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On the 7th day of Christmas Pico gave to us....

33% off Mermaid’s Red Ale

Inspired by the siren song, Mermaid’s Red lures you in with sweet toffee malts and seductive red hue. But don’t be fooled, this hoppy red is dry-hopped with a blend of Pacific Northwest hops for big citrus and pine aroma and a lingering dry finish.


Listed for 18.59 Normally 27.99
 
macgyuver said:
Shipping is free if you purchase two paks or more
Click to expand...

Apparently in my case, the paks are actually free. According to response from Picobrew: "Specifically checking your address, shipping a single Pak actually runs us roughly $73, well over the $39 we charge." :eek::eek::eek:
 
On the 8th day of Christmas Pico gave to us....

33% off Milk Mustachio

Let your taste buds embrace this farm-fresh twist on a traditional stout. Sweet milk sugar added to this brew blends with rich flavors of chocolate and roasted coffee which can only be described as creamy and delicious.

Listed for 19.99 Normally 29.99
 
On the 9th day of Christmas Pico gave to us....

33% off Bourbon Vanilla Porter

Another delicious concoction brought to you by Master Brewer/Beer Author, Denny Conn. A classic English porter hop profile meets rich base malts, with flavors of Madagascar Vanilla bean, dark chocolate and toffee layered under Kentucky Bourbon*. *Bourbon and vanilla extract not included.

Listed for 19.99 Normally 29.99
 
On the 10th day of Christmas Pico gave to us....

33% off Flying Lion Rye Stout

This is a classic American Stout, full of flavor and character, but with the spicy, crisp addition of rye. Not overly sweet and with a clean, roasted flavor, this stout drinks well year-round.

Listed for 15.99 Normally 23.99
 
In case, anyone else wanted to convert their kickstarter Pico S to a pro, using their provided regulator, I found a site selling what i built. I guess it's similar to what JRB03 did as well.

I wanted the flexibility of using larger bottles. (24oz paintball in my case), and 16g disposable as well.
Plus, I wanted the gas line to be on a hose, not fixed on the regulator, so it won't strain due to the weight of the paintball bottle.

The weekend brewer sells this: https://www.theweekendbrewer.com/collections/kits/products/co2-injection-system-for-paintball-tanks, which is what I did from the one that came with the pico.

First, I replaced the out port of the regulator with this: https://www.williamsbrewing.com/MINI-REGULATOR-CHECK-VALVE-MALE-FLARE-OUTLET-P3839.aspx

I added the paintball adapter : https://www.theweekendbrewer.com/co...oducts/paintball-adapter-for-injection-system

And the hose, I made it so the length of the tube was long enough to have the bottle site next to the keg in my fridge, while not too long. Hose for gaz, and 2 swivel nut (barbed) with 1/4" (inside diameter) male flare (MFL) connectors. Get the ball lock connector with MFL connector, and all you have to do is connect the hose. Should you want something shorter, replace the out port with this female adapter: https://www.williamsbrewing.com/MINI-REGULATOR-CHECK-VALVE-FEMALE-FLARE-OUTLET-P3962.aspx
and you can connect the regulator directly to the ball lock connector.

One important notice, to get a hermetic fit, a washer inside the swivel nut connectors is recommended.
This one comes with it: https://www.williamsbrewing.com/14-TUBING-BARBED-ADAPTER-P110.aspx
and often your homebrew store should carry them. Beats waking up to an empty tank and flat beer! :(

And if you don't care to be able to remove the hose, you can save a bit further by using barbed ball lock connector, and a barbed 1/4" MFL to 1/8" NPT on the hose. https://www.pexuniverse.com/1-4-hose-barb-x-1-8-mpt-brass-adapter


Cheers.:cask:

PS: There's nothing wrong with the Pro kit conversion that PicoBrew sells by the way. I wanted something more flexible. Since I carb with paintball bottles at home, don't have a kegerator, just a fridge, and preferred to use 16g bottles or paintball bottles instead of the more expensive 74g bottles... it made more sense to me to build it and buy kegs seperatly.
 
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Along the same thought, I decided to try a carbonation stone. I bought a replacement lid for one of my keg. I cut the hose so the stone is suspended about 1" above the bottom. And following the instructions, I carb my beer in less than an hour. About 40min, and the beer is carbed to a level I enjoyed. I may buy 2 more so I don't have to pull it out in order to carb my other kegs. I like it enough to make it a permanent addition to my pico setup.

Starting with a cold keg (low to mid 30s) makes it the easiest.

My 2 cents, if anyone else wants to give it a try. I'm enjoying brewing a lot more since the PicoBrew and kegs. I now wonder why I never tried kegs before.... It's possible to keg without a kegerator.
 
Ok I got home today and it was like an early Christmas, 6 paks were delivered for my brewing adventures. I know that someone posted about the new designs of the paks bottom somewhere. Here is a pic of what I am talking about
IMG_0271.jpg

That being said one of my new paks has a new top that I have not seen yet. Not sure how it will work though. Here is a pic.
IMG_0274.jpg

It seems like to me it will either tear open when the jet of water hits it or it will limit the amount of water allowed in. I believe it is an attempt at stopping the tunneling or channeling we have seen in the past. I am waiting for the rest of my paks to come in so I can run double batches. When the matching pak for this one comes in I will let you all know how it does when I brew it!
 
Lbarouf said:
Along the same thought, I decided to try a carbonation stone. I bought a replacement lid for one of my keg. I cut the hose so the stone is suspended about 1" above the bottom. And following the instructions, I carb my beer in less than an hour. About 40min, and the beer is carbed to a level I enjoyed. I may buy 2 more so I don't have to pull it out in order to carb my other kegs. I like it enough to make it a permanent addition to my pico setup.

Starting with a cold keg (low to mid 30s) makes it the easiest.

My 2 cents, if anyone else wants to give it a try. I'm enjoying brewing a lot more since the PicoBrew and kegs. I now wonder why I never tried kegs before.... It's possible to keg without a kegerator.
Click to expand...
Interesting, have a link to what you used? I used a stone once years ago and it didn’t carb much faster, definitely not in an hour. Threw it away.
 
jrb03 said:
Interesting, have a link to what you used? I used a stone once years ago and it didn’t carb much faster, definitely not in an hour. Threw it away.
Click to expand...
Not at the moment, but I try to snap one within the next few days.
 
On the 11th day of Christmas Pico gave to us....

33% off Stargazer IPA

Five different hop varieties sit atop the roasty goodness of Victory Malt. Darker than your average IPA, this beer begs to be enjoyed under a clear night sky.

Listed for 19.99 Normally 29.99
 
jrb03 said:
Interesting, have a link to what you used? I used a stone once years ago and it didn’t carb much faster, definitely not in an hour. Threw it away.
Click to expand...

Here's the one I got: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M335AXA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

This is what I am doing:
Code: 
Start with no pressure on the regulator and increase to 1-2 psi and let sit for about 4-5 minutes. You should hear the bubbles in the keg.
Repeat the pressure increase in 1-2 psi increments waiting 4-5 minutes between increases until you are about 14-16 psi.

Sorry, I was thinking a picture of my setup, just realized you meant a link to the product. Late night....
 
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Sharing something I've learned. If you use two of the ice packs that come with the Blue Apron food orders. (I tried them briefly for fun.) And fill the kitchen sink with water and the two packs it will chill the keg to below 68 in one hour. The small ice packs aren't near as effective but these super large ice packs are and they aren't even completely thawed after an hour.
 
On the 12th day of Christmas Pico gave to us....

33% off Smashbomb Atomic IPA

Exploding onto the Ontario Craft Beer scene as our province’s first real hop-forward IPA, Smashbomb Atomic represents our maniacal tests in assaulting a beer with Hops at every possible stage of the brewing process. Flaring with a barely controlled concoction of Citra, Centennial, and Cascade hops, we give warning: this brew’s fallout ruins you for lamer beers.

Listed for 18.59 Normally 27.99
 
On the 13th day of Christmas special bonus day Pico gave to us....

33% off Half Sqeezed IPA

Pico’s session IPA adaptation of Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA.

Listed for 17.99 Normally 26.99
 
Ewelady said:
Sharing something I've learned. If you use two of the ice packs that come with the Blue Apron food orders. (I tried them briefly for fun.) And fill the kitchen sink with water and the two packs it will chill the keg to below 68 in one hour. The small ice packs aren't near as effective but these super large ice packs are and they aren't even completely thawed after an hour.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Do you have a photo of one? I'm using the small ones and trade out 4 every 30 minutes along with some frozen bottles of water.
 
The new tilts are crazy. I cold crash in an old side-by-side that is 14+ feet away from the pi. There's a wall between them (although there is an open doorway). Anyway, long story longer, I opened the fridge up a couple of days ago and the pi picked up the reading. I just opened it again, and sure enough, it pulled the data...
 
New Picobrew Pro coming Thursday. Old time extract brewer looking forward to trying this thing out. Been reading through the threads. Is there a FAQ or tips summary anywhere on how to get best results? Cold crashing? etc? Can't seem to find anything? Also, anywhere people have listed custom recipes?
 
Quigs said:
New Picobrew Pro coming Thursday. Old time extract brewer looking forward to trying this thing out. Been reading through the threads. Is there a FAQ or tips summary anywhere on how to get best results? Cold crashing? etc? Can't seem to find anything? Also, anywhere people have listed custom recipes?
Click to expand...

There was one on the Facebook group page. Lookup PicoBrewers on Facebook. A lot of us are on there with Pico employees as well. A wealth of info there as well as here.
 
There are many threads on this board on carbonation, I know. I'm new to kegging, and forced carbonation was not really an option for me.

I'm now wondering the impact on taste that the priming sugar has. Comparing 2 batches of the same pack, 1 naturally carbonated using the supplied priming sugar, in keg. And the other, forced carbed in keg. I find they don't taste the same, is it just me?

Would you kindly share how you carb your paks, please?

1. Forced using the keg's in port.
2. Forced using a carbonation stone.
3. Natural using the supplied priming sugar.
4. Natural using another sourced sugar (if so, what?)

I did not notice a huge difference, neither on the serving kegs, nor the fermenting kegs that I now exclusively use. I will also try bottling, and prime using the carbonation "drops" as a comparison since that method has worked for me for many years.

Side question, has anyone bottled a few beers from their keg after the keg was completely carbonated already?
 
There should not be any difference in taste between the different carbing methods. That being said I have not sugar carbed in years once I got into kegging, and will never go back. I do the standard gas in at serving pressure and let it sit till ready, for a Pico sized batch that’s about 5-7 days. You can bottle already carbed beer from a keg but you need something like the Blichman bottle gun, or a homemade version of.
 
jrb03 said:
There should not be any difference in taste between the different carbing methods. That being said I have not sugar carbed in years once I got into kegging, and will never go back. I do the standard gas in at serving pressure and let it sit till ready, for a Pico sized batch that’s about 5-7 days. You can bottle already carbed beer from a keg but you need something like the Blichman bottle gun, or a homemade version of.
Click to expand...

That's what I keep reading. At the same time, a secondary using priming sugars, to me sounds like more to it, than just carbonic acid. Slightly different F.G, residual sugars, etc... I'm either more sensitive or mistaken. I can't shake the idea that they are not truely the same though.

Yeah, I have a homemade one based off the instructions PicoBrew sent. Ball lock to picnic tap and long nose that goes down to the bottom of the bottle. A poor man's version of the Blichman gun.
 
macgyuver said:
More than enough, 3 paks are under 5 gal, 7 will offer a lot of headroom. I have fermented 3 paks in 5 gal keg but I did have a lot of blow off.

1 pak is 1 gal 6 cups
3 pak is 4 gal 2 cups
Click to expand...


Cool. I'm thinking of getting the Blichmann cornical turnkey kit (I love the pun). 7 gal capacity. False bottom keg...Ferment, carbonate, and serve from one vessel!

Triple batches make more sense of the brew we like the most. I went through 3 kegs quickly this past weekend and wished I had made more.

Related to this... would you pitch a whole yeast pack in a 5Gal keg that has 3 pico batches, or 3/4 of the sachet?
 
Lbarouf said:
That's what I keep reading. At the same time, a secondary using priming sugars, to me sounds like more to it, than just carbonic acid. Slightly different F.G, residual sugars, etc... I'm either more sensitive or mistaken. I can't shake the idea that they are not truely the same though.

Yeah, I have a homemade one based off the instructions PicoBrew sent. Ball lock to picnic tap and long nose that goes down to the bottom of the bottle. A poor man's version of the Blichman gun.
Click to expand...

Co2 really is co2. The amount of priming sugar is so small the effects on taste or abv are negligible. There are two things that are kinda byproducts of your carbon method that can make a bit of a difference. Since sugar carbing takes 3 weeks, your beer has aged 3 weeks, which can taste different than the same beer if you kegged and carbed in a couple days and is still a little green. The other difference can be the burst carbing method a lot of people use, raising the psi to 20-30, sometimes shaking the keg to carb really quickly. This carbing can lead to carbonic bite that a lot of people don’t realize can happen, which will usually mellow out over some time. I’ve done it all and much prefer the co2 method at serving pressure of 12psi to slowly carb, it lets the beer age and doesn’t risk overcarb or carbonic bite.

So the picnic tap bottle wand is NOT what you need for carbonated beer which I thought your question was. That is for uncarbed beer to bottles which you then bottle carb with sugar or drops. For bottling carbonated beer from a keg you need the blichman beer gun or equivalent “counter pressure bottle filler”. There is much more to bottling carbed beer.
 
jrb03 said:
Co2 really is co2. The amount of priming sugar is so small the effects on taste or abv are negligible. There are two things that are kinda byproducts of your carbon method that can make a bit of a difference. Since sugar carbing takes 3 weeks, your beer has aged 3 weeks, which can taste different than the same beer if you kegged and carbed in a couple days and is still a little green. The other difference can be the burst carbing method a lot of people use, raising the psi to 20-30, sometimes shaking the keg to carb really quickly. This carbing can lead to carbonic bite that a lot of people don’t realize can happen, which will usually mellow out over some time. I’ve done it all and much prefer the co2 method at serving pressure of 12psi to slowly carb, it lets the beer age and doesn’t risk overcarb or carbonic bite.

So the picnic tap bottle wand is NOT what you need for carbonated beer which I thought your question was. That is for uncarbed beer to bottles which you then bottle carb with sugar or drops. For bottling carbonated beer from a keg you need the blichmann beer gun or equivalent “counter pressure bottle filler”. There is much more to bottling carbed beer.
Click to expand...

Ah.... I will have to look again at their beer gun it seems. At the price, I might as well stick to either or.
 
Keg labels for FreeStyle. Has anyone ordered those? If so, can you post a pic please? Debating ordering them.
 
the photo just looked like a big blob. It's that same jell in a clear plastic bag. It weighs 5 lbs 6 ounces. So I am putting about 11 pounds in the sink. The bag measures a foot long.
 
howdy- my wife got me a pico c for my birthday, and it should be here by the weekend. I have no brewing experience, but have spent a handful of hours reading this thread A-Z.

Looking for some advice. I won't be sharing my brew with many folks. But, I will also likely want each batch to stay fresh for a week or so after tapping. Should I bite the bullet now and upgrade my serving keg to the pro style? Will the s-to-pro upgrade pack get me what I want, or should I be looking at other brands?
 
Count down to New Year, Pico is offering 30%off Brew Free or Die IPA today.

Like Abe, we believe in freedom. Freedom from the notion that IPAs should only assail you with bitterness. And from the idea that a big, balanced hoppy beer can't possible come in a can. We believe that those who have tasted freedom shall forever brew free. Brew Free! or Die IPA is our golden West Coast IPA that is perfectly balanced with a solid malt backbone and just the right amount of hop flavor and aroma. Taste Freedom.

Listed 18.89 normally 26.99



https://picobrew.com/brewmarketplace/BeerDetails.cshtml?Beer=574376115CAA4643849E2A9F1019C2F4
 
Kravdog said:
Will the s-to-pro upgrade pack get me what I want, or should I be looking at other brands?
Click to expand...


Most of us here have upgraded to ball lock kegs for serving. They are miles ahead of the serving kegs. I have a S and upgraded to the Pro kit and have not looked back. I don’t know what comes with the C for connecting to ball lock kegs so I can’t say the pro upgrade has everything you need. If the C comes with the ball lock post adapters then yes you will be thankful you upgraded. I would recommend the pro kit since it comes with the regulator. If you are looking for extra kegs later on as some of us have several brews on tap at once. Look at Williams Sonoma they have 20% off of them which puts the keg at $80.

That being said welcome to the Pico family, there is a wealth of knowledge here as you can see from reading this thread A-Z . If you are on Facebook there is a group of us as well. Do a search for PicoBrewers. Feel free to ask any question you have. We will try our best to help you.
 
Count down to New Year, Pico is offering 35% off Dragonstooth Imperial Oatmeal Stout today.

A rich, full-bodied and complex Imperial Oatmeal Stout. GABF Gold 1999 & 2004, Silver 2002, 2006, & 2007. World Beer Cup Gold 2006, Bronze 2008. This Seattle staple is one of the best of its kind. Savor on a cool autum evening in front of warming fire.

Listed 19.49 normally

https://picobrew.com/brewmarketplace/BeerDetails.cshtml?Beer=C185053907454B599AAA9F07D42845CE
 
Kravdog said:
howdy- my wife got me a pico c for my birthday, and it should be here by the weekend. I have no brewing experience, but have spent a handful of hours reading this thread A-Z.

Looking for some advice. I won't be sharing my brew with many folks. But, I will also likely want each batch to stay fresh for a week or so after tapping. Should I bite the bullet now and upgrade my serving keg to the pro style? Will the s-to-pro upgrade pack get me what I want, or should I be looking at other brands?
Click to expand...
I usually tell people to give the serving keg a try for a couple brews before you spend a lot of money, just to make sure your really into brewing and the process. Most people are, and quickly move away from the serving keg because they really suck. Don’t waste money on their regulator for the serving keg. Moving up to ball lock kegs is the best option, but you will want a kegerator or spare fridge. Another option is bottling for a while. I despise bottling and never would of recommended in the past, but I was sent one of their new bottling kits to test and am liking it. It’s 5 one liter swing top bottles, so it’s not too much work to clean and sanitize and cap 5 bottles this way. And 1 liter is a perfect size to sit down and crack a bottle or two with a friend. You have a few options, just depends what works with your space and budget and drinking.
 
I will agree, bottling the traditional way is a huge pain, I still do it occasionally. I currently have around 160 bottles hanging on my bottle tree waiting to be used. I am experimenting with PET bottle right now. Since I go to the neighborhood pool and glass is not allowed I have been caring my keg. That is a task in among itself with the cooler, co2 tank, keg, and cups. So far the pet bottles are nice but I would not naturally carbonate in them. I have been transferring from my keg to the bottles after carbonation with a reverse pressure attachment. So far is has worked well.

I also tried the serving keg a few times. They do work for what they are intended for but they do not hold beer for long. I was never able to keep the pressure on it to maintain carbonation or to keep oxidation out. I tried serving with my S keg that came with the kit after modifying the regulator. That sold me on using kegs. I did a write up on the modification that I ended up with for my regulator in this thread as well.
 
jrb03 said:
I usually tell people to give the serving keg a try for a couple brews before you spend a lot of money, just to make sure your really into brewing and the process. Most people are, and quickly move away from the serving keg because they really suck. Don’t waste money on their regulator for the serving keg. Moving up to ball lock kegs is the best option, but you will want a kegerator or spare fridge. Another option is bottling for a while. I despise bottling and never would of recommended in the past, but I was sent one of their new bottling kits to test and am liking it. It’s 5 one liter swing top bottles, so it’s not too much work to clean and sanitize and cap 5 bottles this way. And 1 liter is a perfect size to sit down and crack a bottle or two with a friend. You have a few options, just depends what works with your space and budget and drinking.
Click to expand...


Too late. As soon as she told me the c was on the way (instead of the pro) I ordered the pico firm+c keg combo, the regulator, and an extra serving keg.

Oh well, I guess I will tempt fate with the first few paks on the way (stingray, half squeezed, and Pliny clone) and expand from there. Was budgeting hobbies for 2018 and pegged this new one at 5k...can only hope to keep it that low!
 

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