It may not surprise you to learn that people love beer – and thanks to a lot of rising interest in craft beer across America, beer products are enjoying a very golden renaissance. But no one quite encourages you to make your own beer the way that PicoBrew does with its latest product, the Pico.
This PicoPak is a new idea, and it sounds like a very modular way to brew beer risk-free…assuming, of course, that the Paks themselves are consistently safe to use and produce quality brews without any skunk. Another plus is the price: The Zymatic cost around $2000, but you can get a Pico for only $560 (shipping April next year). Keep in mind the price rises considerably if you need a keg or additional equipment.
PicoBrew Pico uses instant beer packs – best idea ever, or too pricey?
Pick your PicoPak, insert it in the Pico, add water, choose a few basic settings, and start brewing: The only major difference between this and coffee is that it takes a lot longer, around two hours to brew, some time for fermenting in a mini-keg, and then a night of carbonating for the final touch.
PicoBrew has already experimented with home-sized brewery stations in the past with products like Zymatic, but the company decided that it needed a smaller product for those looking to make the jump from enthusiast to amateur brewer, but with little room to spare. Now after an incredibly successful Kickstarter, the company is ready to make its latest product available on the market.
If you’ve dabbled in microbrewing before, you probably know that one of the biggest problems is getting your ingredient both properly prepared and in the right amounts. Freshness is important, but cleanliness is vital, and even a little bacteria can ruin a whole batch of beer. The Pico solves this problem with PicoPaks, which are – quite literally – K-Cups for your brewery station.
The genius of the system is that PicoBrew can create its own Paks to sell, and outsource to breweries that can create PicoPaks for some of their popular brews. So far dozens of craft breweries have chipped in from around the continent, and you can take a look at the latest list on the Kickstarter page. There’s also a referral system available for recommending a brewery (if brewmasters don’t mind being a little loose with their recipes).