Craft beer is a favorite drink of many across the globe, yet it’s a hobby with expenses that easily add up over time. The Pico Model C by PicoBrew is a smart appliance that enables anyone to brew five liters of craft beer using ingredient-and-recipe packets (PicoPaks) from craft breweries across the globe.
To use the device, users insert their PicoPak into Pico and add water. They then personalize their beer; brew it for approximately two hours; ferment the brew in a beer keg; transfer and carbonate; and enjoy.
As with many smart devices today, there’s a companion marketplace for PicoPaks known as the BrewMarketplace. It enables customers to find craft beer by exploring user reviews, and through communicating directly with the brewers themselves. Additionally, it allows users to discover recipes, support the local craft brew community, and explore a variety of beers from anywhere.
There’s also a FreeStyle PicoPak BrewCrafter. This program enables users to create their unique craft beers by dragging and dropping grains and hops into a custom PicoPak. PicoBrew then does the heavy lifting of sourcing ingredients and packaging the creation before delivery.
In addition to the online community, there’s a companion iOS and Android mobile app called BrewPulse which serves as an entire craft beer pipeline at the user’s fingertips. The app enables users to explore new PicoPaks and stay updated throughout the whole brewing process. The app allows users to monitor each of the creations as they progress through fermentation, carbonation, and finally, consumption.
Since brewing devices are only as good as the ingredients they come with; the Pico Model C also has a companion beer subscription service known as BrewUnlimited. The service is $60/month and provides users with unlimited beer brewing supplies. To use the service, users order two types of beer of their choice at a time. The Pico Model C is sized 16” x 12” x 14” and weighs 23 lbs. The PicoBrew keg is sized 12” x 9” and weighs 6 lbs.
So far the makers of Pico Model C have raised over $767,000 via crowdfunding with an estimated shipping date of August 2017 for early bird orders. The suggested retail price of the device is $549. For users who already are Pico customers, there are a few additional options such as a keg bundle (two Pico C brew kegs and two serving kegs) for $100, and two or twelve months of BrewUnlimited for $100 and $500 respectively.
