A new Kickstarter-backed machine aims to take home-brewing into the 21st century. The PicoBrew Zymatic, conceived by former Microsoft executive Bill Mitchell, may look like an oversize microwave, said Nathan Ingraham at The Verge, but think of it more as "the Nespresso of beer brewing." Its computerized controls give hobbyists unprecedented precision in fine-tuning their recipes. They need only load the device with hops and grains, select a recipe, add water, and step away. After four hours, the five-gallon keg will be filled with unfermented beer; add yeast to finish.
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