Picobrew Z

[Trevor Mack]

Just heard from Picobrew support that the recipe crafter is live on a non listed url on their site. Within weeks the access should be opened for us all to use and get familiar with it as devices arrive over the coming weeks.

 

[Mike Howard]

I'll be interested to see how the Z2 performs over the long haul and how much time is spent cleaning.

 

[Trevor Mack]

I'll be interested to see how the Z2 performs over the long haul and how much time is spent cleaning.

If making the same brew in both units... A lot more than using a different type of vessel for brewing. If making 2 different brews (slight modifications of the same or completely different) I wouldn't expect it to be much more than any other method.

 

[Mike Howard]

Well, given most folks only have one dishwasher and one sink...I expect the cleanup for the Z2 and up to be double, triple, quad...

And in order to keep the Zymatics at tip top shape, you need to do a pre-rinse and a large post rinse of the unit, clean all the screens and hoppers and give the step filter a good scrub. Skimping on any cleanup leads to poor HEX loop behavior, leaks in the stepper arm and poor draining. I don't see any improved methods of cleaning for the new Z series, so longevity will be a concern. I already see they had to mod the step filters because of an alignment issue and now you've just doubled the amount of parts to go bad.

I'm lucky in that I have four step filters, two I use for brewing and two I use for rinses. That allows me to get the post brew fresh water rinses started while I empty grains, scrub screens and wash all plastics.

 

[Trevor Mack]

Having extra step filters is a great idea to cut down on the cleaning process by reserving a few for fresh rinses while you are cleaning the brewing filters.

Yeah cleaning a z2 would be x2 that of a Z1 which is why I said if making the same brew in both subunits I'd rather use a different brewing vessel. Though if you are brewing two different beers (even slight modifications of the same base for use in recipe perfecting) it wouldn't be much more cleaning than if you had 1 brewing machine you needed to clean between brew sessions. The benefit here is both could be brewing at the same time.

 

[Goblism]

When did you order yours? I'm just curious... I waited until the last few days of the half price pre order to order a Z2 and was curious how much longer I would have been waiting to brew anything. I already canceled mine and ordered the brewie+ and got it around thanksgiving and have brewed 3 times. Not that the first north american version of it hasn't had its own issues but It is a far better machine for me due to water hookups and automatic cooling to temperature that takes less than 10 minutes.

I ordered mine the day the campaign launched.

Interesting that the z2 hasn't been mentioned in any update yet... No details how it works. Though from my emails with support it essentially is just two Z1 configurations stacked together with a different head control unit. That head control unit then attached to both Z1 base configurations and the higher voltage power while each base unit connects to their own kegs allowing you to do 2 different brews at the same time or just 2 of the same (wish the 2 of the same would all connect together, but not the design here).

I have thought the same thing. Hopefully something surfaces soon but I won't be surprised if there is another delay, but will definitely disappointed if another delay occurs.

 

[Still Brewn]

So if the assembly line still isn't up and running I would be waiting for at least another few months. Glad I decided to cancel while the one I got was on sale. Saved $500 and had beer for the holiday gatherings at my house and didn't have to move any hot wort.

 

[jcaiola]

I’m hoping that when they all get delivered and work extremely well for you guys that hung in there, that they will be what we all hoped for. Your patience should be rewarded. I also hope that their support team steps up should there be problems. I’ve had very good luck with Pico support once you get their attention, so I’d like to see that continue.

Finally, I want to hear success stories of how these babies are being used since we all invested so much time and money (even for those like me who refunded out after the original big delay). Please share!

We’re all in the same boat rowing through the suds.

Best,
Joe

 

[chupalt]

Just an update on my order that had an updated expected ship date of 1/11 and was supposed to be shipping this week (ready for pickup last Saturday). I haven't received any tracking information. I contacted support and they said that they identified a material QC issue in some units and stopped the shipment of pending units. They didn't provide a new updated ship date, but did say that an official email may come out tonight. Maybe we'll get new dates in that email.

 

[chupalt]

Just heard from Picobrew support that the recipe crafter is live on a non listed url on their site. Within weeks the access should be opened for us all to use and get familiar with it as devices arrive over the coming weeks.

Is it this one? I saw this posted somewhere a couple months ago.

https://www.brewpen.com/

 

[Trevor Mack]

Is it this one? I saw this posted somewhere a couple months ago.

https://www.brewpen.com/

Oh interesting. That looks like something slightly different that appears to be using the BeerXML standard as a way to get recipes into and out of PicoBrew software. Right now you can't download your recipes to take to other devices (at least I don't think you can). Maybe this is eventually what they will open up as their "open API" that we were always promised?

 

[Mike Howard]

You can export any Zymatic recipe into BeerXML right from the Recipe Crafter...you cannot IMPORT recipes though. That would be a nice feature to have.

 

[Mutant]

Your orders for a 'Zx' was about 1 year ago with the following statement:

*Note: Z units estimated to begin shipping July 2018.

 

[chupalt]

Your orders for a 'Zx' was about 1 year ago with the following statement:

*Note: Z units estimated to begin shipping July 2018.

Yeah, I ordered on 2/13. It was looking like picobrew was going to beat one year for the earliest orders, but now I’m not so sure

 

[Trevor Mack]

You can export any Zymatic recipe into BeerXML right from the Recipe Crafter...you cannot IMPORT recipes though. That would be a nice feature to have.

Ah yeah #facepalm

 

[Brewfreedom]

Glad I got out. My 3 vessel that I replaced my Z2 pre-order with is probably quicker/simpler to clean. Only downside is I can't yet let it brew in my sleep but I can probably count on 1 hand the number of times that truly went without a hitch on the Zymatic.

 

[singybrue]

Well, here's the email I woke up to this morning:

Here is your weekly update on all things Z.

SCENE I. A cavernous laboratory. In the middle, a brewing Z1. Ominous thunder. Enter three engineers...

We hit a production pothole this week when our QA team noticed blistering in the powder coat finish of a Z undergoing stress-tests. The blistering appeared after extended brewing and could result in the powder coat finish flaking off, so our QA manager immediately stopped Z shipments while engineers investigated the cause.

Fortunately, this component's vendor is just a couple miles down the road from PicoBrew, so the owner and several staff came over to help debug the issue. Long story short: the cause appears to be an incompatibility between the sheet aluminum stock and prep material—since this vendor has been powder coating for years without changes to their process or materials, all signs point to an issue with the aluminum stock.

(We also tested cases from the previous production lot to ensure existing / shipped units do not have this issue. Good news: they passed—which only points further to the base stock material.)

To get back on schedule, our vendor is running a new set of cases to cover our short-term production needs—we are stress-testing that lot and if there is no issue, the vendor will complete a full production run. In the meantime, our production facility continues building Z sub-components and assemblies, so we are ready to go on final assembly once the new cases pass QA.

While the additional delay at this point is both frustrating and embarrassing, powder coat finish flaking off a production unit is a must-fix issue—creative brewing additions like eye of newt and toe of frog may be all the rage in craft beer these days, but powder coating should never be on that list.

SCHEDULE: This delays folks in the January 2019 production set by about a week but does not impact subsequent production runs.

Thank you again for your continued support and patience!

Cheers,
PicoBrew Team

I have been waffling on canceling my Z2 order for a few months now. This latest setback is not pushing me over the edge, as s*** happens, but there's no way I'm seeing my Z2 in March.

 

[Goblism]

I am going to feel a lot better once someone actually receives a Z1, my date is still set for end of February. I really wish they would show a Z2/Z3/Z4 to give those of us who pre-ordered a little hope that the product is actually fully developed (or nearly fully developed) and has potential to be delivered somewhat close to what is projected.

 

[jablon10]

I really wish they would show a Z2/Z3/Z4 to give those of us who pre-ordered a little hope that the product is actually fully developed (or nearly fully developed) and has potential to be delivered somewhat close to what is projected.

Some Z2 test pics were on Twitter a few weeks back.
https://twitter.com/buffalowing/status/1080888786827923456?s=21

 

[Virginia_Ranger]

I'm thinking about canceling and saving myself $1500 and just getting a RoboBrew, its not fully automated but it seems like the best bang for the buck. Plus with amount that seems to go wrong with these machine, lets be honest its an involved process either way.

 

[Brolie]

I went from pico z2 to a brewie and then settled with a grainfather. i was looking for true automation and guess i will be for some time but let me tell you. the grainfather is pretty slick so far. very impressed (much higher quality than the mash&boil i owned previously and sold) the grain father connect alerts me on my phone when something is needed and thats about as automatic as ill get for now but at least im not thirsty while waiting for the knuckleheads at pico to get their sh!t together. at this point i believe they are flat out lying to us regarding the new z units. they are no where near ready if this is the type of stuff they are just discovering.

 

[Mike Howard]

Delays and Excuses.... This is what happens when you don't properly estimate your ability to produce a product. It seems they totally missed the mark and now are trying to rush the product out the door because of all the cancellations and complaints. This is turning into a nightmare that 6 months from now we are all going to be complaining about...yikes.

 

[Fluffy Beard]

There's always other options too like the Unibrau, SS Brewtech 1V, or Grainfather. There are so many great options out there, that it's hard to justify the Z. I've heard people who like the RoboBrew and the price is definitely right. Personally, I like the SS Brewtech or Unibrau because you can always expand the system to a 3 vessel later on.

 

[Virginia_Ranger]

I ended up going RoboBrew due to price which allowed for me to get some more accessories (7.6 gallon kegmenter anyone?)

 

[Trevor Mack]

At such small quantities there really is no advantage of a 3 vessel from my understanding, but the flexibility and future growth potential of the SS brewtech has got me thinking again about cancelling my order.

 

[user 204491]

So glad I canceled my Z2 when I did and went with the Braumeister. Best money I have every spent on brewing equipment. About to brew my 10th batch on it this weekend, and I could not be happier.

 

[Brewfreedom]

So glad I canceled my Z2 when I did and went with the Braumeister. Best money I have every spent on brewing equipment. About to brew my 10th batch on it this weekend, and I could not be happier.

Speidel - german co. Gives an s about quality, customer needs and knows a thing or two about brewing and manufacturing. Long history in brewing. Polar opposite of shysterbrew.

 

[Mutant]

PicoBrew needs to improve their software to design recipes. What's up with your advance design getting reset to defaults if you go back in to update the base design? There are other flaws in their software that are very annoying.

 

[Trevor Mack]

Have a feeling this next update (almost 2 days late) is going to be about how the government shutdown delayed parts for the systems that were to be delivered last week... I'm preparing to send my second cancel email and this time actually cancel for a refund.

 

[sbbeebe]

PicoBrew needs to improve their software to design recipes. What's up with your advance design getting reset to defaults if you go back in to update the base design? There are other flaws in their software that are very annoying.

This has been a problem since the very beginning. As a software developer, I can't imagine the fix to this particular problem is very difficult... unless there are significant design issues with the software. But whether it is a design issue or not, this is really unacceptable. PB's refusal or inability to fix it speaks volumes.

I have since moved on to GrainFather, and for the brewing I do, I couldn't be happier.