I've been using half. I brew 2 batches and split a liquid yeast pack between them.
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I've been using half. I brew 2 batches and split a liquid yeast pack between them.
Bustergordon
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Thanks!
Here's another dumb question...what cleaning tablets is everyone using for the deep clean cycle? I have used the one that came with the machine, but now I am at a loss as to where to find unscented Finish tablets. Can I use the Zymatic tablets that Pico sells?
Thanks again!
Here's another dumb question...what cleaning tablets is everyone using for the deep clean cycle? I have used the one that came with the machine, but now I am at a loss as to where to find unscented Finish tablets. Can I use the Zymatic tablets that Pico sells?
Thanks again!
Yes, I purchased the zymatic tabs and use those. They seem to work fine, and support said they were for Pico as well. I'll probably use the finish tabs when they run out unless I happen to be buying something else from Pico.
Here is my process, grain of salt added. I do a couple styles. Pico Packs, 3 gallon brew in a bag. and 5 gallon converted to 3 gallon BIAB. For the Pico I do it as instructed. once done I cool quickly and move to a primary fermenter that I can monitor. I do not use the keg as instructed I use a different container for primary and secondary I do not use the 3 piece airlocks, I only use the single "S" I can see when the pressure equalizes, about 14 days I move to secondary, it only takes a few days here. I filter and keg to the serving kegs which I have in a Avanti Kegerator. ask me about mods to the Avanti. but I get a clean low foam pour most of the time. also I use only half the yeast I only use liquid and seal and freeze the 2nd portion till next time. Those that have issues with a bad beer are either more receptive than I or or you are not doing this right. Every brew I have doe with the Pico and my my baby 1 to 3 gallon brews have been very drinkable. Patience is all I can suggest. Let it ferment fully. the docs do not cal for a secondary, but do one.
Use the entire pack of liquid yeast. First, because it had many fewer cells than dry you need to use it all. Also, using only part of it would be a real PITA. Not ot mention that you can't save the other half for use later.
No harm in using it all. But in your situation no harm in using only half.
I agree. I quit using secondary 17 years and 400+ batches ago. Just leave it in primary longer.
7rebun
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Hmm, noticed that Pico is prepping to have another kickstarter on April 3rd. If it is a new even-simpler device, I wonder what fixes they implemented? My main issue is the "serving" keg - and I am sure most agree. I got Jimmy's Cocoa Vanilla Porter finished last week after 12 days and a day of crash, and it actually was too much for the keg (had two bottles on standby which it managed to fill). Did two days of forced carb and pulled the adapter, and while the first night was bliss, the remaining beer on day two and three was flat and increasingly sour. Incidentally a great beer BTW, the best porter I have ever had. I think I will bottle most going forward.
Too early to speculate what the new kickstarter is but the curtain seems to be giving some hints.....
I've said many times most people won't still be using the serving keg if they make it past 10 brews. It's not really a long term solution but a nice included starter option to see if your into brewing. If you are into I would highly advise investing in a kegerator setup or at least buying some "brew" kegs to serve from. Many options better than the serving keg or bottling.
Don't pull the adapter and it won't go flat. If you pull it your gonna have to consume in a couple days. I've never used the serving keg but I think most people carb up slowly at like 12 psi for 5 days then drop it to 3-5 psi for serving and leave it there till keg kicks.
I've said many times most people won't still be using the serving keg if they make it past 10 brews. It's not really a long term solution but a nice included starter option to see if your into brewing. If you are into I would highly advise investing in a kegerator setup or at least buying some "brew" kegs to serve from. Many options better than the serving keg or bottling.
Don't pull the adapter and it won't go flat. If you pull it your gonna have to consume in a couple days. I've never used the serving keg but I think most people carb up slowly at like 12 psi for 5 days then drop it to 3-5 psi for serving and leave it there till keg kicks.
The new device will be their largest yet. Different market - targeted toward small brew pubs. There has been some buzz about it in the trade press.
Well my first Freestyle is kegged and in Kegerator. I had tried to do an OctoberFest as an ale with the limited options Pico had available. I am not sure what I got actually, but it is not bad. has more bitterness than I expected, good head nice pour. the flavor is decent.
Mannhec's FebruaryThing is what I called it.
Mannhec's FebruaryThing is what I called it.
Lbarouf
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According to them, it's the brew keg we always wanted and have asked for....
I'll attempt to guess a keg with built in "tilt" ?
Yup. Fermentation monitoring, fermentation control, wort chilling, yeast dump, some or all of that. I'm excited to see what it is even though I have 5 brew kegs and 2 tilts already.
Lbarouf
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I now regret having purchased the 2 brew kegs + 2 serving kegs packs... I should have only purchased the "brew" kegs, and use them as serving kegs. Even it to be used with those party taps while I budget a real kegaretor.
Lbarouf
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Out of curiosity, and if it's not too nosy... how much would you be willing to pay for such equipment?
Kickstarter campaign 2018... all in one: Automated wort maker + fermenter, something a la Williams Warn.
Lbarouf
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Pico only use UPS , UPS is worst delivery for me ,,,
hope more PicoPak on amazon.com ...
They are far from ideal indeed. I would agree that Amazon would be a good option for me as well.
Support had mentioned they were looking into DHL. Not sure if there's any truth in this, but for what it's worth....
I guess I'd have to see what it is, but considering I have several hundred $s into brew kegs and tilts already, I would probably be willing to spend some more if it was a "must" have. Personally brewing is a hobby I enjoy and don't mind spending on these toys. I'm a sucker.
And i always say my kegerator was the single best investment in my brewing. I would of given up years ago if I was still bottling or using those 5L serving kegs which I did years back. I do think it was pretty cool of them to be included since the Pico target market is beginners, I don't know what other option they would have at this price point. Bottling sucks more. There are all kinds of options with the Pico brew kegs for serving if you can't swing a kegerator yet. A cheap dorm fridge from Craigslist and some party taps would work great. Wait and see what the kickstarter is. Even if there is nothing specific for serving, they will have deals on Pico's and accessories maybe deals on the current brew kegs. During the Pico kickstarter they were selling discounted zymatics.
7rebun
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If this were 5 gallon batches I could see bottling being tedious, but given the Pico only puts out 14~16 I haven't found it that onerous. Since brewing supplies are limited in my corner of the world, I have been using the serving keg to bottle (with sugar tabs) and so far no contamination or off-flavors from contact with O2. Of course knowing all this now, I too would have switched my serving keg bundles to brewing kegs (I only have three). Luckily April is "new year" in Japan, so putting out feelers for job tranferees who were dumping fridges I got the first part of the kegerator for free! The expensive part will be importing the ball-lock plumbing (and some 5gallon cornys) from a US-based brewing supply shop. I can get gas filled at a local shop, but not sure on the specific connectors. I also want to put the pico regulators to use inline to control pressure on a corny by corny basis, so that should require a bit of extra engineering. In the meantime for IPAs in the serving kegs, I will take your advice about keeping the regulator plugged in and carbonating at low PSI over 5 days.
If they still use UPS, i'll not consider
It seems crazy - but if the shipping makes sense I'm probably in too
Has anyone (jrb) tried to collect wash and reuse yeast? It would certainly make the idea of using different liquid yeast strains a lot more palatable.
Could I use the initial trub from racking? Or would it be better to use the leftover at the bottom of the keg after racking? (And if so what's the best way to get it out cleanly)
Has anyone (jrb) tried to collect wash and reuse yeast? It would certainly make the idea of using different liquid yeast strains a lot more palatable.
Could I use the initial trub from racking? Or would it be better to use the leftover at the bottom of the keg after racking? (And if so what's the best way to get it out cleanly)
It seems crazy - but if the shipping makes sense I'm probably in too
Has anyone (jrb) tried to collect wash and reuse yeast? It would certainly make the idea of using different liquid yeast strains a lot more palatable.
Could I use the initial trub from racking? Or would it be better to use the leftover at the bottom of the keg after racking? (And if so what's the best way to get it out cleanly)
I did a few times years back, it works fine but is a bit of work, and I'm pretty lazy. You can definitely save a lot of money doing it. The initial trub at racking won't work, not enough there. You take the yeast cake left in keg after racking and go through a washing procedure. I don't really remember all the steps, but there are a ton of informative threads in this forum and I'm sure videos.
You can also pitch a new brew right on top of the yeast cake, but with the Pico that might not make the most sense since you ferment in the brew keg.
Another possibility is to buy a vial of yeast and make a big starter from it. Then split that big starter into several individual vials and freeze them for future brews. Ive thought about busting out my old beaker and stir plate and doing this, but again I'm lazy and haven't messed with it yet but will one day. I'm still holding out hope Pico will have a liquid yeast option one day, but the more I think about it the logistics seem pretty unlikely, liquid takes special handling and fast shipping on ice packs.
It seems crazy - but if the shipping makes sense I'm probably in too
Has anyone (jrb) tried to collect wash and reuse yeast? It would certainly make the idea of using different liquid yeast strains a lot more palatable.
Could I use the initial trub from racking? Or would it be better to use the leftover at the bottom of the keg after racking? (And if so what's the best way to get it out cleanly)
I save and reuse yeast all the time. It's really easy. After you rack the beer off the yeast in primary, simply pour the yeast and trub into 1 or 2 sanitized containers. Make sure there's enough beer to cover it. No washing or rinsing is necessary. I've tried it and it's a PITA and makes absolutely no difference to quality. If you reuse your yeast slurry within a month, you can just take it out of the fridge and pitch it. If it's much older than that I use a portion of it to make a new starter.
It didn't work out. IIRC, the White packages were not shelf stable.
That's a bummer.
Someone remind me every 3 months or so that brewing, even with the Pico takes time! I had a real mess with the last batch, Stingray IPA, the cartridge ruptured and there was grain everywhere. Had to disassemble the Pico and even the ball lock connectors had hulls in them. But I had the brand new Tilt so I threw it in and fermented. February 24th. Tony walked me thru the cleaning of the Pico. March 1st it's 1.022 and then it dropped a bit more and then March 5th I cold crashed and hopped it.
Well I didn't mark the date but it was just about 48 hours I racked it. Well it looked like chocolate milk! Grain in the trub! I don't see how the filter wasn't clogged. But it wasn't. Stuck in the fridge and force carbed, after about 3 days I checked and it was about the ugliest beer I've ever seen. And it didn't taste good either! But In the meantime stuff happens, I had ewes that need vaccinations, and in a battle of the sheep I ended up with a broken rib, and then shortly after that I slipped (because I am being careful) getting into the skidloader and tore my right hamstring. Then the grandkids came to visit, in the meantime I stuck all my beer in the basement so that I had snacks upstairs for the kids. And because I can't do the steps well with the torn hamstring the beer has been down there. Then on the 21st I needed stuff from the downstairs fridge, took a glass down with me and a bunch of cheese for the freeze dryer. The chocolate looking mess is cleared and it's not an enormous head but decent and the taste is shockingly good!
Here I am on the 26th waiting for a couple more ewes to lamb, drinking and enjoying a beer I was sure that I was going to have to dump back in early March.
Well I didn't mark the date but it was just about 48 hours I racked it. Well it looked like chocolate milk! Grain in the trub! I don't see how the filter wasn't clogged. But it wasn't. Stuck in the fridge and force carbed, after about 3 days I checked and it was about the ugliest beer I've ever seen. And it didn't taste good either! But In the meantime stuff happens, I had ewes that need vaccinations, and in a battle of the sheep I ended up with a broken rib, and then shortly after that I slipped (because I am being careful) getting into the skidloader and tore my right hamstring. Then the grandkids came to visit, in the meantime I stuck all my beer in the basement so that I had snacks upstairs for the kids. And because I can't do the steps well with the torn hamstring the beer has been down there. Then on the 21st I needed stuff from the downstairs fridge, took a glass down with me and a bunch of cheese for the freeze dryer. The chocolate looking mess is cleared and it's not an enormous head but decent and the taste is shockingly good!
Here I am on the 26th waiting for a couple more ewes to lamb, drinking and enjoying a beer I was sure that I was going to have to dump back in early March.
Your Pico Pac ruptured? How?
7rebun
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Speaking of promotional videos, does anyone know the backstory of what happened with Dogfish Head?
Great! I'll definitely try that on my subsequent batches using liquid yeast.
So if I poured out all of the trub after racking into a container, and wanted to pitch 2 Pico batches from that trub, would half into each batch be an acceptable pitch rate?
The Pico wasn't functioning properly and I am only assuming that because it kept repriming the pump more than the normal water saturated the cartridge... it opened at a corner seam. I can't remember which corner. But there was grain in the step filter and even in the little outlet of the stepfilter.
They didn't say that that extra pumping of water did it, but that's the only thing that was different from brewing any other pack. It reprimed the pump 3 times before it finally started. It threw no error codes.
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