Seattle-based startup PicoBrew is at CES this week showing the Pico, an automatic beer brewer designed for the craft beer enthusiast.
The device, currently pre-selling for $599, has been described as the Keurig of beer, greatly simplifying the home brewing process. Users can purchase a beer recipe in the form of a PicoPak containing raw ingredients, then insert it into the machine and press “brew,” resulting in five liters of home-brewed beer for about $3.
The company has partnered with over 100 breweries to scale down their recipes so they function as PicoPaks. A thriving online community also creates its own recipes through BrewMarketplace, which brewmaster-in-residence Annie Johnson says is “kind of like the equivalent of iTunes for beer.”
“Everything that PicoBrew does functions on the cloud,” she explains. “I created about 185 recipes, and our online community of users has contributed more, so we now have about 520 recipes in our library.”
Professional brewers can use the device and a larger version called the Zymatic to prototype beers, while casual users can enjoy the pre-made recipes. The device can also be used in sous-vide cooking.
Check back next week for a summary of our coverage of CES 2016.
