With one month until Christmas, it is time to start pondering gift ideas. No need to jump the Christmas gun but jot down this item from Thinkgeek.
Now, these may not be the best for aroma and they won’t help you judge the clarity and color but they will satisfy the astronomy nerd who also loves beer.
Reading Glasses
Yes, a tulip glass or even a wine glass are better than the shaker pint or other forms of glassware but sometimes the logo on the outside is more fun and beer style be damned.
These cool glasses from Powell’s Bookstore are just cool. I wish my glass collection wasn’t so large so that I could buy a couple.
Reflective
Coasters are marketing tools. But they can also be used for art. And now they can also be used to light your way. Reflector Protectors takes the form of the coaster but once you peel the top layer off and affix it to your clothing it becomes reflective.
Conceived by the Edward Snell and Co. in South Africa it was created to help slow a nearly inconceivable and grim statistic that an estimated five pedestrians are killed per night walking home from a bar. Hopefully the reflectors will hop the pond and become available here for our bicycle culture.
Carlsberg in the Bathroom?
…and not in the ‘fridge?
So, you freeze dry Carlsberg lager into a powder and then add it into a skin care line? Or as it is marketed in many more words, The Beer Beauty by Carlsberg limited edition men’s skincare line. This new line-up is a collaboration of sorts between Carlsberg Laboratories (the R&D division of the brewery) and cosmetics producer Urtegaarden.
There is a shampoo, conditioner and body lotion with the “beautifying properties of lager” to choose from.
The Foam is Sonic
I have to admit that I was skeptical about the Sonic Foamer. I am wary of beer gear that promises an improved beer tasting experience. My radical enjoyment plan is to enjoy the beer.
And getting the Sonic Foamer up and running did not help matters. First, it requires six AA batteries. My Apple mouse and keyboard need four between them. Anything over two should be given an electrical cord. End of story. The battery cover requires a screwdriver as well. The next design flaw is the on/off switch being on the bottom. Put it on the side people. Especially considering you have to put two teaspoons of water on the top. Which leads to the next issue. Now your glass is wet.
I know this sounds petty and trivial but design is important. A light at the bottom does not eradicate other design flaws no matter how many colors it can become. After all of this mini-hassle, I put the shaker pint on the conducting plate with the water. I had two different beers for the experiment. A session IPA and a Festbier. Hoppy and malty. I smelled and tasted each before and after the hot foaming action.
To my pleasant surprise, the Sonic Foamer worked. Each beer was noticeably more aromatic after a few button pushes. Watching the bubbles flow upward and new foam being created was quite cool. I would use it at the halfway mark of drinking to freshen up the beer in the glass.
Since aroma is so important this tool helps to teach that lesson. Take one sip midway through your beer, foam it, then taste again. How did the beer change? Did it change for the better? I could see this helping with 22oz bottles that might have lost a little luster.
If you, as a beer drinker, are fond of beer educational items. This might just be one to showcase the power of aroma on beer.
ManCan
Aside from the horrible name of ManCan that conjures up either sexism or the toilet in my mind, if you are one of the beer lovers out there who want the tap experience at home but have yet to find exactly the right equipment to do so, then this in ‘fridge tap that is currently in funding phase on Kickstarter might be worth checking out.
Personally, I go for bottles and cans first then growlers but others have a go-to beer that they want on tap and fresh that isn’t packaged, so I get the allure.
Beer Sneaks
A shoe store. A shoe maker. A Brewery.
Craft beer collaborations extend far beyond just the beer. It can be music or charity or even what is on your feet. (If you are in Sweden).
Adidas has teamed with Sneakersnstuff and Stockholm Brewing Co. in the creation of brewing equipment-inspired sneakers plus three limited edition craft beers.
The press release describes the “Adidas Originals “Brewery Pack” come in three lager-inspired designs: The EQT Running Guidance ’93 ”Malt,” a light grey sneaker with hints of aqua; Stan Smith ”Copper Kettle,” a head turning shoe in metallic copper; and ZX Flux ”Aged Copper,” a light blue and black sneaker with metallic copper splatters. Each shoe takes its design inspiration from different parts of the production process.”
The shoes probably won’t replace the steel-toed boot of the brewery floor and they look pretty flashy for taproom couture.
A Cooler Tube
For those who want to be the Robin Hood of craft beer, then the quiver-like Cooler Tube might be for you. I can’t vouch for how useful this might be, because I don’t camp/surf/beach very much (at all). I can see though how it can be helpful to have one less item in your hands but I would think that the regular old cooler would be a more flexible item. A cooler can hold both bottles and cans plus it can be used as a seat in a pinch.
The thought process to get to this end product and the creativity is admirable though.
Growler Cleaning
I should have known that something like this had been invented and I probably should have blogged about it before this.
Growler get gunky. I have seen horrified faces at breweries when a dirty growler has been brought in for more beer. I have heard tales of some growlers so bad that they were immediately put into the recycle bin.
Now those people, and me, can simply drop Growler Tablets from Craft Meister in a tablet add water and let sit for a nice clean piece of glass.
Advent All Year
Well, I don’t quite know what else to call this cool gift idea for the beer geek in your life from the Case For Beer. It literally is like an advent calendar but in the shape of a box built for beer bottles. Open one a day or invite 23 people over and let them all (plus you) pick a number and see what everyone gets.
The moniker Flight Pack is cool and I like the aeronautic theme but who is going to compare and contrast 24 beers? And in this beer litigious age, won’t Hangar 24 sue?
My second question is, how expensive a gift is this? If you got 24 $5.00 bottles that is $120.00. Even at $3.00 it is $72.00. I know I am worthy of that (on a good year) but is Uncle Phil deserving? And doesn’t it encourage over drinking a bit?
I would like to see boxes with less slots. Make a 7-pack for a week of beer gift. Or a canned version that can hold 4 different 16oz cans.