Beer & Beer Gear

Free Busch Light Solar Cookers Part of a Colorado-Based Initiative to Prevent Wildfires

If it seems like forest fires are getting worse and occurring more often, it’s not a figment of your imagination. In the state of Colorado alone, four of their five largest wildfires ever occurred in the last five years. To help keep that from happening while people are camping, hiking, or simply spending time outside this fall, Busch Light is giving away Busch Light Solar Cookers to Colorado residents.



Busch Light Apple: Crisp and Clean on a Hot Summer Day

It is HOT, I mean, super HOT in Texas right now. Like most Texans, a super cold brew hits the spot after a long day of work. Some of you may have recently seen ads for Busch Light Apple. As it just so happens, Busch was kind enough to send me a sample. As a side note, I am a fan of Bush Light already. How did Busch Light Apple fare?


Hopsy Sub Compact Makes a Great (but Noisy) Addition to Your Bar at Home

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Hopsy SUB Compact, and I’ve been testing it for the last week. The SUB Compact is a beautiful and functional device that will be an excellent addition to any home bar as long as you have patience and can deal with the noise of the cooling fan. The Box The SUB Compact arrived in a large cardboard box which contained both the actual device and four mini-kegs of different flavors each containing 67.6oz of quality beer. One thing to note right off the bat is that this SUB Compact can only be…





Anyone Can Be a Brew Master with the PicoU — Even You!

If you read my review series on the PicoBrew S, then you probably thought that being able to brew beer on your kitchen counter was pretty cool — but that price tag, though! $799 is a lot to invest if you’re just a hobby brewer, but now Pico has come out with a sub-$200 solution for everyone, the Pico U.





Brewing Beer with the PicoBrew Pico: Set-Up and Fermentation

I’m married to a man who enjoys brewing his own beer; Kev has a shop with a section dedicated to the equipment needed for mixing, brewing, proofing, and serving homebrew, and he has invested plenty of dollars and copious amounts of time into his hobby. I fully expected snark when I started reviewing the PicoBrew Pico, because it’s cheating, right?


Finally – A Keurig for Beer

Beer is getting smarter, there’s no denying it. First commercial taprooms introduced network-aware tap systems, then came pour-your-own tasting bars that charge by the ounce.


Get the Perfect Pour at Home with the Fizzics Beer System!

When you think about pouring a perfect beer you think about holding the glass at a 45 degree angle, pouring the beer down the side to allow glugging and when the glass is halfway full to slowly tip the glass upright before pouring the rest of the beer into the center away from the edge right? Sure. But who gets this right 100 percent of the time? That’s where Fizzics, a countertop draft gadget for your home that can give you the feeling of a true draft from your bottle, or canned beer, regardless if it’s cheap beer or not….


The Oak Bottle Will Age Your Beverage of Choice in Hours

It’s always a selling point when whisky, wine, or other spirits are aged in oak casks, and there’s a good reason for it: aging alcohol in oak makes it taste better (richer, deeper) than it would otherwise. Oak-aged spirits usually command a premium compared to other varieties, but now you can upgrade your own alcohol by using the Oak Bottle. The Oak Bottle is the first “for-home-use” barrel-aging vessel. Now anyone can take an average bottle of wine or whiskey to new heights, or bring out new flavors in their favorite wine or beer. Here’s something I didn’t know until I read…




Handle This Cup Aims to Solve the Problem of Warm Beer

Regular readers of Gear Diary may remember that I’ve mentioned before that I played a lot of rugby in my college/post college years. Besides blood and dirt, the defining substance of rugby is probably beer. Ruggers love their beer. So the Handle This Cup Kickstarter project has my attention as a way to hold beer AND keep it cold!



The Uneven Glass Could Make Drinking Social Again!

Smartphones can be evil when you’re drinking; you might look at your phone instead of talking with friends. or you could be tempted to call or text people who aren’t drinking to tell them the brilliant ideas that came to you after a few rounds. If you’re in the right bar in Brazil, the solution is simple: the Uneven Glass.


Lay Claim to Your Soda or Beer With CanStamp

Want to make your can of Bud stand out during a party? Want to lay claim to your Diet Coke when vacationing with others? If you answered yes, the $8 CanStamp is for you. Featuring statements like “mine”, “in use” and “fuel” it is a fun and kinda practical way to personalize your can. Check it out.