the end. Its just worth it solely in the fact that while I like my own beers I do want to be able to make one that's way less stressfull every once in a while. Ive got a Belgian going right now that's been pretty stressfull to brew if I'm honest.
Fermenting inside a keg: terrible idea. Other tham that, I do 1 gallon batches sometimes at home with a simple 7lt kettle and a bag (all grain biab) in about 3h and its very easy. Not sure what's the advantage of this system to be honest...
I'd love to start using one of these systems just to simplify things and get more consistent results that are easier to tweak if needed. People who think home brewing has to be done in a more old school, harder to repeat results, time consuming fashion would be quite upset though if they had to use brewing techniques and processes of 14th Century Monks. "What's that, you use a fancy electric or gas heating element to boil instead of a wood fire, and a wort chiller pump instead of letting everything cool overnight?...You use an electronic grain mill instead of a wind powered gristmill?...A digital thermometer?! Blasphemy! That's not real brewing!" Get outta here with your fancy modern city water, glass carboy's, refrigerators and plastic buckets! Home Brewing beer snobs lol
That's a good point. The "hard" way today is comparatively easy when thinking of historic brewing methods. In my 3 Pico reviews I basically concluded that this type of brewing isn't for me but who am I to say that someone else might prefer it? People can brew however they like and get satisfaction from. cheers.
I definitely don’t brew beer to have the easiest time. It’s fun because it’s hand on and gives you a ton of control. The difficulty and mistakes are part of the fun, especially with all grain beer. Good video
You could buy a very nice home brewing setup for the cost of a picobrew, or a @$*@ ton of commercial beer. I dont see where it fits except for lazy people with money who want to pretend that they brew. Doesnt make good beer, and takes up just as much, if not more space than a basic homebrew setup would.
I find it to be quite pointless. You might as well have a machine that when you press a button goes to Amazon and order a case of beer. Then at least you wouldn't have the cleaning and you would get better beer, more beer, faster and for a lower cost.
All that effort for what amounts to just over a pitcher of beer. What a waste of time. If you use Pico, you're not interested in brewing beer. You're interested in waiting for beer.
I think most people watching my channel regularly are not the target audience for this kind of thing. I would rather invest a couple more hours and get 5 gallons of delicious all grain beer myself. Cheers.
Totally agreed. Thanks for replying to my comment! You're one of my home brew heroes! I've learned a lot from you. Thank you for everything you've shared over the years.
That is a question that we did not go into, but it is a good one: would someone using a PicoBrew system otherwise be interested in brewing 5 gallon batches in more traditional ways? Hard to say. I suppose there are some who would not. I suppose some people might even graduate to that kind of brewing after getting their feet wet with this (or like those Mr. Beer kits that got some people into traditional brewing). My main take away is, it's an option. It doesn't mean one has to do it or like it, but it's an option for some people.
This is a great video, DonO. Well presented, honest and sharp on the documenting and modification to your own process to give it a fair shake.
Thanks man. That means a lot. Glad it comes off that way. Thanks for getting in on the tasting.
@Marcel Samir You guessed correctly: no one cares.
Great review, glad to have an unbiased take on the system. One aspect this machine takes away from the more conventional pot and cooler ( or any typical handyman brew setup) is the involvement the brewer has with the ingredients and process. No machine can keep the creative side intact if it's totally automated. Cheers to whatever way you choose to brew!
Don't fear the viewers seeing you as a sell out. You've been making videos for a long time. Plenty of people have probably learned quite a bit from you. Thanks for being a good teacher.
Cheers.
Good honest review...I enjoy the process of mashing and boiling so much I dont think I would ever want to brew this way but to each his/her own!
I tend to feel the same way. It's probably not the kind of system many of us want to use but it's an interesting idea.
Great video Dono! Solid honest review. Looking forward to see the progress of these auto brewing systems.
It seems like there is still too much sacrifice in quality, such a huge investment and batch cost for this to warrant serious consideration from many.
Cheers lads!
Ah the Pico Brew which allows urban hipsters to say they "craftbrew" and make their own beer...though a machine does all the work.They are "hands on" via their I phones etc.
I started out many years back with 2 coolers and a boil kettle and then upgraded to a Grainfather and that is the limit to automation I would want.
The cost of the Pico Brew system is pretty huge and the cost of buying pre-set kits that are sole sourced makes making beer at home with this system seems very expensive.
I buy my malt in bulk as well as my hops.I can bang out an IPA and have total control of it on my Grainfather for about $15 and that is with a HUGE grain bill as well as a lot of hops as well as adjuncts such as corriander seed/bitter lemon peel and also the yeast(which does all of the real work) and end up with far superior beer and double the volume.
What really bothers me about the Pico Brew system is the need to be connected to the online platform.The biggest concearn I would have is once the market is saturated enough that the company starts up with fees for online access to the system.Very easily done and those that are dependent on the system would pretty much be held hostage vis-a-vis pay the monthly Pico Brew bill or your system becomes USELESS
As someone who has just started homebrewing on a system very similar to yours, Don, I don't understand the appeal of this product, because it doesn't seem to scale well at all. I have settled on 5 gallon batches with my system, but I could easily do anything between 0.5 and 10 gallons I believe. All the equipment is right here: grain mill, mash tun, boil kettle, water and wort transfer containers and fermenters as well as all the tubing and what not. Almost everything in my setup is made from off the shelf components, so I can easily replace things. It's also designed to be modular, so if I want to upgrade my kettle, I wouldn't have to worry about a new mashtun at the same time. What I'm trying to say is: I have control and I put a lot of thought into designing my cheap-ass system that way. And from the research I did most homebrewers seem to do it in similar ways with good results.
This device seems to allow more control with all of its sensors and graphs, but it mostly is just a black box and magic things happen on the inside and you only find out later on that a good portion of your grain didn't even get a drop of water on it.
What if I want to do a kettle sour? (just did my first) What if I want to make a pumpkin ale with real pumpkin and spices in the boil? (soon)
Did this device come with a tool to measure gravity? Does it work if there is not internet connection?
If I knew someone right now on a really tight budget or who didn't have much space or just didn't know yet whether he or she wanted to commit to this hobby hard I'd recommend 2.5 gal BIAB with no-chill and buying pre-milled grains for a while. Next to no special equipment needed on the hot side, only fermenters and racking cane. But that approach can be expanded on so easily.
Good video, Don. Nice to see you got the whole crew for the tasting bit, I hope to see them again for the stout!
Great comments. I agree and this type of system is definitely not designed with people like you or me in mind. It is extremely limited, not only as to how you can use it, what you can make, but also how much you can produce at once. It's a curious idea though and I'm giving it a try.
Thanks for this Don O! I always wondered what these gadgets produced quality wise in the eyes of a real, actual, homebrewer. I think the craziest thing was the dry grain after the mash. "Wasted potential." As Dawson would say. Doesn't seem like these things are worth the money. If someone wants to have good homebrew just do it the normal way or maybe BIAB. It's worth the little extra effort.
That is surprisingly loud! Jet engine brewing ahead.
Yes it is kind of loud. I thought about that when editing the clips together like, "if they have the volume set for me talking and then it goes into the next clip, they're going to get blasted" but whaddyagonna do?
ChopAndBrew ... Yup, pretty much a deal breaker right there!
Thanks Don. I was just slightly concerned with the amount of time you had the keg open with the wort exposed as well as the finished beer. There is the possibility that may have contributed to the butterscotch flavor. The one fella to your left mentioned oxidized. He may have hit it on the head.
Butterscotch flavor is typically caused by Diacetyl.
I understand that it is designed for almost hands-free operation but could you have opened the mash container and given it a stir throughout the mash steps? That might give you a few more gravity points, at least. Also, did you get the same uneven lauter with the stout?
Thanks Don- Somehow I see this needing to be scaled up to almost dishwasher size to be useful. But it would be fun if the had a kit to use it to pilot test recipes. Cheers, K
My main concern is I don't know how the boil is happening, so even in a test situation, is it actually testing the ingredients in a full or proper way? Not sure how efficient it is at mashing, either. Interesting idea though. I'll see how the stout turns out.
I have a dish washer that makes that much noise. And I hate it, but if it made beer I might like it better. You have made another good video. I am looking forward to the stout review. Maybe make one of your signature brews vs one you could make at there site and do a side by side comparison. Great UA-cam channel.. Mike
Thanks for the review DonO! Pico is certainly advertising aggressively and I was wondering if they would reach out to you or Chip to check out one of their models.
You said it was easier to brew than a standard batch, but was is satisfying? It kinda seems like the TV dinner of beers to me. Place prepackaged ingredients into a machine, wait and consume. Does it feel like that?
I don't think people like me are the target market for this. It still takes a "block" of time even if you aren't doing stuff the entire block. Even if I was not doing all grain, I'd rather do an extract batch in 3 hours than make a batch of this. I'm not exactly sure who is the ideal audience for this product. I mostly was curious to try it for myself and see if I could get a good result.
Very interesting . . . With an enclosed system like that, and the fact that it doesn't boil the wort, how does it get rid of the DMS precursors?
Not sure, but in my 3rd and probably final Pico review to be posted shortly we drink the "best" beer yet that pretty much tastes like a traditionally homebrewed beer. The 3 of us were pleasantly surprised. As for the how's, I just don't have enough information.
Would you ever do this
Through the PBN, you can create your own beer recipes, then publish them as PicoPaks: pre-packaged boxes of all the shelf-stable ingredients a consumer needs to brew your beer at home. Ingredients come in biodegradable containers for sustainable disposal.
Just send your recipe to PicoBrew, and we build your PicoPaks on demand in our production facility in Renton, Washington, according to your exacting specifications. This lets buyers taste the freshest beer possible, exactly the the way it was intended.
I would suggest some off flavors could be attributed to the lack of an "open boil", and also, possibly the lack of sufficient levels of O2 in the wort, and especially, usage of a dry yeast strain. Also, what was the fermentation temp?
as always, great video don. hope all is well...
Here’s my dilemma and I would love advice from an experienced brewer. I want to get into brewing as a big IPA drinker but I don’t know if I’ll actually stick with it or if will be a short lived adventure. I don’t want to use propane like diy brew kits and love products like the Grainmaster for its all in one simplicity however they’re also very expensive. Would the PicoBrew be a good way to get my feet wet and try home brewing?
I would say no because as you see in this video, I don't think the Pico system does a great job with hoppy beers. If you were concerned about trying brewing w/o getting a lot of expensive or involved equipment, I'd suggest looking into 1-2 gallon batches. People do a lot more small scale brewing these days than they did when I started. I just think it's good to actually learn how to brew instead of putting in a kit and pressing a few buttons, but that's just my opinion. You could easily brew 1-2 gallon batches of either extract or probably all grain right in your kitchen. Best of luck.
Great video!
Off-vid question: what do you pay for a bottle of fresh squeezed? Trying to figure out how much the smaller breweries are getting raked over for customs to Canada. $4/bottle in Winnipeg.
$7/can for Surly's Todd the Axeman and their Abrasive DIPA.
I can get a 6 pack of Deschutes Fresh Squeezed for $10. That's a common price for that kind of beer. Other breweries can sometimes be cheaper if they are maybe more local or a larger producer (Sierra Nevada for example). So for us to pay $25 for 2 six packs of this Pico beer is not cost effective at all. If it were better in some way than the original, one might do it. Abrasive goes for around $16 for a 4pk of cans I think. Todd is around that or maybe $1-2 more.
are you made another Pico Kit beer with this machine again? Did you come up with a reason why it may have had that butterscotch taste?
Yes I have two more videos you can watch if interested. The 2nd one is a strong stout and it was better than this one. The 3rd one was the best yet and I used my own liquid yeast that I had on hand. As for the flavor that I did not like in this beer, I'm not sure exactly. I think we speculated it was either for overpitching a dried yeast, or possibly something with the way the machine does the mash and boil. But the other two batches definitely came out better than this first one.
That map of brewers is kind of intrusive, pretty much points out your house.
Well, sure but if your name and address are in the phone book anyone can look you up. Like I said, that is an optional component that I figured I would agree to. It would only be intrusive if people started showing up at your door. :) And maybe they'd bring beer.
Yeah well if people start showing up at your door with beer, don't say I didn't warn ya!
Ha. You got it man.
U can make it so it doesn’t show ur house address
Good video.. I like watching you guys. Have you ever thought of doing a brew with the grainfather and maybe what are your thoughts on the grainfather been thinking about looking at it
I learned to brew all grain in a blue cooler watching your videos, reading D Conn’s website (which you referred me to), and BrewingTv. Now you (and Denny) have gone automated. hmmmm. Not sure what to think.
Hell no Dwain. I was only testing this equipment. Check my recent videos and watch more to come. I'm brewing the way I always have. Honestly, I don't even see myself using this Pico unit ever again. Cheers.
Maybe I missed it, but did you use any temp control during the fermentation?
Not other than using my natural temps to keep it fermenting at 68 or below. I could probably add a caption to that effect somehow. People commented on possible fermentation problems but... I mean, there weren't any.
Fair enough. I thought being in MN your temps would be great right now. Another great video. Thanks
Did you pitch the whole pack of yeast like they say to do in the instructions? Other people commented on weird flavors that went away when they used less yeast.
I had that thought too. It's way too much yeast. But yes for this beer I did pitch the whole pack. For the stout, which was a bigger beer, I maybe pitched about 80% of it. That's an interesting idea you bring up though. I even considered using part of a liquid yeast starter if I had one going for a regular batch, for example.
Sounds like a good yeast starter and closely monitored fermentation may have made a better version of this beer. Maybe:)
Great for those who enjoy beer, however dislike brewing.
Is the butterscotch coming from the yeast? I have heard of that description being given to lagers which havent had their diacetyl rest long enough.
I'm not sure if it's diacetyl in this case, but we are starting to think that over pitching yeast, in this case, could be responsible for some of the unenjoyable flavor.
Robo Brew says dead or alive your coming with me.
The age of the hops could be a problem later when sales slow down, too. The kit is going to be the main problem imo. Being able to control your ingredients would make it a little more appealing
Sure. Their Zymatic model allows you to use all your own ingredients and that would be closer to something I would like. Still, not sure about how it does the boil though, and I wonder if that is to blame for some of the bad flavor.
donosborn I️ was considering the zymatic because of its ease of use and it’s hard to take time away from my family on days off for a brew day. I️ felt like it would be the solution, but I’m with you and the “boil” concerns. I️ can get a nice system for the same price...
You can get a LOT of equipment for the price of a Pico Pro or C. All about what a person wants to put into the process and end up with as a result. Cheers.
The zymatic is something that does interest me but at like $800 nowhere near $2000. It does do a full boil inside of the keg, that attaches to it, that's how it does it.
Its a great all in one solution. And for me what appeals is the size its better than having a entire closet taken over with pots grains and stuff.
PilsPlease I️ would probably have the zymatic at 800$. The covered boil bugs me about it though. I️ might just get one of those one pot electric systems, my 3 tier/one pump system does great, I️ just wish I️ could make the same quality beer with a set it and forget it machine.
What a sellout!
Just kidding. You're the man. This video is AWESOME.
Love you JC Haywire.
Great video as always. It's hard to ever get a solid reading from one brew. I doubt every Pico pack and brew has your (diacetyl heavy?) result. The things you can reliably review are the price/convenience comparison to regular brewing and the variety/flexibility available for the system. From what I've seen it's way WAY off the price and convenience curve for someone who has any level of experience with BIAB or other basic equipment homebrewing methods. The low volume brewing and being tied to a supplier seem to put it into a particular consumer niche for people who are genuinely clueless (and I'm not criticising people for being there, we all were) about brewing and who have some loose money.
I agree. The target audience for this is a unique group of people, most of whom are probably not regularly watching my channel or other similar homebrewing vids. And yet, look at all the people in my area who have these systems and who were using them right at that moment. That was kind of a revealing moment. So they are definitely selling these things, and recruiting people like me to test and review them. But yeah, not for the full-on homebrewing, I don't think.
Not for me, but good job showing the process and result.
I don't know if anyone else has commented because I haven't gone through the comments but how long has the grain been milled in that pack maybe the grain was old?
That is a point that we can not know. But I'm pretty sure the flavors I was getting were not due to grain that was crushed too long ago. I would guess that the grain would not be older than maybe like a month, give or take. And that should still be ok.
I’m not for sure on the price but you can buy some really good brewing equipment for half the price, plus homebrewing is way cheaper than their recipe kits.
Yes, on the equipment and the ingredients. But, this is a product that's out there that some people are curious about. They offered for me to give it a try and I said yes and that is my result. :) Hopefully the stout is better.
donosborn definitely post a video if you do another. I don’t blame you for trying it if they offered. Free beer is free beer. Cheers!
I think the system if it was a good deal cheaper would be worth it, sometimes I just don't have time to break out all my all grain stuff and spend 6 hours or more brewing a batch of beer. Then bottling it.
It would be nice to have a picobrew for just those cases when I need a beer really short notice
Maybe, but it still takes around 3 hours on brew day. Then you still have to ferment for a week or so, and then package. Finally, you're only getting about a 12 pk, so even then it hardly seems worth the $. Still, a lot of people like it and I wanted to see what came out of it. I'll test the stout in a couple weeks.
Well for me its worth it because it produces enough beer that the beers worth more than what the cartridges cost, and frankly it is faster because I don't need to be present I can use the website to track it while I'm away going to the store or doing other stuff. Saves me from having to be 100% present because I hate being on my feet as much as I am during brew days for hours on end and the huge mess at the end. Its just worth it solely in the fact that while I like my own beers I do want to be able to make one that's way less stressfull every once in a while. Ive got a Belgian going right now that's been pretty stressfull to brew if I'm honest.
How did the stout turn out?
There will be a video but it just got kegged. So far I'm liking it more than the Half Squeezed.
Fermenting inside a keg: terrible idea.
Other tham that, I do 1 gallon batches sometimes at home with a simple 7lt kettle and a bag (all grain biab) in about 3h and its very easy.
Not sure what's the advantage of this system to be honest...
I'd love to start using one of these systems just to simplify things and get more consistent results that are easier to tweak if needed. People who think home brewing has to be done in a more old school, harder to repeat results, time consuming fashion would be quite upset though if they had to use brewing techniques and processes of 14th Century Monks. "What's that, you use a fancy electric or gas heating element to boil instead of a wood fire, and a wort chiller pump instead of letting everything cool overnight?...You use an electronic grain mill instead of a wind powered gristmill?...A digital thermometer?! Blasphemy! That's not real brewing!" Get outta here with your fancy modern city water, glass carboy's, refrigerators and plastic buckets! Home Brewing beer snobs lol
That's a good point. The "hard" way today is comparatively easy when thinking of historic brewing methods. In my 3 Pico reviews I basically concluded that this type of brewing isn't for me but who am I to say that someone else might prefer it? People can brew however they like and get satisfaction from. cheers.
What do they do you kettle finings?
There are no kettle finings that I am aware of. But the Half Squeezed did get very clear.
"musky". That is not an aroma listed on any bjcp guidelines is it? :P
Did someone say that, or was it maybe "musty?" But yes, probably not a fish description (muskie). Ha.
donosborn oh shit, my autocorrect screwed me up! But "musky" would be awesome as an off flavour.
Machine seems to be gaining momentum... but for my broke ass I have to only admire through UA-cam and way afar ... thanks for the video don o
You got it. I would not have bought it myself but figured I could do some testing and videos for them. Cheers.
Nice pico to glass video and other hb opinions
Man homebrewing is cool but I always wished my mash tun connected to my WiFi 😂
I definitely don’t brew beer to have the easiest time. It’s fun because it’s hand on and gives you a ton of control. The difficulty and mistakes are part of the fun, especially with all grain beer. Good video
LOL
Not for me. Thanks for taking one for the team.
You're welcome. I hear you.
You could buy a very nice home brewing setup for the cost of a picobrew, or a @$*@ ton of commercial beer. I dont see where it fits except for lazy people with money who want to pretend that they brew. Doesnt make good beer, and takes up just as much, if not more space than a basic homebrew setup would.
I find it to be quite pointless. You might as well have a machine that when you press a button goes to Amazon and order a case of beer. Then at least you wouldn't have the cleaning and you would get better beer, more beer, faster and for a lower cost.
It's not for everyone. It's not for me either but it was interesting to test. The other two batches I made came out better than this one.
All that effort for what amounts to just over a pitcher of beer. What a waste of time. If you use Pico, you're not interested in brewing beer. You're interested in waiting for beer.
I think most people watching my channel regularly are not the target audience for this kind of thing. I would rather invest a couple more hours and get 5 gallons of delicious all grain beer myself. Cheers.
Totally agreed. Thanks for replying to my comment! You're one of my home brew heroes! I've learned a lot from you. Thank you for everything you've shared over the years.
After watching several respected home brewers review this machine... the overall impression is a sad loss of the hobby of home brewing.
That is a question that we did not go into, but it is a good one: would someone using a PicoBrew system otherwise be interested in brewing 5 gallon batches in more traditional ways? Hard to say. I suppose there are some who would not. I suppose some people might even graduate to that kind of brewing after getting their feet wet with this (or like those Mr. Beer kits that got some people into traditional brewing). My main take away is, it's an option. It doesn't mean one has to do it or like it, but it's an option for some people.