Customer Ratings & Reviews

I love my PICO Brew! I've already brewed two batches and both turned out really well. They have clear directions from the manual if you like to read or for me watching a YouTube video was more up my alley. As first I was wondering what I got myself into, but about half way through the first batch I was like I can do this! The machine will coach you along the way as well. Having patience is the hardest part of brewing as you want a cold beer once this is done, but it has to ferment and then carbonate. I like how they have thought through the design of this model. The kegs are much easier to use and clean than the ball lock ones. It's still work, but work much easier to do than brewing out of buckets like I've seen friends do in the fast. One happy customer here!

Just tapped my first brew from my PicoBrew Model C that I got thru their Kickstarter program. It's Helles Lager that came with the promo. It's better than I expected. I can't wait for my second brew to finish fermenting. I'm a longtime craft beer drinker, but first time brewer. The PicoBrew C was easy to set up and start brewing. It takes a fair amount of distilled or reverse osmosis water, which fortunatley I had on hand. The brewing is so simple and the directions are easy to follow. I did receive an error code, but the customer service guy got me up and going again quickly. I like that it monitors what's happening and let's you know when something isn't right. There's also the ability to monitor the process on the PicoBrew website. Cleanup is easy as most parts are dishwasher safe. And PicoPaks are compostable. I've been watching PicoBrew for a couple of years and was thrilled they came out with the affordable model C. I really like to sample microbrews, but until now I've been left with a rather limited local market. With my PicoBrew C I can make over 100 of the best beers out there and enjoy them at home. Plan on 2-3 weeks from brew to beer. It's worth the wait!

This is truly the most innovative product I have seen in years ..... Not only is it easy to make craft beer in your own home it is the freshest beer I have ever had! I am familiar with the brew practice and I have to say for anyone who wants perfection without the fear of failure this is what will get you that awesome feeling of drinking your own brewed beverage. It is even wifi enabled and you can watch your brew online .... and the selection of beers is more than you can get at a excellent carry out. Beers from around the world at your finger tips. And wait till you brew and smell the grains and hops waifing through the house ... pure heaven .... and the chickens love the leftovers ... This is an investment and an excellent hobby ... CHEERS!

I am a novice brewer that never really thought about purchasing all the equipment I thought it would take to brew good quality beer. My wife bought a Pico C for me for Christmas and once I did a little research I was intrigued by the idea of purchasing pre-determined beer types/flavors and simply following the instructions to produce the end product. Three months later I am addicted to the process! It is so fun to order the pico packs and a few weeks later the beer is ready and as advertised the quality is great! I am working on getting better at clarifying my beer by using a consistent temperature for 'cold crashing' once fermenting is done, I really enjoy the simplicity of the process. I do have some suggested improvements: 1. The website is a little tough to follow, a lot of clicks to get to the manual, and the manual is a little rough in appearance, a copied and posted version of a manual that would be nice to receive as a part of the original package. 2. There are still a lot of 'Coming soon' youtube videos in the resources section... they need to be available. 3. An app would be nice the ordering process is a little onerous, having to enter my details every time is slower than I would like (This could totally be me not knowing of a way to save the details on my account!!! Any pointers on this would be appreciated... 4. Finally the shipping costs are expensive. In this day and age paying upwards of $15 for shipping gets under my skin, especially when my Amazon prime account costs me next to nothing for shipping. These negatives are minor in the grand scheme of things. I absolutely love my Pico C and have purchased 2 more of both brew kegs and serving kegs so I can keep trying new beers!!!

Brewing beer had long been on my to-do list with plans of pulling the trigger this year. I was stalling over the fact that my free time is limited. While I was vaguely familiar with PicoBrew, I hadn’t done any homework on the pros/cons when my wife surprised me with a unit. In the two months following, I have brewed about 5 different batches with good results. For what it is worth, my assessment: 1. A very good intro for beginners. I suspect that within the next two years, I will upgrade to their Z series, but for now, this unit fits my schedule. 2. One of my concerns with the unit was the sacrifice of creativity with using the PicoPaks. First, they do have the freestyle option where you can tweak or create your own PicoPak. I have done this once, and I was pleased with the results. But where I have been toying with creativity is the fermenting phase. You can begin exploring yeast options vs. the yeast provided, tweaking with dry-hopping, or more. I have added honey/vanilla to one batch, and created a green tea/sage batch. My next plan will be to use charred oak in the process. 3. Racking and cleanup – enjoyable and easy. 4. Customer service – I have had little need, but the few questions I have posed were quickly answered. 5. I have the PicoStill on order which works with this unit. I am looking forward to see what I can create with this add-on. 6. Cons? – none to report, it has worked flawlessly and fits a lifestyle where free time is not readily available. I do not think you will regret buying this unit, unless your desire is to have complete, hands-on control, over every step of the process, including clean-up. Cheers.

The Pico Model C is pretty great. I wanted to give home brewing a shoot but I didn't want to mess around the house with countless buckets and tubes. With the Pico the brewing process is simplified however you still feel like you are brewing your own beer. I just finished my first brew and I was very nervous if I was doing everything correctly so I had a laptop near by and I went though each step. This isn't really necessary since the machine will tell you what to do anyways but being a first timer I didn't even know the basic process. It's pretty cool. You connect the Pico to your WiFi and perform the first rinse. After that all you have to do is add the picopak and water to the pico model c. The machine does everything until the wart is ready. From there you let it cool overnight or 24 hours and after it's cool you add the yeast. This is now the fermentation process, which just means the beer sitting out for 10-15 days (depending on your beer). After this you transfer the beer into a keg and cold crash then carbonate. Once it's carbonated it's ready to consume. My beer (Pico Pils) turn out pretty well being my first brew. I was pretty amazed how easy it was to do and at the end have a quality beer. Whats really cool is you can micobrew from brewery's all over the country. This selection that PicoBrew has is amazing and it's growing daily. I would however recommend for everyone to get Star-San, this simplify the decontamination part of the process for me.

The product requires brew packs and the company is not selling at this time.

DISCLAIMER: PicoBrew solicited this review in exchange for a free PicoPak, but in doing so they did not, in any way, encourage me to submit a positive review. They only asked for an honest, unbiased review, which I am giving here. My overall rating of the Pico Model C unit itself is a full 5 stars (but I took off one star for reasons I'll hit later in the review). I actually received my unit with a problem that ruined the free PicoPak that came with my order (through their KickStarter campaign). One of the pumps in the unit was jammed, which prevented water from being pulled from the reservoir and into the step filter (the clear, plastic container that holds the PicoPak). After submitting a ticket with PicoBrew, I was quickly given some troubleshooting steps to try and we were able to solve the issue without needing a return or exchange. PicoBrew also replaced the PicoPak free of charge and was exceptionally courteous during the whole process. Because of the very good experience I had with the support team, I did not take off any stars for receiving a semi-defective unit. I have now been able to go through the full brewing process with a PicoPak, the Gourdeous Harvest Ale. The process of setting up the machine and its associated gear is very straightforward and easy to follow. There are two "surprises" that I noticed when I first set up the machine. 1.) the unit is a bit bigger than I was expecting, but it still fits well on a typical kitchen counter under hung cabinets (see attached photo). 2.) the unit is louder than I was expecting. When the pumps are running, it makes quite a bit of noise, but it is nothing that is deafening or uncomfortable. But if you are brewing with the Model C, you'll probably have to turn up the TV volume or have a conversation at higher volume. The display on the Model C does a great job of informing you of what steps need to be taken for each of the processes (e.g. brewing a PicoPak, rinsing the unit). Like I said earlier, the process of setting up the unit to brew the wort (unfermented beer) was very straightforward. After brewing, however, things got a little more complicated, as is expected with all the variations that are possible during the fermentation and carbonation processes, which have little to do with the Pico C unit. In my opinion, this is where the Pico C manual starts to taper off significantly in being helpful to a home-brewing novice like myself. This is the reason for me taking off one star. During the fermentation process, the manual instructs you to let the brewing keg sit out overnight so that it can cool to room temperature. However, my friends who are home-brewers told me that it is more ideal to get the hot, freshly-brewed wort down to room temperature as quickly as possible. This is why chilling apparatuses can be so complicated/expensive for traditional home-brewing setups. I wish the manual would state if the cool-down process should differ from traditional home-brewing methods, or if chilling the keg as fast as possible is OK to do. In general, I think the manual could do a much better job of pointing out differences between the PicoBrew method and traditional home-brewing methods since there is really no community for discussing the usage of the Pico C (at least not yet). Therefore, if you try to Google something that the Pico C manual glosses over, you will not find much information specific to the Pico C, if anything at all. Since this is brand new method of brewing beer, PicoBrew should have elaborated more of the nuances of the fermentation and carbonation processes. Another area where the manual fell short was the carbonation process. It does state that you can do forced-carbonation if you buy CO2 cartridges and a regulator for the serving keg, but it does not provide any information on for how long or at what pressure you will need to do that. If this is information that comes with the regulator, then the manual should say something like "check your CO2 regulator manual for instructions on the forced-carbonation process." As of the time of writing this review my first beer is still keg conditioning (carbonating), so I cannot yet speak on the quality of the beer that I have produced using the Pico C. As I have stated earlier, the unit is quite easy to use and the brewing process is very simple. From what I have seen of the brewing process for a typical home-brewing setup, PicoBrew saves you a LOT of headache by automatically knowing what temps to boil at, which ingredients get boiled, for how long, etc. Instead, you can just sit back, enjoy a beer you just brewed, and wait for the Pico Model C to tell you when it is done! I will update this review once I have completed a brew or two to comment on the quality of the beer that I have produced!

I purchased the PICO C as part of the kickstarter campaign, and love it! I am a very experienced homebrewer, and am not giving up my normal 5 gallon brew setup, but the PICO C allows me to brew even more! I use the PICO C on those days when I don't have 5 hours to brew. I set it and forget it, then come back in a few hours to finish it up. I may or may not even be running home from work during my lunch break, getting a pico brew started, then chilling when I get home. I love the idea that the picopack includes all of the grain and hops in proportion to get proper efficiency from the PICO C process to produce consistent results. It is also a bigger deal than most might think that by using distilled water, each picopack contains the proper minerals to build the water profile for that beer. Overall, very impressed with the PICO C for when I don't have the time to complete a full traditional brew day. I have the Helles Lager (my first brew) in bottles carbing up right now, about to go into the fridge for a good 8-12 week lagering. Right behind that, I have the Rogue Deadguy Ale, one of my all-time favorites, finishing up fermentation and about to go into bottles. This weekend, I will be brewing the Automator Dopplebock. I also have the Picoferm and a few more kegs on the way in December. Loving the convenience and consistency of the PICO C!

I have always wanted to brew beer but was hesitant for time and making bad beer. I found the Pico C to be very easy to use and clean. I have brewed two beer and starting the third. The first was Lucky Envelope Brewing Helles Lager tasted good but I had not had it before so don't know how clos it was to original. The second beer was Dragonstooth Stout - Elysian Brewing Company turned out very good same as I get in bottle. The next time I make Dragonstooth Stout I'm going to see how much I can turn down the ABV and still have the wonderful taste. I'm having fun and the house smell so good when doing the first process.

I purchased the PICO C just before Christmas last year and I’ve been very impressed with it to date. I’d been wanting to get into making beer for many years and this to me was a nice foray into that world. I realize you could get started brewing for much less money, but I view this as the “Advanced Starting Kit”. At 50 and just sending my last one off to college. I may be in a different spot than some others looking at this, but if you’re drinking quality beer at your local brewery, you’re spending a lot of money anyway. As for the PicoC itself, lots of things are done for you, but there is still enough you can tweak and modify (mess up too) that made it a good place to start for me. Clean-up is a cinch, but I must admit having the bonus of the sous vide is worth its weight in gold, especially after almost purchasing one for Christmas. I do highly recommend after using the serving keg, consider buying a second or some bottles. I decided to purchase bottles (0.5 and 1 liter) so I can keep going without having to buy another serving keg (there not my favorite to clean anyway). One thing I would say where they could improve is in some of the instructions (I looked at the PicoS online videos since many of them are applicable). Specifically, I’d love to see a high-level overview for each beer from a brewery. For example, when brewing a BiBock (lager), I was essentially flying blind until reaching out to the support team. They quickly helped resolve that issue with the basic instructions on fermentation time and lagering time. Overall, I’d heard support was a little bit of an issue for some, but they’ve been great with me. First time was with fixing a delivery issue (no yeast included with the PicoPak), and the second time was with the aforementioned “lager instructions”. Very pleased with the overall experience.

The Pico C is a great "gateway" product. It has taught me the basics of craft home-brewing. It is extremely easy to use when the instructions are followed. It takes out many hours of oversight as compared to the traditional brewing process. It also affords the option of choosing between virtually any type of brew (IPA, Lager, Porter, Stout, etc.). The results have been mostly consistent (with the exception of some Paks that were flawed, but still produced great-tasting beer) and the setup/use easy. Brewing is convenient because you buy a pre-formulated and packaged kit. The only other products you will need eventually are the cleaning/sanitizing products and the distilled water. Everything else comes with the package ready to brew. I also bought the bottling kit, which comes with (5) 1 liter bottles and the tube (actually bought 2 kits). The kits are equipped with codes that allow the Pico to recognize the brew and program itself with the correct temperatures, times, and processes. It is somewhat flexible in that it allows you to slightly modify the ABV and the IBU's. While this is a fantastic hobby, I will admit that there are a few flaws. Specifically, the customization of your own PicoPaks is severely limited (don't plan on cloning any brews). In addition, there is room for sterilization concerns. Namely, even after rinsing, there is some residue left over that is ejected prior to bottling/kegging. Lastly, the yield is very low. One PicoPak ideally yields 5 Liters. However, the yield depends on the quality of the Pak and what you set the ABV to. Basically, it's an average of ~$24 for a normal 14 pack of beer. This does not include the water and electricity consumed in the process. Essentially, don't plan on getting your investment back in that aspect. But do plan on it paying off via the lack of oversight required. Overall, this is a great product that I have found to be user-friendly, convenient, and enjoyable.

I can't say enough about my experience with the Pico brewing system. I started brewing beer about ten years ago. 5 gallon batches taking 4 to 6 hours from start to finish. I enjoyed most of the batches I made but I will be the first to say not all were up to par with off the shelf beers. After babies were born and life takes over my brewing days became fewer and farther between. The Pico has changed all of that! I have had a beer fermenting everyday since my first batch in January. Once the fermentation process is completed, I crash the yeast in the frig overnight, transfer to a picnic keg and force carbonate. Next step is to wash the vessel and start the next brew. From when I start to transfer to brewing the next beer takes me about 30-45 min. The brewing process take about 2 hours and I monitor the brew process on an Ipad while making dinner. After the brew process is done, I start the cleaning process. The cleaning process is like a gift from the beer gods. You add water, hook the hoses together and press the button. At this point you walk away and wait for the Pico to tell you its clean. Pour out the dirty water and wash the container. Done! Every third brew the Pico askes you to do a deep clean. The deep clean takes more water and a dishwasher tab. With the same amount of effort from me. The beer that I have been making has been perfect for parties. In the past I would bring out one of my home brews for a party and later find wounded solders. Now I tap a keg for a party and people line up for a second beer. My wife now has two of her own beers that I am required to brew, she never like beer before the Pico. Thank you Pico for getting me back into brewing.

I’ve really enjoyed my experience with the Pico C so far. Over the past year as a New Englander, getting into craft beer has been a great weekend hobby visiting Maine Vermont and touring my native Massachusetts. When my wife got me the Pico C for the holiday I was thrilled. It took the scare out of what would have to go into using the traditional equipment to make beer, not to mention the space constraints. The first brew I did was a free style which means I picked my own ingredients and just wanted to be creative. The brew process was a breeze. The pdf manual is great and the on screen instructions are easy to follow. It’s really foolproof. The result was great but unexpected. I got something that resulted a Sam’s Winter but an IPA version with a ton of hops. I used natural carbonation to do it and it was very easy. My next brew is a West Coast IPA which I brewed this evening. Again simple process and you can also tweak the recipe to adjust abv and ibv. that’s a cool feature. In both brew experiences, I did it while entertaining and it was a big hit. You can really get people interested in the process and your house smells great in the process. Just play some board games eat some pizza and have some craft brew while this goes. I’ve also invested into the system. I bought the forced carbonation kit for it and also the Picoferm to properly monitor fermination. In short, I love this thing and I am excited to see the Pico Pak list continue to grow

I have brewed beers in the past with my brother in law and it has always been a full day affair. Not that it's a bad thing as we usually grill and drink beer during the process, but there is a lot of cleanup and labor obviously associated with doing so. This where the Pico C comes in and frankly the main reason I purchased it. I have now brewed to beers on the unit and utilized the Sous Vide option. The PicoPaks are easy to work with and there is quite a selection to choose from. The fermentation and racking process is easy and cleanup doesn't take more than 10 minutes. I am looking forward to receiving my additional brew and serving kegs to keep this going. One of the items I hope they improve on is offering more hops options in the customizing paks. I feel that as these units continue to sell, more options will become available. It would also be great to force carb your serving kegs after racking.

First of all, I am not a hard core home brew enthusiast. In the past,I have dabbled with home brew beer kits. This however, is a whole new game. I bought this on a whim and am glad I did. The technology and ingenuity of this system are quite impressive. I started of with a Pico Pilsner brew pack and followed the downloadable guide. The appliance also walks you through each step. The process was painless, and I was pleasantly surprised by my first attempt at brewing. The pilsner was very enjoyable. My interactions with customer service were also painless. I was missing a racking tube, and they shipped one out promptly. I have since brewed a stout and a dopplebock, again with great results. I have used both the included serving keg, and some purchased bottles. I find bottling to be a bit more work, but it results in being able to hold on to your brew longer. They have a very robust selection of beers to try in the store, and I look forward to many more brews. I definitely recommend this if you are looking to home brew, but without all of the equipment.

This has to be one of the coolest machines I have ever owned. I looked at other options for brewing my own beer and didn't want the hassle of turning my entire kitchen into a brewery every time I wanted to make beer. The Pico Brew system is so easy to use and hardly takes up any space. All you have to do is order one of the many "Pico Packs" from the website, add distilled water and your brewing your own beer. Since buying the Pico C I have since purchased another brewing keg so I can have more then one flavor of beer at a time. If you want great beer you make yourself without all of the hassle I highly recommend the Pico systems.

I am now on my third batch of beer with the PicoBrew C and loving every part of the process (ok, maybe I’m enjoying the drinking part more than the other parts, but its all fun). The manual is very clear but the videos they have online worked even better for getting me up and running. Setup was very simple and once you explore the different parts that come in the box it all starts to make sense how it works and what the different parts are for. My first session was the Stargazer IPA from Rooftop brewing in Seattle. If anything the process was too simple; I followed the instructions for loading the Pikopak and water and then hit the button to start. The PicoBrew started making noises and humming and told me it would be done in less than 3 hours. I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t really telling me what it was doing. So I wandered off to login online and see what information showed there. What a pleasant surprise! There is a graph of temperatures and a better description of what part of the process the Pico is running through at the time. The process concludes with the beer pumped into a cute little keg ready for fermentation. You let it sit until room temp (24 hours) and then add the yeast. The keg then sits in a warm room for a week or two depending on the recipe to magically generate alcohol. At this point you use the PicoBrew to pump the beer into this cute little 5L dispensing keg and then add sugar. Once the keg has sat for a couple weeks it becomes carbonated and is ready to drink. At this point I ran into my only real challenge… I came home on a Friday and was excited to crack into my first beer. Just before I opened it I though “wait a second; wont it start to go flat once I open it?”. I wasn’t sure I was ready to commit to roughly 13 bottles worth of 7.0 ABV in one weekend. I was able to solve this problem by calling a couple of friends and we were able to power through most of it while I showed them how to brew my next batch. Like I said; lots of fun through the whole process.

I received my Pico C as a Christmas gift. My first brew was the Buffalo Sweat it was very good. I am currently working on a keg of Helle's Lager, Smashbomb Atomic IPA and 1724 ESB. I can't wait to try each of them. Pico makes it Sooooo easy to brew beer at home. I highly recommend purchasing a system. As I become more proficient who knows maybe I'll upgrade :)

For years I’ve wanted to brew my own beer. I stopped at many beer and wine supply stores. It was always the same, so much hardware, pots and pans, cooling coils, hydrometers, and so on. I live in 800 sq. ft, that won’t work. I saw an ad for Pico C and was interested; I went on line and purchased my Pico C. I received it December 5, my Christmas present. The system arrived in first class condition, well packed. The unit is just over 12” wide and 16” high and fits on the kitchen counter when I brew a batch of beer. The rest of the time I store it in a closet. The brew keg and serving keg are well made and I store them in the original boxes when not in use. I ordered the 5 one liter bottle kit and like being able to take one or two with me. The manual is online and I put it on my phone in I-Books and it is there when I need it. The brewing unit is wifi enabled and you can watch the mash and hop process on line. You can also see what other owners are brewing and where they are in the world. I drink my share of craft beer and the first 3 brews, Christmas Duck Porter, Atomic Amber Ale, and Irish Dry Stout were dead on. I use natural carbonation. All of my family and friends agreed the brews were as good as the craft breweries.