Before the pros and cons, full honesty you need to know that I was one of the people who pre-ordered a Pico Z and i have previously owned a Pico Zymatic. I don't know what is going on there, but there is definitely something wrong. Production is continuously delayed and communication is inconsistent. Still now if you go on the website there is no exact delivery time. If you go into the picobrewers facebook group you can see a few people received their unit but it seems they already have issues. As for me it was too much i have cancelled my order and ordered a Brewie+.
So my pros and cons are based on the
- experience with the Pico Zymatic
- information from fellow picobrewers who received their Pico Z
- experience with the Brewie+
Short info about the two products:
Pico Z:
- you can choose from 2.5 Gallon, 5Gallon, 7.5 Gallon and 10 Gallon versions
- you can only use ingredients from the company (either a picopak recipe or custom-made picopak)
- you can create custom recipes and there are also ready recipes
- it has to be always online
- does everything until boiling, then you need to cool down the wort manually
Brewie+:
- only 5 Gallon version, but you can get more units for bigger output (I have a b20 and a brewie+ so i usually brew on both at the same time, reaching 10 Gallon output)
- you can use any kind of ingredients it is up to you (the company has its own recipe packs but it is not mandatory)
- you can create custom recipes and there are also ready recipes
- you can brew offline as well
- does everything including cooling
Pros and cons:
Why buy Pico Z or Brewie+?
Pico Z:
Pros:
- Automates most of the process (cooling is not included)
- Many ready recipe packs (there are some really cool recipes)
- Different sizes (2.5,5,7.5,10 Gallons)
Cons:
- Price is a lot higher (Pico Z2 cost 3,299 USD vs. Brewie 2,499 USD - both 5 Gallons)
- Picopaks are very expensive (even the 5 liter paks cost 30 USD, so 1 liter of beer is around 6 USD! If you do homebrew you know that it should be around 1 USD per bottle. This is in some cases more expensive than going to a shop)
- Can't use it offline, whenever the wifi goes away can't use the Pico
- Has to do cooling manually (with smaller batches this could be fine, but with 5 Gallons and above 5 Gallons this is a lot of work!)
- Lot of cleaning (it has many subparts that you need to clean and the malt gets stuck very often)
- No hard boil (it is up to you, but for me this is important)
- Low efficiency (there is always a lot of remaining sugars left in the malt, because you can't wash it through properly. this is not an issue if you are fine with low ABV beer, but it very much limits you as you won't be able to make real high ABV beer with this device, or you will end up with a lot lower amount)
- Super loud (its pump is really loud, my wife went crazy from it)
- Software bugs
- Manufacturing issues (see it in the Picobrewers group)
Brewie+:
Pros:
- Automates all steps of the process (including cooling)
- Also many ready recipe packs (plus they publish a recipe guide each month)
- You can use any ingredients (so it is a lot cheaper to brew about 1-2 USD vs 6 USD per liter)
- You can use it offline (this is again up to you, but for me it is important that i don't need to be always online)
- There is a developer mode that let's me control the pumps, heaters and pretty much everything (this is great because i can do stuff that is not in the standard recipe like manual sparging)
- Easy cleaning (still have to scrub the top of the tanks a little, but way easier than cleaning the Pico)
- Great tech support (Máté, their tech expert is very responsive)
- 75-80% efficiency
Cons:
- Only 5 Gallon version (although the company said they will have other versions later on)
- Software bugs (with Brewie+ haven't had any issues, only with the B20 but those were fixed too thanks to Máté)
All in all my personal experience and opinion is that there is no question that the Brewie+ is a better product that offers more features than the Pico Z and it is significantly cheaper (lower upfront cost and lower cost per brew). Even if you are looking for a bigger size (as the Brewie+ is only 5 gallons) you are still better off with 2 Brewie+ (2,499x2= 4998 USD), than with a Pico Z4 (7,299 USD).
But don't take my word for it! Go and check out the following facebook groups for more information and ask the users:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/134054920431176/ (Independent, Brewie B20 and Brewie+ owners but there are lot of people who are just interested in general)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BeerExplorersClub/ (Run by Brewie)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Picobrewers/ (Run by Picobrew)
PS: Sorry if my post became too long, tried to keep it short but that was the best i could do