PicoBrew Pico users

[jrb03]

You have one of the new kegs?

No I don’t. They are just now starting to ship them out. I’m a ball lock guy though don’t think I will ever have one.

I've done a fair amount of testing with CO2 racking vs using the machine and I just don't think these small kegs last long enough to make a difference. I guess if you keep one for a month or more it could.

Same here. I’ve used both methods and see no difference, but I’ve never had a Pico keg last more than a few weeks, usually much less. I used it a few weeks ago to push a Z batch since I was running low on co2, I’ll let this one sit a while and test.

I’ve measured the pressure the Pico pushes at, its so low it won’t register on my gauge. I don’t see any way this produces more air exposure than something like a standard siphon from carboy to keg where both vessels are open to air.

 

[JeepBeer]

I just heard that my BVIP recipe is being turned into a Pico Pak. Hope to have one to test later this week. I'll let ya know when the real thing is being released.

Denny,


When you say “one to test” are you Referring to a pico pack you will brew, or a beer from a pico pack that they brewed in their lab?

Haven’t brewed that recipe in years would love to do it again.

 

[pagrider]

me too. Great winter brew

 

[Denny]

Denny,


When you say “one to test” are you Referring to a pico pack you will brew, or a beer from a pico pack that they brewed in their lab?

Haven’t brewed that recipe in years would love to do it again.

Both. They're sending me a Pak to brew and some of what they brewed.

 

[JeepBeer]

Both. They're sending me a Pak to brew and some of what they brewed.

Heh only in the world of beer is one plural.

"Officer, I swear I just had one beer".

"Honey, me and the guys are going out for one beer".

"They are sending me one to test"

 

[macgyuver]

WOW! Just spent an undetermined time reading this thread from start to finish. I have the Pico S now, found it as Costco for sub 300, and have brewed a couple paks already. Now I stumble across this thread and have been inundated with all kinds of great info. Thank you to all the Early supports for bringing this great little machine to the market.

I used to brew 5g batches but got out of it due to time constraints. I have always missed it. Now I am back to brewing and seriously thinking of getting a Z as well to compliment the S. I missed the kickstarter for the C or would have jumped on the Z already. Will have to wait and see if there is another venture for them.

Thank you to everyone for your info on brewing with the S, I now have an enthusiastic outlook for the new batch. I have 4 paks sitting on the shelf waiting. I did the first round and they were drinkable but not what I thought they would be. That was my issue for not listening to my gut and following the direction. I will say that I let them ferment for 12-14 days tho. The yeast pack did give off flavors. Guess this is all sounding like so many before me.

I will keep you up to date on the next batch, taking what I have learned form everyone here. Farmers Tan is up next and I can't wait. Guess my OMB Oktoberfest will have to hold me over until it is ready.

Again thank you everyone for the info and I look for to hearing(reading) more as well as giving back.

 

[REB810]

For those that collect yeast cakes and repitch, how many cycles do you go through before starting with a new stock? Any issues if you keep doing this (indefinitely)?

 

[NervousDad]

I can’t believe that I wasted my money on this. That will teach me to honor kickstarter after a few beers.

 

[alaric10000]

Is it not working, or did you just think it did things it doesn't?

 

[NervousDad]

Is it not working, or did you just think it did things it doesn't?

Yeah I thought it looked like a small brew station didn't realize it was just for Pico Paks and price of the paks is just outrageous. That was my dumb fault I just ordered without really reading.. It was so cheap..


After my 2 trial paks are done this will most likely serve as a sou vide machine. $26 for about 1.5 gallons of beer is just crazy...


They also sent a lager instead of an Ale (which IMO is setting people up for failure right out of the gate)

Oh and the kombucha... that went right in the trash..

 

[aceuass]

Yeah I thought it looked like a small brew station didn't realize it was just for Pico Paks and price of the paks is just outrageous. That was my dumb fault I just ordered without really reading.. It was so cheap..


After my 2 trial paks are done this will most likely serve as a sou vide machine. $26 for about 1.5 gallons of beer is just crazy...


They also sent a lager instead of an Ale (which IMO is setting people up for failure right out of the gate)

Oh and the kombucha... that went right in the trash..

So I`m guessing your not a fan but does it not do what it says it does, for people still on the fence and not just those new brewers, read as much info as you can on what this is intended for and base your decision on that , its not for some people but is a great piece of equipment that does what it says
Cheers

 

[NervousDad]

So I`m guessing your not a fan but does it not do what it says it does, for people still on the fence and not just those new brewers, read as much info as you can on what this is intended for and base your decision on that , its not for some people but is a great piece of equipment that does what it says
Cheers

No doubt neat little machine.

 

[10Fore]

I backed the latest Kickstarter campaign, received my Pico C early last month, and brewed the first batch shortly after that. It is a very interesting setup, and I certainly like the more hands off approach, at least right now, as my schedule has allowed absolutely zero time to brew in the traditional manner. I will say that the shipping time for new PicoPaks is a little off putting, though I do hope those kinks will later be worked out. Going on a little more than a week, and have yet to receive a notification that the items have shipped. Both only indicated a 1-3 day lead time in the cart. Oh well, I will just keep reading through all of the good information within this thread until I can brew again.

 

[jrb03]

I backed the latest Kickstarter campaign, received my Pico C early last month, and brewed the first batch shortly after that. It is a very interesting setup, and I certainly like the more hands off approach, at least right now, as my schedule has allowed absolutely zero time to brew in the traditional manner. I will say that the shipping time for new PicoPaks is a little off putting, though I do hope those kinks will later be worked out. Going on a little more than a week, and have yet to receive a notification that the items have shipped. Both only indicated a 1-3 day lead time in the cart. Oh well, I will just keep reading through all of the good information within this thread until I can brew again.

Email them [email protected]

 

[Denny]

For those that collect yeast cakes and repitch, how many cycles do you go through before starting with a new stock? Any issues if you keep doing this (indefinitely)?

3 is easy. 5 if you take care of the yeast. 10 or more if you're really careful. Pay attention to the yeast performance. If the beer is "dusty" or underattenuated it's obviously time to give it up. BTW, magnesium is important if you're gonna reuse yeast. Make sure you're giving it enough.

 

[bobbob911]

Magnesium? Can you explain further? thanks!

 

[Denny]

From https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/water-knowledge. I will often use Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) to add more sulfate to beers with adding calcium from gypsum, as well as to make sure I have enough for yeast health.

"Magnesium is typically the secondary ion creating hardness in water. It accentuates flavor with a sour bitterness when present at low concentration, but it is astringent at high concentration. Magnesium is a yeast nutrient and an important co-factor for certain enzymes. Like calcium, magnesium reacts with the malt to lower the mash pH, but with a reduced effect compared to calcium. The preferred range for magnesium concentration is 0 to 30 ppm. Exceeding 40 ppm is not recommended. A minimum of 5 ppm magnesium is known to be desirable for good yeast flocculation, however a typical barley or wheat mash grist will contribute more than 5 ppm magnesium to the wort for proper yeast flocculation and it is not necessary to add magnesium to brewing water unless it is desired for its flavor effects. Increasing the magnesium content of mash water is not a useful tool for reducing the pH of the mash water since the allowable concentration range for this ion is small."

 

[bobbob911]

Could you give a dosing rule of thumb for our Pico-sized batches?

 

[Oleary]

I expect the new tilt to show up this afternoon. What are y'all using to read it? I had an old i-phone I was going to use but apparently the battery is completely dead.

 

[jrb03]

I expect the new tilt to show up this afternoon. What are y'all using to read it? I had an old i-phone I was going to use but apparently the battery is completely dead.

Old iPad. Thing has been running pretty much non stop since last October. Surprised I haven’t killed it yet.

 

[Thorrak]

I expect the new tilt to show up this afternoon. What are y'all using to read it? I had an old i-phone I was going to use but apparently the battery is completely dead.

If you have a Raspberry Pi 3 you should be able to use the built in Bluetooth radio if you don't want to have to wire up an old phone. Added advantage - you're more than 50% of the way (cost wise) to a BrewPi build if you want to go that route later as well.

 

[macgyuver]

My new Tilt should be in within the next couple days. Then it will be back to full on brewing with the S. I have a 5 gallon batch going right now for a friend. It is a Dead Guy clone will have to compare with my PicoPak and the store bought to see how they fair.

If you have a Raspberry Pi 3 you should be able to use the built in Bluetooth radio if you don't want to have to wire up an old phone. Added advantage - you're more than 50% of the way (cost wise) to a BrewPi build if you want to go that route later as well.

Using an old android phone that was purchased off amazon for 5 bucks. Worth every penny for a live data logger. Thought about a Pi but have several AIO pc laying around so cant see the need for another.

 

[pagrider]

Take a look at tilt pi on the tilt website. Very easy to do and cheap.

 

[macgyuver]

Take a look at tilt pi on the tilt website. Very easy to do and cheap.

Only issue I have with that is I have to buy a Pi now. I have several AIO PCs, sadly none are Pis, so I can justify the extra cost for me.

I have looked into it and it does look nice and I would recommend to anyone that is looking for a solution. Sadly just doesn't work for me atm.

 

[pagrider]

I ordered it form the tilt website order here reference. the whole deal cost me $12. I had an extra sd card.

 

[macgyuver]

I was wondering if anyone knows anything about the RFID tags. I have read they are coded with a individual serial number. Are the tags LF, HF, or UHF? Also do you think it would be worth it to mod a pak. Like drop a Tupperware container into the step filter instead of using the paper pak? Just thoughts that occur during the showering phase of the day.

 

[jrb03]

Please no discussion of modifying or reverse engineering the Pico or packs in this thread, thanks.

 

[NervousDad]

I was wondering if anyone knows anything about the RFID tags. I have read they are coded with a individual serial number. Are the tags LF, HF, or UHF? Also do you think it would be worth it to mod a pak. Like drop a Tupperware container into the step filter instead of using the paper pak? Just thoughts that occur during the showering phase of the day.

Not sure but I’m thinking about tearing the guts out and just use some standard type controller. Only need to control a few items. Should be fairly easy. I’m going to brew the two “free” paks first.

 

[Pkrd]

Please no discussion of modifying or reverse engineering the Pico or packs in this thread, thanks.

Why not?

 

[Ewelady]

I expect the new tilt to show up this afternoon. What are y'all using to read it? I had an old i-phone I was going to use but apparently the battery is completely dead.

Ipad, then I record it on the spreadsheet program on the Ipad. My new tilt is to arrive tomorrow.

 

[Lbarouf]

I expect the new tilt to show up this afternoon. What are y'all using to read it? I had an old i-phone I was going to use but apparently the battery is completely dead.

Raspberry Pi. A Pi Zero W is very small, and it can upload the data automatically for you as well. Easily fits in a kegerator as well. Drop the power from the tap tower.

 

[Lbarouf]

I was wondering if anyone knows anything about the RFID tags. I have read they are coded with a individual serial number. Are the tags LF, HF, or UHF? Also do you think it would be worth it to mod a pak. Like drop a Tupperware container into the step filter instead of using the paper pak? Just thoughts that occur during the showering phase of the day.

It seems to be too much of a pain. I read it as well, and used a smartphone to send the same code to it. You need to get off the internet as it won't let you register it again, and once offline, you can force it by using the list of recipes it brewed already. So, it bypasses the RFID anyway.... so I don't see the point.

I sort of romantically like the concept of hacking it, but I am not motivated enough to try this further. So in short, you're limited to the ones you already brewed (perhaps, even recently as the unit does not have infinite memory onboard). if you are constantly re-brewing the same recipe, maybe you'd see benefits. You will also need to experiment with the grain size. I believe they use coarser grain to achieve the results. I had a friend offering me to protrude a plexiglass version of a pak if I gave him one pak to copy from using his 3D scanner. We would have added a permanent plastic (PET free) mesh at the bottom, providing similar flow restriction and filtering.

While it's all nice in theory, it's a lot of effort for a big restriction (the recipes available to brew).

If you can figure out the algorithm for the serial number, maybe there's a link between a recipe and a serial. But I believe its rather per product, from which the recipe is derived. You would have better chance basing yourself off a freestyle pak.

Good luck, and keep us posted if you do get anywhere. I can try again to get you the exact RFID type used, when I get the chance.

 

[Lbarouf]

Please no discussion of modifying or reverse engineering the Pico or packs in this thread, thanks.

Is there a rule about this on this board, that I would have missed? If so, I'll pull my post. I truly don't believe it's the case.

While I believe it's not worth it, I won't encourage nor discourage anyone, that's my point of view, and someone with different values may think it's worth it.

 

[jrb03]

Is there a rule about this on this board, that I would have missed? If so, I'll pull my post. I truly don't believe it's the case.

While I believe it's not worth it, I won't encourage nor discourage anyone, that's my point of view, and someone with different values may think it's worth it.

I said in this thread. There is another post for this topic a couple down in this forum, can’t miss it. This can quickly derail my users thread into hacking the Pico, which Is not the intention, and many of us have no interest in. Again, please keep this type of discussion out of this thread, and use the one already created for it.

 

[pagrider]

Lbarouf

Look at a zymatic you can do everything you are trying to do with the pico. You can find one used. It’s worth every penny in my opinion.

 

[jrb03]

Looks like the brewpulse app will finally be released this week.

Here are other promotions timed for this week:

Tuesday: PicoStill, a distilling attachment for the Pico Model C, will be available for pre-order on the company’s website. The attachment allows users to distill essential oils and hop oils, which can be used to enhance the aromas of beer. With the proper licenses and permitting, it can also be used to distill spirits. PicoStill can be pre-ordered for $249, or bundled with the Pico Model C for $679, and will ship in January 2018.
Wednesday: PicoFerm will be available to pre-order. This Wi-Fi connected smart fermentation device attaches to the Pico Model C keg and allows users to monitor and track a beer’s fermentation to determine when it is ready to drink. PicoFerm can be pre-ordered for $59, or bundled with an extra Pico Model C keg for $99, and will ship in November.
Thursday: PicoBrew will host a big craft beer tasting with beer industry insiders and media in the PicoBrew Tap Room with curated flights from its selection of PicoPak craft brews.
Friday: The BrewPulse mobile app will be available for free download. Users can log in while brewing with Pico and track their progress, buy additional PicoPaks and view PicoFerm fermentation data.

https://www.geekwire.com/2017/lates...cobrew-now-available-company-celebrates-week/

 

[macgyuver]

Nice will be interesting to see what they do with the app. I am guessing a mirror of the Brewhouse part of website cut down a little.

 

[Oleary]

Probably missing something basic, but I'm only getting the initial reading from the tilt on the spreadsheet. If I uncheck and check the logging it will force another reading but nothing continual. I followed the video instructions on their website. What am I missing?

 

[jrb03]

Probably missing something basic, but I'm only getting the initial reading from the tilt on the spreadsheet. If I uncheck and check the logging it will force another reading but nothing continual. I followed the video instructions on their website. What am I missing?

Two basic things come to mind. The spreadsheet updates every 15 minutes, you are giving it plenty of time to refresh right? Also, the screen must be on with the app open for it to work, you can’t let the device turn off. Sorry if they are too obvious just want to make sure...

 

[Oleary]

Two basic things come to mind. The spreadsheet updates every 15 minutes, you are giving it plenty of time to refresh right? Also, the screen must be on with the app open for it to work, you can’t let the device turn off. Sorry if they are too obvious just want to make sure...

Probably a combination of both. I’ll try again when I get home. Thanks!