Got my X-Mas bonus early !
my EBC III showed up last Friday !!
S
I've got the 120V EBC-SV -- but I'm really (and unexpectedly) happy with this system. I've brewed 7 batches now -- and the 3 I've tasted have been phenomenal.
I've also got a PicoBrew -- and have about 75 batches with the Pico -- but recently my Pico ran into some issues -- serious pump/drain issues -- which have forced me to ship the Pico back once for a repair and now -- this week -- back for an exchange. When the Pico was working it was fantastic.
A couple observations about the High Grav versus Pico:
- Pico is not good for hop-forward beers. I can't get them to the hop-level I expect -- even with 100% RO and Randy Mosher's 'Ideal Pale Ale Profile'. The High Grav system, OTOH, is *fantastic* for hop-forward beers. Identical recipes brewed in the Pico and then scaled up for the High Grav system yielded two distinctly different beers.
- Pico is great for malt-forward beers. The Kolsch's I've made on the Pico have been fantastic. This hop/malt distinction may be my own issue, though. Others, I know, have good luck with hoppy beers on the Pico. On my last batch with my old Pico, I finally went ahead and not only used the hop compartments but also hung bittering hops from the top of the keg. I haven't tried it yet, but out of the fermenter -- it tastes great. So this may be secret: with the Pico, you need to augment the automatic hop compartments with some old-fashioned "hops in a mesh bag". I did this for bittering and at flame-out for a 30min hopstand. The jury is still out here.
- Brew day with the Pico is about 4 to 4.5 hours. Most of it is hands-off. That's nice. Brew day on the high grav is about 5 hours, plus 15-30 minute cleaning. Less hands off, but I realized I like this. It reminds me of my old backyard, 3 vessel HERMS system. Lots of work -- a ton of cleaning -- but you really felt like you were involved in the process. The Pico, OTOH, has the initial setup -- and then it's good to go for the next four hours. On weekdays, this appeals to me. On weekends -- and when I have the time -- I prefer the High Grav system.
- Pico is pretty much self-contained until fermentation is over. You pop the seal to add yeast, but that's pretty much it. I like that. The High Grav system, OTOH, is the standard -- make the wort, cool it down (I use Hydra immersion chiller), transfer. So the risk for contamination is higher -- but if your process is good, there's not much to worry about.
- Racking. The Pico has the edge here. It's nice to rack from fermentation keg to serving keg via CO2. Here, too, there's less of chance of contamination. Still need to make sure keg is cleaned and sanitized, but that's pretty simple.
- Taste-wise there's really no difference between the two systems. They both produce superb beers. My first beer off the High Grav system -- even when I was still dialing it in, was the Phat Tyre clone from NB. Great beer -- and unexpectedly good -- even though I was still figuring out how to adjust the EBC to maintain a steady temp. My pre-problem beers from the Pico -- minus the pale ales and IPAs -- were fantastic. No bad or contaminated batches.
- Water. Pico makes a smaller batch, so it takes less water -- around 3.3 to 3.5 gallons to make 2.5 gallons. The BIAB High Grav system takes anywhere between 8 and 9 gallons to make 5-5.5 gallons. I'm using the 'Electric Urn' profile in BeerSmith for the 11 gallon bayou kettle from High Grav -- but I realized I had to adjust the boil-off to about .65 to .75 an hour. I have the 120V system, as I mentioned, so the boil is a calm rolling boil, not a vigorous boil -- so I'm seeing about .75 gallons of evaporation per hour.
- Efficiency. Both systems are about 60% efficiency. Not bad -- especially since there's no sparging with either system.
- Recipe creator. Pico has a great built-in recipe website -- no need for BeerSmith. With the High Grav system, I use BeerSmith with a 60% efficiency and the boil-off rate adjusted.
Overall, I like both systems. Both are relatively compact and easy to clean. Pico gets the nod for automation and connectivity and repeatability -- although once you dial in the EBC -- and know when to adjust it up and down, I suspect the repeatability is nearly identical with the High Grav system.
A winner? The slight -- very slight -- nod goes to the High Grav system because it's easier to fix issues if something happens -- leaks, replace the pump, replace the boil element. The Pico needs a shipment back to the mothership for a fix and/or re-calibration.
However, I do lean toward the Pico for variety. 2.5 gallon batches are great for variety. 5 gallon batches are obviously a better when you've brewed a great batch and want to keep it around.
Glad I have both systems -- and super-glad I'm not brewing outdoors in Chicago weather anymore!