Category: Beer Gear

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Fermented Reality

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You may have seen the special IPA specific design glass, and like me, thought, that would be cool but I have a car trunk full of branded shaker glasses and tulips and taster glasses from festivals.  So I haven’t bought one yet.

But the people at Fermented Reality who will also sell you a beer caddy, beer t-shirt or a print for your wall have gone and created a plastic, shatterproof version.  The downside is that it is only wholesale now and won’t be ready for a few months but you can mark it down for future thought.

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Cardbeerd

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Do you like wood-aged beers?  What about wood-fiber beers?  Looking to sustainability, Carlsberg premiered the Green Fiber Bottle which they have been working on with the company ecoXpac who have bullet pointed the bottle attributes on their website:

  • Optional design of bottle with either screw cap or single-use seal. And fits in with any existing filling plants.
  • Made from paper pulp, which also is renewable resources.
  • New patented production technology guarantees high level of energy saving – up until 80% compared with conventional moulded pulp production.
  • After use the bottle can enter into recycling systems on equal terms with cardboard and paper, or decompose directly in nature.
  • The production unit is small and compact, thus it can be transported and put up wherever in the world the bottles are to be filled.

Admirable, yes.  But this country struggled to use cans because of early versions that affected the beer (oh, and association with big beer that were considered negative).  And the elephant in the room is how will this protect the beer from light?  Gotta be better than green or clear glass, right?

So I don’t see how this bottle will be more than a novelty.  Though it would be really cool to see an L.A. Beer Week beer packaged this way.  Would make quite the collectors item. Tip of the Hat to the Brookston Beer Bulletin for posting about this earlier.

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Beer Map App

The new wave of beer apps are making the effort to better match beer lovers with similar beers in the way that Netflix suggests you watch Movie B after you watched Movie A.  The latest to come to my attention via beer buddy Rich is the Beer Mapper app (only for iPad)

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Similar in vein to the Next Glass app but harnessing the reviews of Rate Beer, Beer Mapper creates a visual look to beer choices.

Here is the 411: “Each of the 25,000 beers is represented as a unique pin on the map.  A beer’s coordinates are determined based on how it tastes in relation to every other beer on the map.  The closer the beer pins, the more similar the beers.  Tap and hold on any one of the dots on the map to pull up a beer pin.  Tap on the beer’s flag to find out more info on the beer, find similar beers, or add it to a custom beer list. ”

Currently on sale at .99 cents but will sell for more later. This app looks more complete out of the box than Next Glass.  I will test it out and see if it works.

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A Puzzling Development

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In SoCal, most stores either encourage or enforce reusable bag use. And though I recycle my six-pack holders religiously, I do wish that stores had re-usable options.

There are other options out there but because the PuzzlePax can be emblazoned with a logo and store name, and are not nailed together. It can be folded up like origami. So it might have a better chance of being used by breweries or bottle shops. But what would a regular beer customer really use them for?  I love the re-use idea but is it feasible?  The beer in stores is already in cardboard holders or held together plastic if they are cans.  If I buy singles, I can carry them home in it.  But a re-usable bag already does that trick (with more clinking and clacking, granted). Until the beer in stores come in these wooden containers and people or the breweries can get them back, I fear it is simply a nice presentation for carrying beer and that is all.

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GrowlerWerks

It can be a big step and investment to get a kegerator or a home craft beer dispensing system.  There are weird bulky tanks that can be filled with Heineken but what about something for the technically challenged beer fan who want something more than just a growler that they have to drink once it is opened.

Well that is where GrowlerWerks could fill a niche.  It is simple to use and can keep beer fresh and cold.  It looks a little too steampunk for me in this iteration but if they are successful you might see other designs down the road.  It seems to have a chord as the Kickstarter is blasting through the roof at over 1,000% funded.  That’s a lot.

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Beer Aid

This post talks about gas. If you are having a beer and don’t want to read about then turn away. Or if you don’t like burping or it’s smellier sibling then move on. Though this might make those two unpleasantries go away.
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I usually only get a case of the burps when drinking beer though some sour beers are just to acidic for my stomach linings to process.  I don’t know how widespread the problem is in comparison to hangovers but at least digestion is more understood than that horrible spinning with throbbing headache.

According to their website, “Beer AID and its proprietary digestive enzyme formula, works in the small intestine to break apart malt sugars from beer, making them more digestible. Especially today’s big, sweet, craft beers. The bigger the beer, the higher the odds that it’s got plenty of the unfermented sugars that can give you lots of gas and bloating.”

The amount suggested to take is a couple “before” each beer and with only 60 in a container and at $17.50 + $7.00 shipping = .41 cents a pill X 2 means you have added .82 cents to each beer you imbibe.  But if it rids you of a problem and lets you enjoy craft beer more, then it could be well worth it.

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Hops in your Beard

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Imagine my surprise when I see that Craftsman Soap Company has some soaps branded with Golden Road beers. No 1903 Pilsner or Cabernale?

But once I got past that incongruous thought there are a lot of cool beer accented items on their website. I was particularly interested in…
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If I can make shaving more beer-y without cutting my face due to haphazard shaving then all is good.

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Your Beer Photos Under your Glass

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Have you ever seen one of your beer photos.  I mean really looked at it and thought, that is a mighty fine picture.  The composition, the lighting, the subject matter all coming into focus (as it were).  But who do you show it to?  There is Untappd and Instagram (if you are into that) but what about something physical and permanent.  Then Coastermatic is the place for you.  They turn your photos into functional coasters.  Which you can then photograph and get made into more coaster if you are into that existential sort of thing.

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ARBeerGlass

Move over QR Codes, I have to scan my glass….

Now I don’t think I will use it for games which is what they have now, but I can see where this could lead to information on the brewery, their beers, the bar you are drinking in or the city that you are visiting.

It certainly is a step away from the glassware that always stays cold.

 

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Gift Packs

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We all have little taster glasses from that cool festival from 2012 or the shaker pint from that tap-takeover but what we sometimes don’t have is the appropriate glassware to best enjoy a beer.  Belgian beers especially benefit from the right glass, and you can now get them for Kwak. Tripel Karmeliet and La Trappe.  If you have beer birthdays to buy for these would be great.  Plus they have beer in there too!untitled