Robot Brews Beer in Your Own Home

January in Las Vegas means the Consumer Electronics Show and plenty of interesting new products to keep gadget nuts entertained. From Ultra-HD televisions to beer-brewing robots there is something for everyone. Yes, you read that correctly, this year there is a vendor hawking a robotic beer brewing device that automates the homebrewing process. The machine, dubbed the Zymatic, connects to the Internet, downloads a recipe and, after you add the required ingredients, brews 2.5 gallons of tasty, satisfying beer.

The machine was developed by two brothers who were frustrated with the hassles inherent in the homebrewing process. The brothers, Jim and Bill Mitchell, formed Picobrew, Inc. and set out to refine the process and create a device that would brew quality, all-grain beer with a minimum of fuss. Each brother brought different skills to the table, but both of their skill sets complimented the process. Jim was a food chemist & physicist, with a desire to incorporate more control in the process of beer brewing on a small scale. Bill, was skilled in building software, boards, and appliances. The two joined with Avi Geiger, an engineer with 24 US Patents under his belt, and set out to build a better machine.

After two years of tinkering, trial and error, the group finally had a product that did indeed solve the age-old problem of how to brew beer easily and with fewer headaches. With the robot created, the group needed a collection of recipes to use with it. They enlisted the help of Master Brewer Anne Johnson — the first woman to receive the American Homebrewer Association’s prestigious Homebrewer of the Year award — who created dozens of recipes for the system. The company has over 100 recipes available to brewers or ambitious hobbyists can formulate their own concoctions.

“Our mission,” said Bill Mitchell, PicoBrew CEO. “Is to get the whole world brewing great craft beer, and realizing that goal calls for a lot of product innovation.”

The hard work put in on the project paid off when Picobrew was named a 2015 CES Innovation Awards Honoreen for the Zymatic. The prestigious CES Innovation Awards are sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^®, the producer of the International CES, the global gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technology. The CES has been recognizing product design and engineering achievements since 1976.

The system costs $1699 by itself or $1799 with one keg. Systems can be ordered directly from Picobrew at their website: http://www.picobrew.com.

You can also learn more about the system in the video below from Fox News.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/3978292771001/brew-your-own-craft-beer-in-your-house/?#sp=show-clips

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