Corona wants to save the planet with new stackable beer cans

Corona may have just made the traditional six-pack a thing of the past.

In an effort to move away from plastic six-pack rings, Corona is testing out a new type of beer can. The new cans have threading at the top and bottom that allow them to be connected and stacked on top of each other, creating a long staff of Corona beers.

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Corona Fit Packs have been specifically designed for this interlocking feature, Yahoo Lifestyle reports. Not only will this allow Corona to sell beer cans without the plastic rings, but it will also allow for a wider variety of quantities to be sold. Apparently, the new system is strong enough to hold ten cans in a single stack.

Of course, ten cans would stand about four-feet-tall, which may or may not be more convenient to carry around than a traditional six-pack.

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What goes into an $899 bottle of beer? Lots of coconut and hype

By. David Klein


Brewer Charles Rapadas measures salts to harden water in the process of making beer at Three Chiefs Brewing in El Segundo.

Want a taste of Los Angeles’ latest craft beer sensation? Grab a sleeping bag — or be prepared to empty your wallet.

If you’re not familiar with Three Chiefs Brewing Co., that’s understandable. Its online presence is virtually nonexistent with scant social media updates and a website that offers little more than the brewery’s name. Finding its actual facility is equally frustrating. It’s in a remote section of El Segundo, operating out of the R6 Distillery in a space about the size of a Manhattan studio apartment.

Despite the brewery’s limited output (or perhaps because of it), Three Chiefs has become a destination for craft beer die-hards who insist the effort to obtain bottles of its decadent, hyper-limited stouts — which involves camping out at the brewery the night before it goes on sale or paying a ransom on the secondary market — is worth it.Continue Reading

Here’s How to Turn Old Rice Krispies, Cocoa Krispies, and Corn Flakes Into Beer

By Andrew Daniels

With a new microbrewery popping up in the world every three minutes—don’t check our stats, we’re right—finding new ways to innovate among a crowded pack of craft producers is an increasingly tall task. But the brewers at Seven Bro7hers in Salford, England have arrived at a solution for separating their suds from the rest: using bad cereal.

Last year, the brewery teamed up with BrewDog in Manchester to whip up a milkshake IPA called “Cornshake,” which naturally used leftover Kellogg’s Corn Flakes in the mash. Truth be told, Seven Bro7hers owner and founder Keith McAvoy didn’t think the brew was long for this world, due to litigation concerns.

“A few days after we launched the beer,” McAvoy says, “Kellogg’s got in touch, and as we had used Kellogg’s branding on the label, we thought we were in trouble, and they were going to ask us to remove the reference. But it was quite the opposite: They loved what we had done.”

Not only had McAvoy gotten the go-ahead from the cereal king to continue using the Kellogg’s name, but in fact, the company wanted to collaborate on a new beer. As you might expect, a mass producer like Kellogg’s lets a lot of food go to waste during the quality assurance process: Some flakes are too big. Some are overcooked. Some colors are wrong. Instead of going in the box, that leftover cereal goes in the trash. 

Kellogg’s wanted it to go somewhere else.

So McAvoy and co. began creating Throw Away IPA—a hoppy IPA created with those rejected corn flakes—and as discussions continued, he says, “it became apparent that the wider issue of food waste could be addressed, and we decided to officially continue the partnership and make two more beers.”

Those are Cast Off Pale Ale, a double dry-hopped pale ale made from recycled Rice Krispies, and Sling It Out Stout, a cocoa stout that uses surplus Coco Pops (a.k.a. Cocoa Krispies in the U.S.), both of which launched in the U.K. this week. Seven Bro7hers is selling all three beers in a limited-edition variety pack; they aren’t available in America yet, but we can only hope.

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They're vaping booze in Wisconsin now

By. Jay BolleSince achieving statehood in 1848, its residents have guzzled oceans of the stuff via liquids -- beer, wine, spirits, god-knows-what-else. But now, in the age of V.C. #disruption, an innovative new method of getting shit-faced has emerged: vaping. 

Milwaukee's Werd Bar claims to be the first establishment in Wisconsin to offer vape shots, Patch reports. 

"Come be the first to experience the newest way to take a shot!" bar owner Drew Kent wrote last week in a Facebook post. "Alcohol Mist is a shot that is vaporized into a balloon for you to inhale! Each balloon is equivalent to 2 and a half shots! Don't worry about the calories because your not digesting the shot... you're inhaling it! First bar in Wisconsin to offer this NEWEST sensation."

Each balloon will set ya back $8; patrons will experience "an instant buzz that some describe as uniquely distinct from your everyday drinking experience," according the machine's manufacturer, Vapshot Inc. Tech website Gizmodo describes the booze-vaping process as "one hell of a fun gimmick."

Vapshot's $8,000 Alcohol MIST PRO machine doesn't technically vaporize alcohol (its $10,000 Vapshot PROdoes). Instead, it attaches "micro-droplets" of liquid alcohol to the mist shots, which go straight from a latex balloon and into your lungs, resulting in a virtually calorie-free drinking experience. A single 750-milliliter bottle of spirits produces 1,500 shots from the MIST PRO, like the one at Werd Bar. Inhaling alcohol is "potentially even safer" than drinking it, according to Vapshot, though that boast is disputed.

In any case, huffing alcohol presents a bold/boozy new frontier for our famously wasted neighbors to the East. Godspeed. 

Miller Lite Turned a Beer Can Into a Video Game Controller, and We Tried It

Original article By. Andrew Daniels

Video games and beer are made for each other. Smashing buttons to beat bad guys is as good a workout as any; a crisp cold one, then, is the perfect reward for sitting and sweating. Ever play FIFA or Mario Kart in a dorm room without a six-pack present? Of course not. It’s a combination that simply makes sense.

Miller Lite knows this, which is why it’s cutting out the middleman. Today, the O.G. light beer is debuting a completely ridiculous, yet ingenious device that probably won’t revolutionize gaming, but will, at the very least, quench your thirst. Meet the Cantroller: a fully functional gaming controller fashioned from a full can of beer.

We get a lot of pitches for new gadgets here at Popular Mechanics and thus, carefully choose which products are worthy of coverage. But when Miller Lite offered to swing by our office with a Cantroller, a collection of old-school games from the ‘90s, and a 30-rack of beer, there was no such deliberation. Here was what appeared to be a glorious feat of engineering. Plus, we’re a bunch of lushes. The free beer definitely helped.

So Team Miller Lite rolled up, Cantroller in hand, and told us to go wild. But before any gameplay (and drinking) could begin, we wanted to closely inspect the thing and dive into the tech specs. Watch our video to see the contraption in action:

Turns out the design of the Cantroller—which took about three months to develop—is actually pretty simple. Here’s how it works: Engineers wrapped a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) around the 12-oz. can, then stuck metal dome switches on top with an adhesive layer. This lets you press the 10 buttons on the can, a number the engineers chose to make the Cantroller compatible with the most games possible without changing the can’s design.

The PCB is integrated with Bluetooth IC, allowing for wireless connection to a computer, which transmits when you press the buttons. And the Cantroller includes an integrated rechargeable lithium ion battery, with a micro-USB port for rechargeable game play. The battery lasts about 3 hours and takes approximately the same amount of time to recharge.

The Cantroller prototype is a human interface device (HID)-compliant, bluetooth low energy (BLE) gamepad that works with both OSX and Windows. For this launch, Miller Lite partnered with Steam, an online gaming store with thousands of games in its library. To get started, all you have to do is pair the Cantroller to your laptop, fire up Steam, and activate the device by defining the layout and calibrating it.Continue Reading

pappy van winkle

11 Best Light Beers

The craft beer revolution has finally come to light beer and we love the results. Here are our favorite IPAs, wheat beers, and lagers, all clocking around 100 calories.

The summer of craft light beer is here. We honestly never thought we'd be excited over light beers. But after decades of decrying the style as bland and watery, craft beer has decided to make it something worth celebrating. Instead of brewers watering down already watery beers (with admittedly impressive precision), they're designing versions of craft's favorite styles with lower alcohol and fewer residual carbs—both up the calorie count. It's a two-fold problem of creating a beer that feels pleasant to sip—not too dry, thin, or astringent—while providing big flavors with fewer calories to rely on. But these 11 beers achieve that. And in this expert opinion, it's a damn miracle of brewing science.

When beer shopping, note the balance between calories and ABV. It's not an absolute rule, but our testing confirmed that you'll typically get a little more to taste in the lower-alcohol light options that have a few more carbs to work with. Here are our favorites.

Southern Tier Swipe Light

The most refreshing pale ale we've ever tasted. Unlike an IPA, there's a balance between the toasty barley flavors and the bright citrus hops. And the flavor is big enough to deliver that post-workout reward and satisfaction. Calories: 110, ABV: 4.0%

Sixpoint Jammer

Jammer was the most fun beer we tasted. WTF does fun beer taste like? Pleasantly surprising. Over a backbone of wheat was a bright, fruity, and sour character, but you weren't sure what you'd taste next. Try the 15-can Jammer Session Pack, which also includes berry, citrus, ruby, and tropical variations. Calories: 125, ABV: 4.0%

Session Light

Dang, this is refreshing. True to Full Sail Brewing's Session line, which provides craft beer takes on classic lagers and easy-drinking beers, Session Light indeed tastes like a light American beer—but improved. There's a clean, barley malt flavor, and none of the odd off-flavors that punish you if you let your typical light beer warm up. Calories: 100, ABV: 3.6%

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Wet hop beer from Lagunitas challenges seasonal limits in brewing

By. Alastair Bland

What is a freshly brewed wet hop beer doing on shelves in June? It may be 5 p.m. somewhere, as daytime drinkers like to say, but it isn’t hop season anywhere on this planet.

Hop flowers are ready for harvest in the late summer and early fall. Usually they are immediately dried in kilns, which stabilizes the hops but also sends a significant bit of their aromas into the air, and then reduced into pellets that last for years. To capture every bit of the hop essence possible, many brewers use hops immediately after harvest — the Beaujolais Nouveau of the beer realm. They may be dried in the kiln and used whole for so-called fresh hop beers; or they may be used undried for so-called wet hop beers.

When consumed fresh, these styles are explosively aromatic and lively — and, naturally, they are strictly seasonal.

Lagunitas Brewing Co. has been making seasonal wet hop beers for years. Born Yesterday is their classic example. It’s released each fall.

But this spring, the Petaluma-based, Marin-founded and — in 2017 — Heineken-bought brewery introduced Phase Change. The beer is a pale ale of exceptional aromatic power, made with the equivalent of 7 pounds of undried hops — Simcoe, Mosaic and Citra — per barrel. As Lagunitas brewmaster Jeremy Marshall characterizes it, Phase Change is a wet hop beer brewed so far out of seasonal sync that until recently it would have been an impossibility.

“You can’t get fresh hops this time of year, anywhere, not even from the southern hemisphere,” Marshall says.

To transcend the Earthly limitations of seasons, Lagunitas has invested about $1 million in a system that macerates the hops, blends them with a little water and produces a sort of hop cream, or mayonnaise, as Marshall describes the green goop. Frozen at 10 degrees, these liquified hops last and last. When they go to the brew kettle — whatever month it may be — they are almost as lovey to the nose as freshly harvested hops.Continue Reading

The search for a non-alcoholic beer that’s actually worth drinking

By. Jessica Lahey

I’m approaching 50 and have been sober nearly five years. I’m profoundly grateful for each and every day, but boy, do I miss a good, cold beer.

Beer has been a part of American culture since Europeans set up the first colonies, first as an English import and later as a home brew made from Indian corn or barley. The first commercial brewing equipment arrived on our shores in 1633, and within a year, every New England community was required by law to have an inn, or “ordinary,” which sold beer to the public at a fixed cost. 

Today, nearly 5,100 American beer producers sell about $111.1 billion in beer annually, much of it marketed as a means to celebrate with friends and quench our thirst.

Various forms of nonalcoholic beer, or “small beer,” have existed since the medieval era as an alternative to contaminated water. Modern nonalcoholic beer, “NA beer,” or “near-beer,” was born during Prohibition, when alcohol levels above 0.5 percent were illegal. Despite the optimistic nickname, most “near beers” are a poor substitute for the real thing, and many are downright undrinkable. As the market share for nonalcoholic beer increases, however, some craft brewers are working to change the reputation of NA beer.

Most fall flat, not because they’re missing the alcohol, but because the process most brewers use to remove the alcohol also removes volatile flavors. To make beer, water and a grain, usually malted barley, are cooked into a “wort.” Hops are added for flavor, and yeast is added for fermentation. The yeast eats the sugar from the barley and excretes digested sugar as alcohol and carbon dioxide. Most brewers bottle the beer at this point, allowing the residual yeast to consume the last of the sugar and carbonate the beer. Brewers of nonalcoholic beer, however, either stop the fermentation before it’s complete (“stop-fermentation”) or boil the beer to lower the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV) below 0.5, and it’s this final step that renders so many NA beers unpalatable.Continue Reading

More hops, less filling? These are some of the best new low-calorie craft beers on the market.

By. Fritz Hahn

Since the dawn of the craft beer era, the mantra has been “Flavorful, complex beers are good. Fizzy, mass-produced yellow lagers are bad.”

And yet the best-selling beers in America continue to prominently feature the words “Light” or “Lite” on their labels. Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch’s No. 2 brand is no longer Budweiser but instead Michelob Ultra, which boasts about minuscule calorie and carb counts on its packaging. While Bud Light, Coors Light and Miller Lite all posted sales declines in 2018, according to market research firm IRI, Michelob Ultra did not — its 15.9 percent sales increase translated to about $1.9 billion.

It would be impossible for other brewers not to notice these trends, especially as craft beer’s growth slows. “People are paying attention to caloric intake and carbs,” says Jeremy Marshall, the brewmaster at Lagunitas since 2013. “It’s no secret that millennials are more alcohol-averse. Craft beer traditionally has a higher ABV [alcohol by volume], and it has more stuff in it. It’s on the list of things a dietitian would tell you to avoid.”Continue Reading

Ale Sharpton Points The Way To The Best Craft Beer In Atlanta, Other Georgia Cities

By. Gary Stoller

The taste of Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout blew Dennis Malcolm Byron's mind and forever changed his life.

The stout, which Brooklyn has brewed since 1994, pointed the future direction for Byron, an Atlanta-based craft beer ambassador, freelance writer and blogger known as Ale Sharpton. His Cruisin' for a Bruisin' blogs can be found on his website, and he recently collaborated with Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing to brew Piano Keys, a chocolate and vanilla imperial stout.

"Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout introduced me to to how a beer could actually taste like chocolate, yet not be too sweet and still amazingly potent," Sharpton says. "Then I started understanding the various tasting and aromatic properties of individual hops, leading to West Coast pale ales and IPAs."

Sharpton grew up in Ithaca, New York, the home of Cornell University and Ithaca College. He graduated from Cornell and later adopted his monicker, because “I wanted something creative, catchy and more recognizable than my legal name.

“Rev. Sharpton and I are passionate about what we do, and I wanted to incorporate that along with recognizing the best beverage in the world. There is no parody or comedic approach of disrespect.”Continue Reading

Senate moves to let breweries sell beer to go, make it easier to own several liquor stores

The Texas Senate restored a measure Wednesday allowing breweries to sell beer to go from their taprooms to a bill allowing the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to continue operating. It also approved a measure that would loosen restrictions on the number of liquor store permits individuals can hold.

State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, said her amendment allowing breweries to sell beer to go — something allowed in every state except Texas — would foster job creation, economic development, entrepreneurship and tourism.

“We stand our best when we stand together, and we come together on issues that have been divisive in the past,” Buckingham said during the floor debate. “Our constituents elected us to be bold — and with that, I give you beer to go, baby.”

The TABC bill's sponsor in the Senate, Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, also added an amendment that would allow individuals to hold up to 250 liquor store permits. Under current law, individuals are prohibited from owning more than five liquor stores, with two exceptions. One exception applies to anyone who owned a liquor store before May 1, 1949. The other allows anyone with a parent, child or sibling who is also in the liquor store business to join forces and obtain an unlimited amount of permits. Together, those two exceptions only apply to 11 of more than 2,600 liquor stores in Texas.Continue Reading

Utah creates new online drawing for distributing Pappy Van Winkle, other ‘unicorn’ liquor

By.Kathy Stephenson

The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control soon will allow customers to sign up for a chance to win — well, actually, buy — rare, high-demand liquor products like Pappy Van Winkle and Old Forester bourbons.

On Tuesday, the DABC announced that it will now hold random drawings to ensure that these items are distributed in a “fair and equitable” way to consumers.

The Rare High Demand Products drawing is expected to begin next month with a lesser-known spirit to test the system, DABC Deputy Director Cade Meier told the state liquor commission Tuesday.

“Many people are excited about these products,” he said, “and the state needs to find a better method to deal with them.”

To participate, Utah consumers will have to create a profile on the DABC website and register for the drawings in which they may be interested. Those who win the opportunity to purchase products would be notified by email and would be able to select the liquor store where they want to pick up and buy the item.

Products that will be featured in a drawing will be announced during liquor commission meetings — typically held the last Tuesday of each month — and on the DABC website. Consumers will have five days to put their name into the hopper.

The drawing — don’t call it a lottery, that’s illegal in Utah — has been used by several other states, said Meier, who added that it is open only to Utah residents and those in the active military here. DABC employees may not participate, neither can restaurants, bars or others businesses with state liquor licenses.

Only one bottle can be purchased per address, and reselling the product is prohibited.

Minnetonka Target applies for a liquor license — again

By.Frances Stevenson

MINNETONKA — A new liquor store may be coming to Minnetonka pending the City Council’s decision on its liquor license.

The store, which has applied for a liquor license from the city of Minnetonka twice in the past, is the Target at 4848 County Road 101.

Target has applied for a liquor license to open a separate-entrance store at the SuperTarget location, Target spokesperson Angie Thompson told Lakeshore Weekly News.

“This application supports Target’s ongoing efforts to deliver a convenient, one-stop shopping experience for our guests,” Thompson said.

The Minnetonka City Council held a public hearing on the off-sale liquor license at its May 6 meeting. The public hearing will continue at its June 24 meeting.

Target applied for a liquor license in 2015 and again in 2017, in 2015 the license was denied, in 2017 Target withdrew their application, according to a report given by Minnetonka Community Development Director Julie Wischnack at the City Council meeting. The store does have a 3.2 liquor license, which allows it to sell lower alcohol content beer.

The City Council’s main concerns when it comes to liquor licenses in past years, according to Wischnack, has been the number of liquor stores within the city and if the city is adequately served. When Target applied for licenses previously, the City Council decided there were sufficient liquor stores within city limits.

In 2019, Target is planning on purchasing Strong Liquor, a liquor store in Minnetonka and one of the city’s stand-alone liquor license holders. While Target cannot purchase Strong Liquor’s license, it can buy a store to attempt to keep the number of liquor stores in the city the same. If Target is granted a liquor license and it buys out Strong Liquor, the number of stand-alone liquor stores in Minnetonka will stay at 10.

This is the same way Total Wine eased the City Council’s concerns about granting it a liquor license. In 2015, Total Wine applied for a liquor license for a location next to the Whole Foods in Minnetonka, according to Wischnack. The City Council denied the license because it was concerned about traffic flow and it felt the city was adequately served by liquor stores.In 2016, Total Wine sued the city of Minnetonka for denying it a liquor license for “arbitrary and capricious” reasons, according to City Attorney Corrine Heine.Continue Reading

This is how you play the game: Utah ax-throwing business gets beer license by adding pool tables

By.Kathy Stephenson

What does an ax-throwing business have to do to get a beer license around here?

Install three pool tables and some arcade games.After being denied a liquor license last month, the owners of Social Axe Throwing in Ogden added those games to their new business — and it was enough to qualify for a recreational beer license from the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.Last month, the DABC commission denied the Social Axe’s beer license request — as well as a similar application from Salt Lake City’s Heart & Seoul Karaoke — saying the businesses did not qualify as recreational amenities under a new liquor law passed by the Utah Legislature.

The law lists specific businesses that can have recreational beer licenses. Bowling alleys, golf courses, pool halls, ski resorts and government-owned concert venues, for instance, made the list.

Karaoke and ax throwing did not.

Adding the pool tables and games appeased most of the liquor commission. It voted 6-1 on Tuesday to grant the license that allows the sale of beer that is 3.2 percent alcohol by weight (or 4 percent by volume).

Commissioner Thomas Jacobson offered the lone dissenting vote, saying the Social Axe was not complying with the spirit of the law and should change its signs to say it was a pool hall.

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Taco Bell expands its cantina concept, where you can order booze with your tacos

The Chelsea Cantina serves several types of drinks.  Photo Credit: Charles Eckert 

Spring’s annual rite of renewal played itself out on a prime patch of Chelsea real estate, when a booze-infused Taco Bell took the place of longtime tenant Radio Shack. The corporate owner, Yum!, is betting its take on a cantina will become a destination for customers who hunger for libations considerably more potent than the fizzy fountain drinks found on a typical Taco Bell menu.

Situated at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and West 23rd Street, the Chelsea Cantina joins several other iterations of this tipsy-turvy business model across the city, including outposts at 500 and 840 Eighth Ave. in Manhattan. All three alcohol-serving cantinas in Manhattan are owned and operated by Taco Bell. 

“While suburban concepts with drive-thrus will always be a priority for us, we knew if we created a restaurant format for highly walkable areas, we would be able to further tap into urban markets," said Amanda Clark, Taco Bell’s executive vice president of restaurant experience.

Since the concept’s 2015 debut in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, Taco Bell has opened cantinas in New Haven, Chicago, Orlando, Las Vegas, Cleveland, San Francisco and elsewhere, including a franchise under construction at 545 Sixth Ave. in Manhattan. 

To date, Taco Bell has launched 18 urban-format stores (which include cantinas) across the city. A Taco Bell representative said these outposts are designed with open kitchens, local approaches to design and artwork as well as exclusive shareable menus. The cantinas also serve alcohol. 

And serve, they do, everything from Bud Light to Dos Equis to shots mixed into slushy-style Freeze beverages. 

Blue Point Brewing Co., a Long Island-based craft brewery, did “a lot of research crafting the right beer for that [cantina] concept,” including a visit to the Taco Bell test kitchen in California, said Blue Point president Jenna Lally. That exploration yielded the Big City Bell Pilsner, a toasted lager custom-made for the menu.

“Pilsners in general are pretty well-balanced, beers,” Lally said. “Taco Bell has very pronounced flavors, so we wanted a beer that would not overpower that. When you’re eating a spicy taco, it offsets that flavor.”

During the cantina’s liquor license permit request process, locals expressed concerns that mixing this rich tapestry of Chelsea eclecticism with alcohol would yield a strange brew.

Last call was among the bones of contention when Taco Bell went before Manhattan Community Board 4's Business Licenses & Permits Committee (BLP). BLP recommended the State Liquor Authority deny its application for a restaurant wine, beer and cider license — based in part on concerns from neighborhood residents and businesses that the cantina would exacerbate quality of life problems in an area that already sees its share of litter, loitering, public drunkenness, and, occasionally, vomit.

At the time, BLP co-chair Frank Holozubiec recalled, the community was concerned that "people will go there to continue eating and drinking" after a night out at the area's many bars and clubs.

Still, the state granted the license to the Chelsea Cantina, which started serving alcohol in mid-April.

Customers can order alcohol from 11 a.m. through midnight Monday through Thursday and up until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, according to a store manager.

Holozubiec said the community board has not fielded any complaints about alcohol consumption related to the cantina.

Bill Borock, president of the Council of Chelsea Block Associations agreed, saying, “I have not heard anything at all about [the Chelsea] Taco Bell.”

Taco Bell stations security guards at cantinas on weekend evenings. 

With Memorial Day in the rear view mirror, summer’s warmer weather is sure to bring more crowds to the Chelsea Cantina, and possibly, buoy the concept's proliferation. 

“The majority of urban markets across the U.S. are still untapped for us,” Clark said, “so we still have a major opportunity to grow where our fans want us most.”