PicoBrew Pico users

[DrGMG]

So I have been going through the trouble since 1991, when I didn't really need to?
The yeast looks "alive" and "happy" at least.

Thanks again.

Anyone else rehydrating their yeast like me, out of curiosity?

I always do on my 5gal batches. Not on the Pico ones.

 

[jrb03]

Nope, never rehydrate on any of my brew systems. Not needed in my experience.

I would not use fast fermentation on a lager. I use it on most of the Pico batches I have done with pretty good results. I have found that it is not really that "fast", I would not use it for any speed advantage. I use it because I can ferment at household temps of mid 70s, where as an airlock at that temp would produce off flavors. If I had a way to control temp in the yeasts recommended temp range, usually ~62-67', I would use the airlock. My plan was to get a fermentation chamber chest freezer going like I used to use, but the FF adapter has worked well enough I haven't bothered.

I have kegsmarts that I can use to control fermentation temps which I have done a few times, but I always brew two batches and can only ferment one in the kegerator, if I have space at that time, I usually don't. I have brewed two dead guys and used FF on one and temp controlled airlock on the other. I could not tell a difference and have not used the kegsmarts since.

Just my personal experience.

 

[Lbarouf]

Thanks. Does the Kegsmart allow higher fermentation temperature to fast ferment?

 

[jrb03]

Kegsmarts allows you to ferment at whatever temp you want. It controls the kegerator at your serving set point, for me 37'. Then it has a keg warming jacket that goes on the Pico brewkeg, and it warms that keg to your set point. So when I use kegsmarts for fermentation, I'm fermenting at 67' in my 37' kegerator.

 

[dkilday2]

Hello Guys, I have been browsing through this forum deciding on whether or not to pull the trigger on the new picobrew c kickstarter campaign. I started this obsession right when my first child was born last year and as you can imagine do not have much time to brew and feel this would fill the void. Anyway I have a few questions?
1) Do you feel like overall you can make excellent beer on the pico for instance as good as on your other systems you have used in the past? and
2) Do we know if the freestyle paks are going to have more diverse options in the future?
3) I have seen it mentioned that you are not happy with the serving kegs. Is this something that is going to be improved upon for the Pico C?

Thanks and I appreciate your feedback.

 

[bford]

Hello Guys, I have been browsing through this forum deciding on whether or not to pull the trigger on the new picobrew c kickstarter campaign. I started this obsession right when my first child was born last year and as you can imagine do not have much time to brew and feel this would fill the void. Anyway I have a few questions?
1) Do you feel like overall you can make excellent beer on the pico for instance as good as on your other systems you have used in the past? and
2) Do we know if the freestyle paks are going to have more diverse options in the future?
3) I have seen it mentioned that you are not happy with the serving kegs. Is this something that is going to be improved upon for the Pico C?

Thanks and I appreciate your feedback.

These are good questions. I bought into the Pico C but am still on the fence if I'll go through with it... I look forward to reading some answers on this one.

 

[jrb03]

Hello Guys, I have been browsing through this forum deciding on whether or not to pull the trigger on the new picobrew c kickstarter campaign. I started this obsession right when my first child was born last year and as you can imagine do not have much time to brew and feel this would fill the void. Anyway I have a few questions?
1) Do you feel like overall you can make excellent beer on the pico for instance as good as on your other systems you have used in the past? and
2) Do we know if the freestyle paks are going to have more diverse options in the future?
3) I have seen it mentioned that you are not happy with the serving kegs. Is this something that is going to be improved upon for the Pico C?

Thanks and I appreciate your feedback.

1) yes. The beer I'm making on the Pico is excellent and of the same quality that I brewed before. It is a fine wort maker. The rest of the process is up to the brewer, and their instructions are not very good here. If your an experienced brewer you will be fine.
2) don't count on it. It makes sense to me that they have the freestyle so limited. They want to keep their brewery partners happy and sell those packs. That is what the Pico is marketed as. They may surprise me and add more options but it will never be brew anything, nor brew your own ingredients.
3) the serving kegs suck. The same ones are included in the C. They don't make them, they are the same commercially available 5L kegs. They are cheap and great to begin on but ball lock kegs are the long term way to go.

 

[bford]

1) yes. The beer I'm making on the Pico is excellent and of the same quality that I brewed before. It is a fine wort maker. The rest of the process is up to the brewer, and their instructions are not very good here. If your an experienced brewer you will be fine.
2) don't count on it. It makes sense to me that they have the freestyle so limited. They want to keep their brewery partners happy and sell those packs. That is what the Pico is marketed as. They may surprise me and add more options but it will never be brew anything, nor brew your own ingredients.
3) the serving kegs suck. The same ones are included in the C. They don't make them, they are the same commercially available 5L kegs. They are cheap and great to begin on but ball lock kegs are the long term way to go.

Are some people using the 1.75 gallon ball lock kegs instead? If so, how well are they working?

 

[jrb03]

Are some people using the 1.75 gallon ball lock kegs instead? If so, how well are they working?

Yes a lot of us. I have 5 of them. Use them to brew and serve. You won't find a better quality ball lock keg than the ones Pico sells. You can find cheaper ones though.

 

[Lbarouf]

Yes a lot of us. I have 5 of them. Use them to brew and serve. You won't find a better quality ball lock keg than the ones Pico sells. You can find cheaper ones though.

I second that. I own a few original Cornelius brand corny kegs, and those Pepsi style corny kegs are well made. Handles, foot/seat and dip tube in, well rounded. I was hoping this campaign had some on rebate as well. Alas, not. I would buy more if they were not that expensive. Maybe for xmas.

 

[jrb03]

I second that. I own a few original Cornelius brand corny kegs, and those Pepsi style corny kegs are well made. Handles, foot/seat and dip tube in, well rounded. I was hoping this campaign had some on rebate as well. Alas, not. I would buy more if they were not that expensive. Maybe for xmas.

The campaign isn't over. I almost guarantee they will offer up some accessory packs before it's over. Last kickstarter they came up after the start. Hopefully the ball lock brew kegs are offered. I got a two pack for $100 last time.

 

[Lbarouf]

That's what I would like. How likely do you think?
I don't believe so much.... this campaign is about the Pico C and the new stuff. The C does not use those kegs. I'm more tempted of adding the Z and get a brewvana setup: Z + KegSmarts + Kegerator.

 

[jrb03]

I love my Pico + kegsmarts + kegerator

Ya your right about the Pico c not using the ball lock kegs, but they keep suggesting them as a serving option so I wouldn't be surprised if a deal is offered. Let's hope so, not that I need any more I have 5 lol.

 

[BMacUC]

Hello Guys, I have been browsing through this forum deciding on whether or not to pull the trigger on the new picobrew c kickstarter campaign. I started this obsession right when my first child was born last year and as you can imagine do not have much time to brew and feel this would fill the void. Anyway I have a few questions?
1) Do you feel like overall you can make excellent beer on the pico for instance as good as on your other systems you have used in the past? and
2) Do we know if the freestyle paks are going to have more diverse options in the future?
3) I have seen it mentioned that you are not happy with the serving kegs. Is this something that is going to be improved upon for the Pico C?

Thanks and I appreciate your feedback.

For what it's worth, I emailed Pico support a while back with your question #2 and was told they will be expanding the options in the near future.

 

[jrb03]

For what it's worth, I emailed Pico support a while back with your question #2 and was told they will be expanding the options in the near future.

They have made a few additions recently. Still very limited selection.

 

[Lbarouf]

I might be blind... what was done to freestyle recently?

 

[VagueSkunk]

I might be blind... what was done to freestyle recently?

Seems like they added a couple more base styles and a couple more grain options to the selection.

 

[Lbarouf]

Seems like they added a couple more base styles and a couple more grain options to the selection.

I ordered 2 packs of the experimental beer. As is, no add-ons. Should be great! ;-)

 

[RichPetersen]

It's true they (Pico) don't use the ball lock kegs (at least on the new C model), but I've seen many small ball locks on Amazon. As small as 1.75 gallons which is about the perfect size for the Pico C (5L = 1.4G).

 

[jrb03]

Pico does sell 1.75 gallon ball lock kegs, I have 5 of them. They are for sale on Amazon and many other websites like Best Buy. They are better quality and the same price or cheaper than the others on Amazon. I highly recommend them for serving kegs.

 

[Lbarouf]

Would 2.5 us gal. kegs be good serving vessels for 2 packs? I'd think of making my brewing day duals. Small 4.4 cu ft kegerators should be able to handle 2 of those 2.5G puppies, no?

 

[Mannhec]

I thought I posted this earlier, but did not seem to work. I have done a few Freestyles and they all came out good. I just googled Substitutions of the ingredients for the beer I wanted to make; A good Stout, Irish red, Chocolate Stout, etc. Also I do not plug websites often but I found this.. not a lot of selection but the prices are great. 2 gallon primary buckets 4.55 USD, lids 2.30 USD. I ordered 6 of each.
https://www.bellsbeer.com/news-categories/homebrewing
If that does not work
https://www.bellsbeer.com/news-categories/homebrewing

 

[Mannhec]

Just to throw this out there. Pico makes a 1 gallon batch. I started buying the grains for a 5 gallon batch (or a kit for all grain) and doing brew in a bag at 1 gallon intervals, can make 5 batches cheaper. I am not giving up on Pico though, I like it, the time is about the same, hands on a little more, clean up is much faster, a pot. a spoon and a couple bags.

 

[mwills]

What kind of turn around time is everyone getting on their picopak orders? I'm on my third order and my previous two shipped within a couple of days and arrived around 8 days after ordering. I have a current order that has been "shipment pending" for eight days now.
I contacted support and they quickly replied it was shipping that afternoon. That was two days ago and it is still marked as "pending".
I've signed up for the unlimited brew and am wondering if it is going to be worth it if occasional orders take two weeks just to ship and then spend a week in transit to the East Coast. I may just drop out of that and put my funds towards one of the refurbished Zymatics.

 

[Lbarouf]

Just to throw this out there. Pico makes a 1 gallon batch. I started buying the grains for a 5 gallon batch (or a kit for all grain) and doing brew in a bag at 1 gallon intervals, can make 5 batches cheaper. I am not giving up on Pico though, I like it, the time is about the same, hands on a little more, clean up is much faster, a pot. a spoon and a couple bags.

That's what I had been doing mostly before due to space contraints. But in my case, the Pico saved me a lot of time. Like others said, I can sort of get back at brewing with this. There's a few recipes that I still do 1gal at a time on my stove because pico brew does not offer the ingredients, and I did not look into what happens when you pull the container out mid way and try to add stuff.

Saves time: for sure. Money: definitely not.

 

[Lbarouf]

I'm looking at brewing 2 batches of lagers today (I have been doing ales only lately). I can't keep reliably the temp range, the house is too warm. Would it be advisable to then set the fast ferment valve and follow the normal fermentation steps and wait? I wait 2 full weeks no matter what before priming the beer. The only thing I can't control right now is the temperature (I can warm up and keep no problem, but to cool ...until I buy something to stop the fridge to maintain temp).

Any input from anyone who brew "too warm" would be appreciated.

 

[Yayant]

Why do some people ferment under pressure? is there a benefit over standard method with no pressure added?

 

[brew-in]

I'm looking at brewing 2 batches of lagers today (I have been doing ales only lately). I can't keep reliably the temp range, the house is too warm. Would it be advisable to then set the fast ferment valve and follow the normal fermentation steps and wait? I wait 2 full weeks no matter what before priming the beer. The only thing I can't control right now is the temperature (I can warm up and keep no problem, but to cool ...until I buy something to stop the fridge to maintain temp).

Any input from anyone who brew "too warm" would be appreciated.

Best $35 you will ever spend...temp control during fermentation was my biggest improvement in quality...
https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat-Fermentation/dp/B015E2UFGM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1492890411&sr=8-3&keywords=inkbird

 

[Lbarouf]

Best $35 you will ever spend...temp control during fermentation was my biggest improvement in quality...
https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat-Fermentation/dp/B015E2UFGM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1492890411&sr=8-3&keywords=inkbird

Thanks brew-in. I have something similar already.... but it's to warm the wort. In my case, I need to chill it. Other than a kegerator and that thing you put on top of carboys, I don't know anything else.

 

[Lbarouf]

Why do some people ferment under pressure? is there a benefit over standard method with no pressure added?

Let me google that for you: result

In my case, it's the higher temperatures. If you can't keep your fermentation vessel at a low enough temperature, then fast fermentation is an option. Higher temperature, and higher pressure to keep the taste in check. At least in theory.

Maybe others can chime in on the benefits they see. I'm not so sure about the "fast" part though... it does appear to be much faster.

 

[jrb03]

Just to throw this out there. Pico makes a 1 gallon batch. I started buying the grains for a 5 gallon batch (or a kit for all grain) and doing brew in a bag at 1 gallon intervals, can make 5 batches cheaper. I am not giving up on Pico though, I like it, the time is about the same, hands on a little more, clean up is much faster, a pot. a spoon and a couple bags.

Done many a biab. Lots of hands on time and the Pico is no more cleaning than that for sure. I can't see how anyone bought a Pico then decides to save some money, its all about convienience for me, and the beer is always good.

What kind of turn around time is everyone getting on their picopak orders? I'm on my third order and my previous two shipped within a couple of days and arrived around 8 days after ordering. I have a current order that has been "shipment pending" for eight days now.
I contacted support and they quickly replied it was shipping that afternoon. That was two days ago and it is still marked as "pending".
I've signed up for the unlimited brew and am wondering if it is going to be worth it if occasional orders take two weeks just to ship and then spend a week in transit to the East Coast. I may just drop out of that and put my funds towards one of the refurbished Zymatics.

Most of my packs ship within two days. I've had a couple take a little longer but they were new ones just added to the marketplace.

I'm looking at brewing 2 batches of lagers today (I have been doing ales only lately). I can't keep reliably the temp range, the house is too warm. Would it be advisable to then set the fast ferment valve and follow the normal fermentation steps and wait? I wait 2 full weeks no matter what before priming the beer. The only thing I can't control right now is the temperature (I can warm up and keep no problem, but to cool ...until I buy something to stop the fridge to maintain temp).

Any input from anyone who brew "too warm" would be appreciated.

I use the fast fermentation adapter almost exclusively because i ferment at room temperature and my house is too warm. Works great. No off flavors at all.

Why do some people ferment under pressure? is there a benefit over standard method with no pressure added?

It allows you to ferment warmer than the yeast is recommended without the off flavors you would normally get. Don't expect any real time savings but if your like me and ferment at house hold temp it works great. I ferment about 74', I think they should call it the warm fermentation adapter.

 

[bford]

Pico added a new stretch reward... a free Fremont Summer Ale pack.

Sounds good to me.

Now I just need to find someone who will want to trade a Pico pack for the Kombuch pack I'll be getting. I can't stand Kombucha.

 

[Anyhowe]

Pico added a new stretch reward... a free Fremont Summer Ale pack.

Sounds good to me.

Now I just need to find someone who will want to trade a Pico pack for the Kombuch pack I'll be getting. I can't stand Kombucha.

I love kombucha. Will trade you one of many PICO packs for yours. Keep me posted.

 

[DrSafety]

Jrb and others thanks for contributing to this forum. I was able to get in on the pico c in kickstarter. Your contributions have confirmed my choice and the ability to brew good beer on the pico c. I used to brew 5 gallon batches and stopped for some years and am looking forward to brewing again. I Have learned much from this forum on how to brew ferment and serve beer from the pico. Looking forward to forward to discussing my growing pains after starting to brew on the pico c.

 

[chupalt]

I got in on the pico c on kickstarter as well. Just read the 80 page thread over a couple of days and am super excited for August to come around.

I was a long time all grain brewer who just had 2 kids in the last 16months, and have no time. Really looking forward to this.

The one question I have is...From reading the thread it sounds like most issues that people had were due to overpitching the yeast and to under aerating the wort after cooling. Has anyone used oxygen with an oxygenation stone? I had some great beers with my 5 gallon batches aerating using oxygen and the stone for roughly 60 seconds. I was thinking about using the same method for 15 - 20 seconds with the pico. Has anyone else tried this?

 

[DrSafety]

I was thinking about the earlier comments of trying to move beer from the new Pico C fermentation kegs to a serving keg and wanting to do it under CO2. Well the folks at Picobrew are providing an adapter for Pico S owners to use the new Pico C kegs. If that is the case the adapter will have to go in a Ball lock connector that then can be easily tied into a CO2 system to move the beer to a serving keg

 

[jrb03]

I have an oxygen stone from my past brewing days but have not used it on the Pico, see no need. Shaking the keg works fine. Of course it wouldn't hurt. For me the Pico is all about simplicity and the least amount of stuff I need to keep around. The oxygen stones and co2 transfers can be part of your process if you wish, but aren't needed in my experience. I do use co2 to transfer sometimes if my Pico is put away and I don't want to bring it out, but I use whatever is more convenient at the moment and haven't noticed any difference in beer quality. A Pico batch lasts 10 days tops in my kegerator, so if your looking for long term storage co2 transfer might make sense.

 

[DrSafety]

I have an oxygen stone from my past brewing days but have not used it on the Pico, see no need. Shaking the keg works fine. Of course it wouldn't hurt. For me the Pico is all about simplicity and the least amount of stuff I need to keep around. The oxygen stones and co2 transfers can be part of your process if you wish, but aren't needed in my experience. I do use co2 to transfer sometimes if my Pico is put away and I don't want to bring it out, but I use whatever is more convenient at the moment and haven't noticed any difference in beer quality. A Pico batch lasts 10 days tops in my kegerator, so if your looking for long term storage co2 transfer might make sense.

This makes sense since oxidation is only a concern if you have it around for a long time. Do you have any experience with the torpedo kegs. A bit cheaper and smaller at 1.5 gallons. I am guessing with less head space forrce carbonation might take a bit longer.

 

[chupalt]

I have an oxygen stone from my past brewing days but have not used it on the Pico, see no need. Shaking the keg works fine. Of course it wouldn't hurt. For me the Pico is all about simplicity and the least amount of stuff I need to keep around. The oxygen stones and co2 transfers can be part of your process if you wish, but aren't needed in my experience. I do use co2 to transfer sometimes if my Pico is put away and I don't want to bring it out, but I use whatever is more convenient at the moment and haven't noticed any difference in beer quality. A Pico batch lasts 10 days tops in my kegerator, so if your looking for long term storage co2 transfer might make sense.

Thanks for the response. Makes sense. I hope to keep the brew process as streamlined as possible, so I'll just go with the shake method

 

[chupalt]

I have an oxygen stone from my past brewing days but have not used it on the Pico, see no need. Shaking the keg works fine. Of course it wouldn't hurt. For me the Pico is all about simplicity and the least amount of stuff I need to keep around. The oxygen stones and co2 transfers can be part of your process if you wish, but aren't needed in my experience. I do use co2 to transfer sometimes if my Pico is put away and I don't want to bring it out, but I use whatever is more convenient at the moment and haven't noticed any difference in beer quality. A Pico batch lasts 10 days tops in my kegerator, so if your looking for long term storage co2 transfer might make sense.

Thanks for the response. That makes sense. I'm really hoping to streamline as much as possible so I'll give the shake method a try.