Category: Beer Gear

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Unlabeled

I am not your go-to guy for blind tastings. Too much beer out there for me to drink which precludes honing in on a specific beer. Maybe this easy game would help….

You just need to be able to count and have enough beers on hand to taste blind.

1 Point – identifying a simple beer characteristic (ALE OR LAGER?).

2 Points – identifying the beer’s general category (PORTER OR STOUT?).

3 Points – identifying the specific beer type (OATMEAL STOUT OR IRISH STOUT?).

Full Points – Naming the exact brewery and beer. If you guess wrong, you lose the other points gained.

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Kinda Charm Offensive

When I heard the news that Sam Adams Boston Lager had a recipe overhaul, part of me thought, in a Bostonian accent, what’s the big deal.

Recipes morph and evolve as the years pass, especially such a legacy beer like Boston Lager. But Sam Adams (maybe using some Truly money) has added a fun marketing twist to the change by tying the bright (supposedly) new taste with a brighter Boston attitude.

And it is funny, especially…

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Needed or Not? – Brewsy

Or, and hear me out, I could buy a bottle of wine or can of cider in less than an hour at, say, Trader Joe’s. Instead of straining a pour little cranberry into un-natural positions.

Or, you could head to a home brew shop and learn how-to make your own wine and cider in probably the same amount of time.

Leave poor Ocean Spray out of it.

So very Not Needed.

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Lock It Tight

There is both good and bad to Dry January contest from Hop Wtr.

“The Hop Lockr is the perfect solution for those who don’t want to choose between having fun or missing out. With a locker to keep your booze out of sight and a month’s supply of Hop Wtr’s guilt-free, booze-free brews, you’ll never have to worry about passing up on a good time with friends. To score a Hop Lockr, fans can head HERE and fill out the form for a chance to get their hands on a locker and a month’s supply of Hop Wtr.Once the Hop Lockr arrives, simply insert your booze, lock it up, and on February 1st, Hop Wtr will send the combination to unlock the Hop Lockr so you can celebrate the end of a successful Dry January.”

The good – love the spelling of lockr for this promotion and I like the use of technology for hiding the combo for a month. Personally, I would put tequila in there and throw away the combination on 2/1. It is a really clever idea.

The bad – in general, I am not a fan of the dry month. I think it leads to binging in December and February and overall not watching your drinking throughout the whole year. Also, can the locker be used again? Can the password be reset in 2024?

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Christmas Needed or Not – Miller Lite Tree Stand

The corporate beer crew love a good piece of misdirection.  Like a Vegas magician, they want you to look anywhere but AT the beer and Christmas is a time of magic so of course Miller Lite is selling…

….the limited-edition keg stand sells for $49.99 and is the latest addition to the Miller Lite holiday lineup, and shows that they would much rather market then buy good ingredients and improve their beer.

Needed?  – Unless you want an intervention on the 26th of December, not.  But at least it is better than an ugly Christmas sweater.

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Square Keg for A Round Hole

Here we go again with the beer has got to be easier push, this time SquareKeg which scored a SharkTank deal for Tim Loucks, the company founder.

His product is the SquareOne mini-keg. With the following claim, “SquareOne has the ultimate cool factor by providing more volume in less space, but let’s you bring, not just beer, but your favorite drink on tap just about anywhere.”

SquareOne holds 128-ounces, holding two growlers of beer, or eight pints. All you do is provide the liquid, assemble the tap and then pressurize it. 

The non-conformist keg sells for $299 which seems a lot since you are going to have to pay through the nose for CO2 nowadays.

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Needed or Not? – Sportsman’s Club

I have plenty of brewery t-shirts and merch but I have never once thought to myself, I wish that Miller High Life would have a clothing line that was classy, priced between $44-$78.

But apparently if you get a hyped clothing brand to join forces with, then it is greenlit.

Verdict – put that money into your beer ingredients and not clothing.

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Needed or Not – The Lift

Apparently the initial version of the Draft Top wasn’t up to customer snuff.

“The LIFT now lifts and removes the lid from the can. No more pushing down on the lid or removing it with your fingers like their previous versions.”

Problem? solved. I mean, you have other options. You can either drink out of the little opening in the can or pour it into a glass or other drinking vessel. I just do not see how even an improved tool is really worth it. Plus, you will probably just forget it in the dark recesses of a drawer when you might actually use it.

Verdict – Not Needed

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Modern (hop) Art

Hop cones have been the subject of many pieces of art not just on labels but as art, art as well.  Need proof? Well then look right HERE.

I am not going to add an image to force you to click the link.