Helpful or Not – December 2017 Edition


There seems to be a never-ending supply of beer gear that comes down the pike. I am usually skeptical. All a beer geek really needs is a glass and bottle opener. (and even now with so many cans on the market, the latter isn’t needed all the time)

So, let’s put two new items into the Thunderdome and decide. Useful or Not?

First up is the SixOverOne, which answers the unasked question of why can’t I open a six-pack all at once. Unsurprisingly, I can’t really see the home use for this. Is there a need to open bottles faster than one at a time? Are your friends really that desperate for a beer? Either way, better friends might be the answer instead. I was trending downward on this item and then I saw the price, $22.00. That settled the question. Not useful.

Next up is The Bevometer. What you would get if an old calculator was jammed into a beer koozy (ie)
It seems a little old school in a Pong sort of way. You put a new can into the koozy, then it adds to the number of drinks in your current session, as well as all time.
One of the quotes from the website is: “show friends who can put down the most…” now, granted it contrasts that with keeping track for health but it still seems a little simple. I can make tick marks on a post-it faster plus I already have way to many koozie’s lying around unused. Another Not Useful.

Go Where?

Well anywhere. As long as glass is allowed.

Is this the best for beer? Well, sippy cup should tell you no. But, beer drinkers sometimes need to be creative and piggyback off the wine industry to get the preferred beverage where they need to go. If your home is ambi-spirit-ous, this might be a good all-in-one solution.

Goverre</strong> is the name. Pick less aroma filled beers and you should be A-OK.

Recycle that Sell-Out T-Shirt

You only have a few days left to gain amnesty for those shirts that you got as swag or bought, only to find that the owners sold out.

You could donate to Goodwill or you could make this a learning experience and help educate the beer business unknowing with this….

Head HERE to get started on your amnesty.

Thanks Yelp

BrewDog has gotten it’s fair share of praise and fair share of angry comments and in a move that I wish other breweries and bars would do, have immortalized the bad (now funny) onto t-shirts.

My thinking is that if you starve a troll of oxygen, they lose interest. These shirts might rile one or two up but if BrewDog makes money off their not-so-wry tweets, that could work too.

Prost Trainers


adidas Originals is toasting Oktoberfest with the adidas Munchen. It comes in Festbier colors, with Prost labeled on them and, most importantly, they are water resistant. No Kolsch will ruin your kicks.

They ain’t cheap though, so save your Euros.

Bevpod


Taking beer from where you are to where you will drink it, especially in the hot summer months of SoCal, can test the beer fan who wants to protect their beer. Whether it be just going to the beach or traveling from trains, planes or automobiles.

The Bevpod adds a cooling element and an easy portability that could make it work when, say traveling back from a certain invitational beer festival in Paso Robles where it is always very hot. At a price point around $50, it is better than buying or customizing luggage.

Magic Shed

I quickly scroll by the people posting vacation snaps and selfies on Facebook and Twitter. But show me a video of furniture or RV’s that open up and reveal hidden features, and I am hooked.

So, of course, when I saw the video below, I really, really wanted one. Hidden dartboards people!

ArcticCan (and bottle)

Whilst wandering through Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, I ran across a Corksickle display. Now I thought that they just did the one product, an icicle shaped chilling device that you jammed into a bottle. Apparently they have been creating a lot. Such as the ArcticCan

The base unscrews and can be frozen cold in your freezer before re-attaching to the holder. Drop your bottle or can in and chilled from the bottom up. Seems a little more hygienic and helpful on hot California days.

Messenger Bag of Beer


It appears that we here in America need larger and larger (and hidden) alcohol. And we need it piped into our mouths. Meet Hydrosatch. 50oz of liquid can be held in this backpack meets messenger bag.

The bag also has what they call “sleeves” to hold other items so even when you have sucked all the contents out, you can still carry more cans if you want.

Not for me, but I am not Mr. Active, so not the target market am I.