The battle between craft beer and "big beer" has a new development. The Pico is the newest offering by successful Kickstarter PicoBrew and it promises to be the "Keurig of craft beer."
PicoBrew gained success with their first machine, the Zymatic. Its complex usage and steep price, however, limited its use to professional home brewers, Forbes noted. The Pico hopes to address these issues.
For instance, going on the Kickstarter page will show that the Pico can be yours for only $500. When it hits retail shops the price will be double that amount. It is also much simpler to use and takes up less space as well.
The Pico works with what are known as PicoPaks. These are prepackaged boxes of grain and hops that are simply inserted into the machine. Engadget reported that a scanner inside the Pico reads the barcode and downloads the recipe from the PicoBrew database.
ABV (alcohol by volume) and bitterness are also tweaked with the turn of a dial. This process, however, hides the inherent difficulty of doing just that. Adjusting ABV and bitterness involves changing the timing of hops addition, boil time, and mash temperatures.
Additionally, these PicoPaks are what set the Pico apart. Right now, there are over 100 choices including Rogue, Dogfish Head, and Elysian, Wall Street Journal reported. This opens up a whole new market for craft beers as royalties will be paid per PicoPak used by customers.
The PicoBrew Development Program is also a new feature that the company will be offering. Your own recipes can be part of the roster of brews if approved by the Beer Judge Certification Program. Once approved, your recipes will also be offered in their own PicoPaks.
The Pico is very much like a 3D printer for beer. The process is incredibly simple and takes out the pain of old school methods involving metal vats and inconsistent beer.
Are you an amateur brewer? Share this article and get your friends involved too!
