Annie Johnson Tapped as PicoBrew’s Brewmaster

SEATTLE - Jan. 27, 2014 - PRLog -- PicoBrew LLC, developer of the world's first home beer-brewing internet appliance announced today that Annie Johnson has joined the fast-growing startup company as Brewmaster, in charge of test brewing operations.  Johnson, the American Homebrewer’s Association “2013 Homebrewer of the Year” began collaborating with the PicoBrew team late last year after their successful PicoBrew Zymatic® Kickstarter campaign.

"We’re thrilled to have Annie working with us on recipes here at PicoBrew,” said founder Dr. Bill Mitchell.   “She makes some of the best beer I’ve ever tasted, and when she started working closely with us in the lab late last year, adapting her award-winning recipes to our process….well, there was just chemistry!   We all love working with her.”

Johnson contacted Mitchell during PicoBrew’s Kickstarter campaign to try to see the machine and taste some of beer it produced herself.   Although she considers herself a "tough sell," Johnson says that after tasting the beer and using the machine she immediately fell in love with the Zymatic® and its ability to create precise and repeatable batches of great craft beer.

Johnson has a longstanding fascination for beer.  As a child she was intrigued with her mother’s German beer stein collection, and growing up in Europe was influenced by the romance and lore of old-world beer-brewing tradition.   After buying a home-brewing kit in the summer of 1999, Johnson plunged into brewing herself.   Not content to merely dabble, she engaged in extensive research into the history of brewing and various breweries and into the myriad styles of beer.  Her favorites and later, specialties, are American Lagers, Czech Pilsners and sometimes American IPAs.  “I’m mostly an old-school classic brewer who prefers the classic styles, so I like to work on perfecting beers until they are great representations of the style," said Johnson.  In 2001 Johnson’s hard work paid off when she entered her first competition - the California State Fair - and won first place for her American Amber.  Since then she has received more than 100 awards and has become an accredited beer judge herself.

"These honors reveal not only Annie’s high level of skill and experience, but also her determination to continue to challenge and prove herself in the world-wide beer community," said Dr. Mitchell.   “Annie’s passion for excellence fits perfectly with what we’re trying to achieve here at Picobrew!”

In her role as Brewmaster, Johnson develops and tests recipes included with PicoBrew’s flagship brewing machine, the Zymatic®.  The PicoBrew Zymatic® is a revolutionary machine designed by Dr. Mitchell along with co-founders Jim Mitchell and Avi Geiger. The world's first fully-automatic all-grain beer brewing system, it allows users to brew their own top-quality craft beer at the touch of a button.  Since joining PicoBrew, Johnson has taken over the recipe library which is included with the purchase of every Zymatic®.  “I’m doing what I love,” Johnson says. “I’m brewing beer, designing recipes and ultimately helping other brewers achieve success in their own brewing.”

The PicoBrew Zymatic® is currently available for pre-order only. See picobrew.com for more information. Send inquiries to info@picobrew.com.