From time to time I get sent products in the mail from companies starting out with beer related products. Some make little sense while others I’d actually buy.

Recently I was sent a gift pack from Swag Brewery, a company that makes no beer, but instead makes some pretty cool beer related gifts, apparel and swag.

I’ll admit that a lot of beer related t-shirts are plain cheesy and poorly created, or they focus on large breweries which leaves us craft beer fans dressed in crappy beer festival t-shirts, or we just say screw it and forget the beer clothes (which is how I roll).

Swag however has some pretty cool shirts that even I would wear. From shirts with a message such as “Save Water, Drink Beer” and “Think Globally, Drink Locally” to a basic “Water, Malt, Hops, Yeast”, there are some pretty good designs for both men and women.

Other than the clothing they have a line of craft beer soap which is perfect if you want to smell like beer 24/7 even when you can’t drink it (ok, it really doesn’t make you smell like beer, but it still smells good). I got a bar of the Summit Oatmeal Stout and have to admit I want to eat it.

The most interesting product they sell in my opinion is the hop candy.

While probably something I wouldn’t want to eat all the time, it is definitely a unique experience as they come in multiple hop varieties. And yes, they taste just like sweet hops. It might be fun to play name that hop with your beer nerd friends.

If you’re shopping for a gift for the beer nerds in your life, check them out. They have some pretty cool stuff going on over there.

Thanks again to the guys at Swag Brewery for sending me the short, soap, and hop candy.

If you’re like most self proclaimed beer nuts out there, I’m sure you own a whole plethora of bottle openers. Over the years I’ve collected (and broken) many bottle openers in all shapes and sizes.

Still, the Corona opener I got on my honeymoon in 2004 still reigned supreme in my cap popping activities. Not that I’m a fan of Corona (far from it), but I just liked that opener. It worked well for many years. However it did split reps with my reef sandals with the opener on the bottom which I wear pretty much every day of the summer.

Last week my precious tool finally died. In a battle with a bottle cap, the cap won and the opener ended up in pieces on the ground.

Luckily for me Mike over at TORQ Bottle Opener in Pearl City, Hawaii happened to send over one of his bottle openers and I quickly fell in love.

First off the TORQ bottle opener is a beast. Honestly I don’t see how this will ever break throughout my entire life. Aside from losing it, I think it could pretty much withstand everything from a fire to a zombie attack.

They offer 4 different versions:

• Parkerized Steel Allow (the one I have)
• Stainless Steel
• Naval Brass
• Titanium

These are some pretty solid tools that could be used as a paper weight or self defense weapon if needed. With nice clean lines, no annoying branding, a hole to add it to a keychain, and the power to pop caps all day long, I’ve grown to love my new opener quickly.

Where To Get TORQ Bottle Openers

TORQ is a brand new company that is just starting out and are looking for a little help. They’ve recently launched on Kickstarter.com to raise funds to start mass production on these openers. With a donation you can get your own (and I’d highly recommend it if your looking for a solid durable bottle opener).

Check out details here. Thanks again to TORQ for sending me a sample. I genuinely hope their business succeeds.

Curious as to how tough they really are? Check out this video:

Part of getting the most out of craft beer it to make sure you have the basics covered such as serving it at the correct temperature, cellering it or drinking it fresh depending on the style, and serving it in the proper glass.

I’ve been to many restaurants that have no clue how to serve beer correctly. From Russian Imperial Stouts served in frozen mugs to Saisons served in ice cold weizen glasses, there is definitely some education needed for anyone who is into beer on the proper glassware to use to enhance your beer.

You wouldn’t drink wine from the bottle would you? The same goes with beer. The proper glassware is very important.

Recently I was sent a collection of 4 beer glasses from Spiegelau called the Spiegelau Beer Classics which stated they were enough to cover all styles of beer you were tasting.

While I was a little skeptical of these glasses as first, I’m now a believer.

First off the set comes with 4 glasses; wheat beer, tall pilsner, lager and a beer tulip. Each is designed to enhance a specific style of beer and maximize their appearance, aroma, taste and mouth feel.

Temperature

The first thing I noticed about these glasses is they are incredibly thin and lightweight. Reading up on them I discovered that was actually a pretty awesome feature as it is meant to keep the beer colder longer as it doesn’t have to cool down a thick glass, thus maintaining optimal temperature for longer periods of time.

Appearance

Besides the temperature, the glasses enhance the look of the beer as there is less between you and your beer. You can actually see what’s inside your glass very clearly as it’s crystal clear, yet very durable and even dishwasher safe.

Aroma

Each glass is designed to give the right aroma to your beer, depending on the style (one of the most important reasons to serving in the correct glasses). I was pretty impressed with the way the tulip glass made my stout “pop” compared to my other tulip glasses I’ve been using. It really channeled the roastiness nicely.

Taste

A good glass will bring out the flavors of the beer that you’d miss if drinking out of the wrong glass. I’m pretty amazed at how beer in these glasses taste so much better out of them. No, I’m not getting paid to say that, it really was an improvement and I loved drinking out of these.

Overall

If you drink beer, I suggest you try out these glasses as I don’t think you will be disappointed. The set of 4 is a little expensive retailing at $49, although it’s listed on Amazon for $34.57 which is definitely worth it. I’m going to be ordering another set or two.

Over the course of my next few beer reviews I’ll also be using these glasses so stay tuned.

Click here to view these on Amazon.

Have you tried out these glasses? What are your thoughts?

Anything made with beer is usually better. That’s why I was excited to try out some potato chips made out of beer which are simply called Beer Chips®. People have been pairing beer with mixed nuts in bars for too long and I’m a fan of trying new snacks.

Beer Chips are actually made with real beer although the flavor (of beer) isn’t very strong. The ingredients include potatoes, sunflower oil and/or corn oil, sugar, maltodextrin, beer (malted barley, corn syrup, hops, yeast), salt, honey, and yeast extract.

If you like sugar, you will love these chips. They are pretty dang sweet, but I think I found my new favorite snack to eat while drinking a summertime brew. While I think these pair well with most beers, I would probably choose an IPA or Pale Ale.

The cooking process takes out the alcohol so you will definitely need a beer to drink while eating them, but that definitely isn’t a problem.

The only thing I don’t really like about them is that they are TOO good and I could very well eat the whole bag if I’m not careful. No, this isn’t a paid review for them, I just really enjoyed these chips.

Have you tried them?  What did you think? If you want to give them a try, I see that World Market carries them.

I always stumble upon new beer related inventions, and this morning a friend of mine sent me a link to one that is pretty genius and I’m sure will make the inventor, Josh Springer of GrinOn Industries, a lot of money.

His system, called the Bottoms Up beer dispenser, fills specially designed cups that have a hole and a magnet on the bottom really fast and efficiently.  I’m sure this will catch on at sporting events, concerts, or pretty much any large gathering of people where beer is served (although it looks like they are working on a home version).

Check out this video to see it in action.

And yes, the dispenser is fast. Look at the guys fill 56 beers in 1 minute.

I’m pretty amazed at this invention and want one in my house. Not like I need the speed, but it’s pretty cool.

What do you think? Will it catch on?

I was recently sent a watch from Happy Hour™ which is a pretty cool watch that includes a bottle opener in the buckle. Sometimes I get stuff sent in the mail for reviews that are complete crap, and this is definitely not one of them.  I love this watch.  The only downfall is it’s a little hard to read the time since it’s pretty dark, but it’s still pretty cool.

Anyways, instead of writing a whole long post about this bad boy, I recorded a quick review where I open a beer (for the first time) using the watch.  Check it out and enjoy.

For more details check out HappyHourTimePieces.com. The cost of the Dark ‘N’ Stormy watch shown here in the video is $69.95.  It’s definitely a good price for a watch of this quality and I recommend you check them out.

Christmas is just around the corner and I’m sure a lot of beer drinkers would love to get this watch as a gift.  Thanks again to Happy Hour™ for this watch.

I admit that I’m somewhat of a gadget geek. When products come out that make sense, such as my Reef sandals that have beer bottle openers on the bottom of each foot, I get excited. I’ve been wearing my sandals when I’ve needed to open a beer, and they have been a life saver (ok, that might be extreme, but they have definitely come in handy).

What happens though when the winter comes and I’m wearing shoes and need to open a beer? I could try opening my beer with a key, but wouldn’t using my phone be more practical?  I may not always be wearing my sandals, but I always carry my phone.  That’s were iBottleopener comes in handy.

iBottleopener is a case for your iPhone 3g/3gs (iPhone 4 coming soon) that has a bottle opener attached.  For $19.95, it’s not a bad deal.  Most cases are right around that price anyway, so you might as well get one with a bottle opener right?

Here is their commercial which speaks for itself.

Hopefully they will start making these for other phone models, but I think it’s a pretty great idea.  What do you think?

Check out their website at http://www.ibottleopener.com

Brewing beer is by far the best and most satisfying hobby that I’ve run across. How great is it to spend a few hours brewing beer while drinking a few beers, then a week or two later bottle your brew while drinking a few beers, and then a few weeks later get to taste the beer you created?

When I tell people I brew beer, they always have questions. How much does it cost to start?  Wouldn’t it just be cheaper to buy beer already made?  Honestly, it can be an expensive hobby, but it doesn’t have to be.

If you’re serious and can afford to spend a few hundred to get good equipment, I suggest you go down to your local brew shop and let them help you.

If you are interested in home brewing, but don’t have a lot to spend, or are not sure if you will enjoy it enough to spend a few hundred dollars getting setup, I’d suggest getting a home beer brewing kit.

I’ve had beer made from two kits, and each had completely different results.  The first I’ve tried was from Mr. Beer, and honestly it tasted like crap.  It could have been the way that batch was made, but I would probably stear clear of it.

Last August I was in New York and tried two beers from a Coopers brewing kit. I was pretty impressed with the quality for how cheap the kit and the ingredients where to get started.  I had the IPA and the wheat beer.  While not the best beers I’ve ever had, it sure beat the taste of most micro beers out there.

Once you get the kit for $99, you can make 6 gallons of beer for about $20 (includes malts, hops, and yeast), which is a pretty good deal if you are toying around with the idea to get started home brewing.  Plus if you realize that you enjoy the brewing process, you will already have some of the key pieces of equipment so it won’t cost to much to upgrade.

Here is a video on their website that shows what is included.

The Coopers kit includes:

• 1 Plastic 30 liter fermenter with lid (and o ring), makes 23 liters (6 Gallons)
• 1 Hydrometer
• 1 Sediment Reducer
• 1 Plastic Spoon
• 1 “Little Bottler” tube and bottling valve
• 1 Tap
• 1 Airlock
• 1 Airlock grommet
• 1 Thermometer
• 30 740ml PET bottles and caps
• 1 Instruction booklet
• 1 Instructional DVD
• 1 Cooper’s Lager Beer Kit Package – which includes:
  • 1 1.7kg Coopers Lager Beer Kit Concentrate with yeast
  • 1 1 kg Coopers Brewing Sugar
  • 1 Bag of Carbonation drops

Check out Coopers beer kits here.

I was looking for beer glasses this morning and came across one that is not your typical pint glass.  Now I’m sure this will confuse your friends who’ve drank a little more than they should.  I know I might be easily amused, but the glass makes it appear like you’re drinking from the bottom of your beer bottle.

The picture below shows the glass in its glory.

If you’re more of a wine drinker, don’t feel left out, they made a glass for you as well. Now you can feel like a beer drinker with this wine glass looking mug.

For $19.99 each I’m planning on getting a couple.  Yes, I may be a nerd, but these are cool.  Check them out at HomeWetBar.com.

Have you ever had a time you cracked open a beer and for some reason needed to put it back in the fridge?  If you’re like me that doesn’t happen often, but on occasion I’ve had to throw a half filled beer away after it goes flat sitting in the fridge (such as when my wife uses beer in a dinner recipe).  To fix the problem a new product was created called Beer Savers.

Basically Beer Savers are silicone caps that go on your opened beer bottle that keeps it fresh overnight.  Each pack comes with 6 colors so you could also use them to cap your beer to keep others from mixing it up with theirs. I was sent a sample pack and it fit pretty snug, and accomplished what it claims.

I’m not sure I’d use these very much, but could think of a few other uses for them that would work for me.  For example these would probably work great to put on sterilized bottles when home brewing while the bottles are waiting to be filled to keep things clean.

For $7.99 they are cheap enough to buy a set to have around for when the time does arrive that your freshly opened beer needs to be put back in the fridge while you make that unexpected trip to the store to grab propane for the BBQ.

Check out Beer Savers.

Note: If you have a beer related product and are reading this and would like your product on BlogAboutBeer.com, please contact me to send a sample for review. Thanks!