PicoBrew Introduces FreeStyle PicoPaks and Custom Craft Beer Creation at CES 2017

With the PicoBrew BrewCrafter, making a custom craft beer is now as easy as dragging and dropping grains, hops and yeast into a virtual PicoPak.  CES attendees will be among the first to try out the FreeStyle BrewCrafter at the PicoBrew booth (Tech West, Sands, Level 2, #42157), where they can also sample from a daily tasting menu of great Pico-brewed craft beers.

"The new FreeStyle PicoPak capability and the FreeStyle BrewCrafter tool gives customers the ability to create their own unique craft beers, while PicoBrew does the heavy lifting of sourcing ingredients, and producing a tidy compostable brewing package, making the whole homebrewing process easier and more precise," said Dr. Bill Mitchell, CEO, PicoBrew. "Customization has always been an important goal for us because Pico customers are craft beer aficionados.   They like to brew great beers created by the best breweries around the world, but sometimes they also want to create their own unique beers and share them with others.  We're committed to providing both capabilities."

To make their own custom brews, Pico users can select from a variety of "known-good" baseline beer recipes to get them started, including an IPA, a porter, a stout and more.  Next, they simply drag and drop grains and hops in or out of their FreeStyle PicoPak to achieve the flavor, color and alcohol level desired.  The BrewCrafter provides predictive guidance along the way, suggesting a balanced mix of ingredients to ensure creation of a delicious beer recipe.  Customers give their creations their own unique names and even have options for how the PicoPak are laser-etched on the front of their packaging.

In addition to the new FreeStyle PicoPak capability, PicoBrew also offers PicoPaks created in collaboration its 150 brewery partners, such as 21^st Amendment and Rogue Ales, so that homebrewers can make fresh craft beer from regional breweries no matter where they live.  Currently, 60 craft beer recipes are available with more being added continually.

Pico is an automated, IoT, beer brewing appliance that can brew five liters of craft beer in about two hours and has a grain-to-glass serving time of just seven to 10 days, depending on the recipe.  It uses eco-friendly, award-winning compostable PicoPak ingredient packs, which contain the fresh hops and grains needed to brew fresh, brew-pub quality craft beers.  With the push of a button, Pico recognizes the PicoPak inserted and follows brewing process instructions transmitted over a local Wi-Fi connection.  The sleek, compact and modern design of the Pico fits on a kitchen or bar countertop.

Pico is a two-time recipient of the prestigious CES Innovation Awards, named as an Honoree in 2017 for its eco-friendly PicoPaks, and in 2016 for home appliances.  It was also a finalist in Geekwire's Gadget of the Year with the Amazon Echo and Microsoft SurfaceBook.   At IFA in August the Pico received a  "Best of Show" award, and the Pico was recently named a finalist for the annual "Last Gadget Standing" competition at CES 2017, where PicoBrew CEO Bill Mitchell will compete live on stage for audience applause and the coveted title (Saturday, January 7 10:30 a.m. to noon, LVCC, North Hall, Room N257).

The Pico brewing machine requires no previous experience with homebrewing and comes with everything needed to start the process, including:

• One PicoPak containing hops and grains
• One Brewing Keg
• Yeast and sugar for the fermentation process
• One Dispensing Keg
• Keg Cozy for maintaining brewing temperature
• Fast Fermentation Adapter for decreasing fermentation time
• CO2 regulator and adapter for dispensing keg
• Plus, everything needed for cleaning and maintenance

Pico is available for purchase at www.picobrew.com and online at Bloomingdale's, Sur La Table, Williams-Sonoma, Best Buy, Frontgate and Amazon.  The suggested retail price for the home brewing appliance is $799USD, and additional PicoPaks are available for $18.99 to $29.99.  Pico is available in 110v or 220v options for domestic and international users.  

About PicoBrew
PicoBrew was founded in Seattle in 2010 by brothers Bill and Jim Mitchell, a former Microsoft executive and food scientist, along with engineer Avi Geiger.  Combining their food science and technology  expertise with their passion for homebrewing, they set out to improve the craft beer brewing process for small producers and homebrewers. PicoBrew introduced its flagship product, the award-winning Zymatic^® automatic beer-brewing appliance for beer brewing professionals and homebrewers, in 2013. The Pico™, designed for consumer craft beer enthusiasts, followed in 2016. Both machines are designed to improve the precision, repeatability and overall quality of the brewing process to create consistently delicious craft beer. For more information, visit www.picobrew.com or follow PicoBrew on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

SOURCE PicoBrew