PicoBrew co-founder Bill Mitchell doesn’t want to sell you a device that can produce the best beer you’ll ever drink. He just wants to give homebrewers a chance to “exactly replicate” what some of the country’s top breweries are already commercially selling.
“The big dream, like I said, was just getting people to be able to reliably, reputedly produce recipes and then share them with everyone,” he told BevNET’s Taste Radio during a recent interview.
The company — an innovative beer-meets-tech startup that was founded in 2010 by a pair of former Microsoft executives — makes a range of automated brewing appliances that are marketed to both brewing enthusiasts and commercial entities alike.
“The grand dream is [having] one of these in every home,” he said. “We want everyone to treat beer as a first-class citizen in their home, experience the joy of making it, make their own, customize it, and also just have a great first brewing experience.”
Earlier this year, the company launched its “Z Series,” which it calls the “first professional-grade, all-grain brewing appliance line.”
The four products in the Z series line – named Z1, Z2, Z3 and Z4 – range in price from $2,500 to $8,500 and are being marketed to bar and restaurant owners, commercial breweries, and homebrewers.
In the latest episode of Taste Radio, we sit down with Mitchell to discuss how PicoBrew started, how its products have evolved since 2010, and where the company is headed in the future.
Listen to Mitchell’s interview on episode 109 of Taste Radio here.