Pico Craft Beer Brewing Home Appliance

Product Description

Features

• Pico delivers consistent, brew master quality beer every time
• Brew your favorite beers from award winning craft breweries around the world
• Choose from hundreds of different PicoPaks across all craft beer styles
• Make perfect craft beer every time with the push of a button
• Tune any PicoPak more to your liking, or create a freestyle PicoPak for a fully custom brew

Top Reviews

Solid machinery and technology in a small package, but I have some reservations. EDITED
by floydslip (4 out of 5 stars)
March 31, 2017

So, here is the short review of the Pico, which I will follow up with more detail: it makes good beer. If you're interested in making quality beer simply without a large footprint, this machine serves that purpose.

Also, in an age where customer service is essentially dead, Pico comes with some of the best support I have encountered from any company. Using their "Contact Us" form on the web site, I engaged Pico on three separate occasions during my first brew process and got responses in minutes for each inquiry--not hours, not days, but minutes. And my issues were resolved every time. This included email exchanges that required a half dozen responses, each of which came promptly with courteous, helpful replies.

All of that is the good news. Now here's the bad.

I have been home brewing for years. I tried this machine solely for the convenience. I know that if I order ingredients from an online retailer I trust (there are a number of them) on a Wednesday, I will be preparing a yeast starter on Friday and brewing on Saturday because their shipments arrive on time-in 2 days. The first time I ordered a Pico Pack through Pico's Brewing Marketplace, I ordered on a Tuesday with the hope of brewing the upcoming weekend. On Friday, my shipment was still in pending status. I contacted support and got the following response: "We just started to offer [this beer] a few days ago and they are a little bit backlogged. The first packs of it will be getting made within the next 5 days or so I have been told. It will not be ready for you to brew this weekend unfortunately, I am sorry for the inconvenience!"

Nowhere on Pico's site did it state that there was a backlog. If it did, I would have ordered something else. In fact, nowhere did it state what packs were in stock or how long anything takes to ship. So now when I order ingredients from Pico, really the only place I can get ingredients for this machine, their opaque shipping policies are dictating when I brew, not my personal schedule. That's no longer convenient.

In addition, packs cost $20-$30 for essentially 14+ beers, which is competitive with quality craft beers you would buy commercially. However, you must pay $9.95 shipping. Adding 33%-50% on top of the base price makes this no longer cost competitive. To be fair, shipping is waived if you buy two packs at a time. I am passing this information along because I wish I knew about it when I bought the machine.

The Pico is a solid piece of machinery with well-thought-out technology. I am not going to comment on it because reviews are all over the place. What I will comment on is the one piece of equipment that is essentially useless--the serving keg. My advice is to never use it. I regret that I racked my first beer into it before replacing it with something else for all subsequent beers.

The well presented and easy-to-follow instructional video on "Serving" from Pico's site states that you are to use the dispensing bung plug in the serving keg to essentially gravity feed the beer into your glass, introducing oxygen along the way. This means that the shelf life of your beer is ~3 days. In Pico's FAQ is the following: "If you are dispensing with a CO₂ system, either a commercial mini kegerator, or party star tap, or our included CO₂ regulator, and there aren't any leaks in the system, the shelf life could be anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the style."

I contacted support to get instructions on how to use the included CO₂ regulator to dispense my beer under pressure so it would not oxygenate and last longer. While I got a quick response, the solution doesn't really work--there's a reason it's not in their how to videos. Instead of a glass of beer, I got a glass of foam. The regulator and keg setup are not conducive to proper pressure control. I wound up pulling the regulator and replacing with the bung--and drinking the beer within 3 days (and tossing some down the drain).

And I haven't even mentioned how flimsy the keg is and how much of a beast it is to clean such a useless item. Again, ditch the serving keg.

So, while I do not regret purchasing the Pico, in fact I am quite fond of it, serious drawbacks abound. Pico in no way replaces my brew pots, primary and secondary carboys, mash tun, hot liquor tank, Erlenmeyer flask, stir plate, and all the other accoutrements of brewing. It's a pleasant diversion that makes beer as good (or better) than what I would do manually--because it is automated and removes many of the potential difficulties, especially during mashing when timing and temperature control can make the difference between a good beer and a great one.

And it does all this in a compact package that does not take over my entire kitchen. But it doesn't make me a better brewer and has some serious flaws, as I detailed above.

EDIT 4/3/17: As further indication of the incredible support offered by this company, they sent me a free Pico Pack to compensate for the one on back order. In the words of the rep I dealt with: "I'd like to buy you a beer." I still wish their web site would catch up to the incredible support of their people, but they certainly came up with a suitable solution to the one major frustration I had.
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Makes excellent, consistent and tasty beer!
by Mitra Ghayoumi (5 out of 5 stars)
January 5, 2017

Makes excellent, consistent and tasty beer! And it's just damn fun to use. I got it as a gift for my Husband's birthday, He has already brewed two batches of beer with the Pico. It could not have been easier, 10 days from grain to glass! The beers have turned out excellent and he couldn't be happier. If you love beer in general I would recommend the Pico Brew as your next investment. It is easy to use and is ready for you to drink in at least 10 days. Want to entertain family and friends this product would be the perfect addition to any kitchen or home bar.

The clean up is very easy as well :)
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Five Stars
by Amber Green (5 out of 5 stars)
March 20, 2018

Perfect gift for my beer-loving husband!
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Like a Keureg for beer!
by Erinn (5 out of 5 stars)
February 7, 2017

This thing is so cool. Imagine a Kuereg for beer. We have our first batch coming out this weekend and I cannot wait to try it! While going through the initial brew cycle it smelled exactly like the beer it was making so my hopes are pretty high!
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Brew beer like a pro.
by Getinshape (5 out of 5 stars)
December 12, 2016

I've never made beer at home and the ones I tasted that were made by home brewers were barely drinkable. Pico promised ease of use, consistency, and variety. In fact, the variety they offered on their on-line store was almost as good as what I see at my local beer shop. So I ordered this unit thinking I could re-gift it if it didn't work. The setup took about 15 minutes. The brew process was approximately 2 hours. The toughest part was waiting the five days for the beer to ferment (I waited an extra day thinking aging would help flavor). Proper carbonation takes another 36 hours so it really takes one week to brew, ferment, and have it ready for tasting. I gathered the family around last night and we all sampled the beer. The beer tasted great! The accolades from family and friends that this tasted like store bought beer was even better for my ego. Great job PicoBrew! Now I need to order some beer packs to make more beer.
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Best Homebrewing Machine and Support!
by wintwh (5 out of 5 stars)
October 21, 2016

The Pico is not the first time I've brewed beer. I use to do homebrews, but I don't have space now, and I hated all the clean-up. That's why I loved the idea of this product. Other machines like this didn't have all the pieces together that make this such great product.

I've just finished brewing my third batch of beer yesterday, and I'm counting down the days to when I can drink my fresh brew. So far the two batches of beer have tasted great. I'm looking forward to trying a bunch of the new beers in the Brew Market Place.

Only had one little issue when I received the machine. I had a tube in the reservoir that came lose I think from the shipping. When I started the brewing, the water wasn't draining, and the heat wasn't going up. I sent an email late that night and got a quick reply with steps to try to fix the issue. It turned out that an engineer needed to help me the next day and all I needed to do was stick the tubing back into the right hole. They sent me a replacement PicoPak for the bad batch that next day. The support person that helped me the night before followed up with me to make sure I was happy. I've never had customer support take care of me like this. Any questions I've asked get answered very quickly. Support like this is what makes companies successful when they make your satisfaction their number one priority.

I would suggest this product for anyone who wants to homebrew without all the mess. It's almost as easy as using a k-cup in a coffee machine.
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Impressive counter-top brewing with only a few compromises
by D. Parker (4 out of 5 stars)
October 21, 2016

For the past several years I have been brewing 1 to 3 gallon batches of all grain beer in my tiny NYC apartment kitchen. But, with our first child on the way, between equipment space, time, and brew day mess, I had to either give up brewing or find another approach. Last Fall I found the Pico on Kickstarter. The compact automated machine with pre-measured grain packs seemed like a perfect solution.

I have brewed 3 beers so far in my Pico and the process couldn't be easier. Measure some water, connect the ball locks, pop in the grain and hop packs, and hit "start." With no user intervention, after 1.5h to 2.5h (depending on the beer), you have 5L of boiling hot beer ready to cool and ferment in your keg. It is like magic. The beers have turned out excellent and I couldn't be happier.

That doesn't mean the Pico is perfect though.
* If you love to create recipes or find and customize recipes, this is not the machine for you. The Paks are pre-set recipes, but you can adjust the ABV and bitterness. This was the trade off I made. (there will eventually be Freestyle Paks that will be somewhat customizable)
* The pumps in the unit are extremely loud. LOUD. You will not want to be in the same room.
* Cleanup still stinks. Continues to be the worst part of brewing. The cleanup (and pre-brew cleaning) instructions are a bit bare. Also cleaning the trub and krausen out of the keg is not the easiest.
* Breweries (and capacity) are still coming online for the Pico Paks, so there are not a lot of Paks available yet.
* I am not a fan of the included, gravity based serving system. Instead, I invested in a Cannonball Keg, a mini CO2 regulator that can handle 74g cartridges, a Perlick flow control tap, and an adapter to connect the Perlick tap directly to the ball lock. The result is a no compromise, compact keg system.

I should note that my first Pico unit was faulty and I ended up brewing some hoppy water. Picobrew was extremely helpful in fixing the issue. They replaced the unit and Pico Pak in addition to sending an extra Pak as an apology for it taking longer than expected to receive my replacement unit. Every time I have reached out to customer service they have been fantastic.
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Great product. Great beer.
by Tabitha Blankenship (5 out of 5 stars)
October 21, 2016

I love my PICO brewer, but have had a few problems out of the gate. Actually just one, the shuttle pump. The customer service, however, was spectacular to assist. Douglas was knowledgeable and helpful. Even replaced the pico pak that got ruined in the process. Great product overall. Just need to get minimal bugs worked out. Wonderful beer flavors and a great appliance for the not so crafty, like myself!
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If you drink beer you NEED this!!!
by KMK (5 out of 5 stars)
October 21, 2016

I'm an early backer of this project because I really really wanted to brew my own beer and I had zero experience!

I have my own business, and was not willing to take brewing on as a new hobby.

The idea that all of the complicated recipes, the equipment and mess is solved, was beyond my wildest dreams! I love this thing, plus imagine that you can brew in your own home, beers you could not even buy because of distribution, regulations etc.

Personally I think Pico Brew is going to be the next great thing, everyone can do this.

Any brewery in the world can have a PicoPak, sell their beer all over the planet and not give up their "secret" It's a win win.

Another great feature is brewing "seasonals" all year long. I hate finding a beer in the Spring that I can't buy in the Fall.

Like other reviewers have said, it's dead simple. Magical even. Clean up is a snap, (except the fermenting keg) and the spent grains make my chickens super happy as well.

I can't wait for the Brew Market Place to be filled to the brim with way too many beers to choose from!

Because brewers like to talk about beer there is going to be a perfect opportunity to engage with other Pico Brewers sharing tips and tricks.

All this for both experienced brewers and people like me who had never brewed a single bottle.

The Pico Brew leaves room for your own creativity as you can adjust the brew as well as eventually formulate your own Pak.

Nothing comes even close to what Pico Brew offers.

I look forward to many kegs of fresh beer to share with friends and family, long live Pico Brew!!!
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Lack of customer service
by Randy Smith (1 out of 5 stars)
December 28, 2018

Broke on the first batch. Machine shut off with one minute to go during the brew cycle. The machine shuts off on rinse. I contacted Pico Dec. 2. Long story short a month later I'm still trying to get them to e en acknowledge that the Pico made it back to the factory. They don't have a contact number. Everything is via email. The customer service isn't there and the Pepsi t is shoddy. Buyer beware.

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