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Beer Crown Display Maps

March 10, 2015 By Jay Brooks

sierra-nevada-crown
This is a fun idea. If you’re like me, you open a lot of beer bottles. Maybe you immediately throw away the crowns, or maybe some of them are too cool to just toss out, and you throw them into a jar, or a bucket or something. That’s why I do, so I ended up having a fair number of crowns just lying around gathering dust. I kept thinking that I’d eventually think of some good use to put them to, but now it looks like someone has come up with the perfect way to display beer crowns.

A small company out of Wisconsin, Beer Cap Maps, is making plywood maps of the United States along with several state maps with holes cut in them, which can be filled with your beer crowns.

crown-holder-usa

They apparently fit most, if not all, crowns, and you can place your crowns geographically until you fill out the country with beer you’ve tried. In addition to the U.S., they also have maps of the British Isles, Germany and New Zealand.

usa-crown-map

Or if you want to collect beers from a particular state, they have maps for 35 states so far, with plans to have all 50 made available by May 1.

CapMap_CA

If you have a lot from your home state, it would be fun to put them roughly where the brewery is located. For bars or serious collectors, it would be cool to have multiple states.

cal-crown-map

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Breweriana, Crowns, Gift Ideas, Gifts

Pretentious Beer Glasses

December 18, 2012 By Jay Brooks

pretentious-beer-glasses
These are some of the most unusual and inventive beer glasses I’ve run across for some time now. They’re hand made, mouth-blown glasses by a Matthew Cummings of Louisville, Kentucky and are available through his Etsy store, Pretentious Beer Glasses. You just know that many people will call his efforts pretentious so I love the fact that he decided to just own it and called his company by that name. He only opened for business earlier this month. Below are the five regular glasses that he makes (but for more photos, and to see them larger, visit him at Etsy):

pbg-02
From left to right: The Hoppy Beer Glass, Ale Glass, Subtle Beer Glass, Malty Beer Glass and the Aromatic Beer Glass.

Each glass is designed for a different range of beers, and you can probably work out what beers go in which glasses by their names.

Below are the same glasses, but filled with beer.
pbg-01

Here’s a breakdown of each glass:

The Hoppy Beer Glass

pbg-07-hoppy

The Hoppy Beer Glass description:

This handmade beer glass is designed to highlight hoppy beers, such as IPAs APAs and also light Belgians. The tulip shape is a favorite glass style of high end beer vendors because of its versatility and enhancement of complicated beers. This tulip is engraved with four dashes on the sides, one for your thumb, and three for your fingers. I make each glass by hand in the hotshop (glass studio) and carve the finger grips on the glass the old fashioned way…lathe cutting. Same process that crystal companies use for their cut crystal glassware, only I leave the glass with a nice satin finish instead of polishing it, which provides better grip. Each glass is 5″ tall and 3.5″ wide, holding 12 oz of liquid with a 1-2 oz head (remember, dimensions will vary slightly as each glass is made by hand).

The Hoppy glass is also available with two types of hand grips, dashes and finger prints.

The Ale Glass

pbg-04-ale

The Ale Glass description:

This might be the most versatile glass of the set. It is a variation on a typical pint glass that highlights most ales, lighter beers, and hefeweizens. This is an extremely popular glass design for a reason, and I didn’t see any need for drastic alteration to it’s form. But I had to make it mine (as far as design goes), so I went graffiti on it. Take a recognized format, bomb it, and make it your own. Hence the ‘stache. Dimensions are 6.25″ tall and 3.25″ wide (remember, dimensions will vary slightly as each glass is made by hand).

The Subtle Beer Glass

pbg-08-subtle

The Subtle Beer Glass description:

This handmade beer glass is designed to highlight any lighter flavored beer, Lager, Pilsner, Kolsch, etc. The glass is in the traditional format for the style, a tall, narrow cylindrical shape. Yet it possesses a wonderfully “softened” bottom made by indenting the hot glass with newspaper pads while it is being blown. The “softened” bottom is not only ergonomic, but it reveals all the different hues of each beer by presenting the liquid in different densities. Dimensions are approximately 6.75″ tall by 2.5″ wide and holds a 12 oz. pour with 2-3 oz. of head (remember, dimensions will vary slightly as each glass is made by hand).

The Malty Beer Glass

pbg-05-malty

The Malty Beer Glass description:

This handmade beer glass is meant to highlight just about any beer with distinct notes of malt…including Stouts, and Porters. The glass is also wonderful for any unfiltered beer. The point coming out of the bottom of the glass allows the sediment to cascade to the outer edge of the bottom. While the lowest “waist” keeps the sedimentation at the bottom and out of your teeth! The glass is about 6″ tall and 3.5″ wide, and holds a 12oz. pour with significant head (remember these are handmade and dimensions will vary slightly).

The Aromatic Beer Glass

pbg-06-aroma

The Aromatic Beer Glass description:

This glass is designed to highlight any aromatic beer and or high ABV beer. Obviously reminiscent of the snifter or full bodied red wine glass, it concentrates the volatiles and aromatics of the beer to properly enhance the experience. The main design element is an abstract mountain pushed into the bottom of the glass. As you drink the beverage, the mountain is slowly revealed, emerging from the dark liquid. Dimensions are 4″ tall and 4″ wide, holding 12 oz (remember, dimensions will vary slightly as each glass is made by hand).

In addition, Cummings has one more glass in his store, The Dual, which is an ideal glass for mixing beers:

The Dual Beer Glass

pbg-03-dual

The Dual Beer Glass description:

This is the first specialty glass released by the Pretentious Beer Glass Company. It is a cylindrical beer glass with two separate chambers inside that combine into one towards the lip. I first began working on this design after having a bartender incorrectly pour a Half and Half, blending the two beers together. This glass is not just the solution to the problem of using a jig to properly pour those types of beers, but it allows you to mix any two beers, even ones that have similar viscosities. A wonderful secondary benefit to this glass is that you can smell the bouquet of both beers simultaneously, where normally you only smell the beer that settles on top. Dimensions vary more on this glass than the others due to production techniques, and are approximately 5-6″ tall and 3″ wide, holding 10-12 oz.

The glasses are a little pricey, but not when you consider that they’re made by hand and are utterly unique. It will be interesting to see how they work. I’ve ordered a set of five, although they won’t make it here by Christmas, and I should point out that you won’t be able to get them for a gift this year since he’s been flooded with orders and is currently sold out.

To see many more photos, and larger ones, visit Matthew Cummings’ Etsy store, Pretentious Beer Glasses.

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, News Tagged With: Gift Ideas, Gifts, Glassware

Football Beer Caddy

February 5, 2012 By Jay Brooks

football
I found this odd little gadget while searching for an image this morning. It’s a Football Beer Caddy, apparently “handcrafted from recycled steel.” The 12-inch tall steel sculture is meant to hold your beer, though I can’t for the life of me understand why you’d do that. After pouring your bottle into a glass — you are doing that, right? — why would you need a caddy for the empty bottle?
FOOTBALL_BEER_HOLDER
According to the website, they’re “handcrafted by American and European artisans using recycled steel and copper that is bent, cut, welded and brushed resulting in original works of art for the perfect unique football gift idea or unusual home accent piece. The moment you hold an H & K metal sculpture, you will appreciate its craftsmanship, quality and value.” Maybe, but if you want your own, $81.99 is what you’ll need to plunk down to get one of these football beer caddies for your very own. Crazy.

Filed Under: Editorial, Just For Fun Tagged With: Beer Accesories, Gifts, Humor

Santa Beer Cozy

December 6, 2010 By Jay Brooks

santa-head
I don’t know how I missed this last year, but Urban Outfitters carried exclusively a two-piece Santa Claus beer cozy. They don’t have it this year, it’s sold out now. And all the blogs featuring, like at Nerd Approved, are from last year, too. So while I would never use a beer cozy, it is hilarious.
santa-beer-cozy

Filed Under: Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Christmas, Gifts, Holidays, Humor

Infinite Beer Can Keychain

July 4, 2009 By Jay Brooks

beer-can-beer
Here’s a fun little item from Japan, albeit a little on the strange side. If you have a Pavlovian response to the sound of a beer can opening, you’re going to love this. It’s called “Mugen Beer,” which means “infinite beer,” presumably because you can open the can over and over again. Pop the cap and you’ll hear one of several sounds like the classic opening crack, pouring, bubbles, drinking sounds and even a “secret sound.”

mugen-1

You can get it in four different color schemes, including yellow, black, grey, white (or red and blue if you prefer a soda can).

mugen-2

You can order your very own online at the Japan Trend Shop, though it is a little pricey at $23 (plus $15 shipping). But can really put a price on that sound?

Filed Under: Just For Fun Tagged With: Cans, Gifts

Gnome For Me, Thanks

November 22, 2008 By Jay Brooks

achouffe
It is not known precisely where the mythical Gnome originated, or why, but their mythology spread throughout Europe. Eventually the more common garden gnome originated in Germany in the 1800s and by the 1840s had spread to England and other parts of Europe.

In Germany, the gnomes (or dwarfs as they are known there) were often portrayed as miners. There is a theory that miners, of small stature, came from the island of Crete around 1,500 BC to dig for gold and silver in parts of Europe, including southeast Germany, and they might have been the origin of the mining dwarf myth. Dwarfs often featured in German fairy tales, such as those told by the Brothers Grimm, and dwarf figurines were thought to bring good fortune to a home if placed in the house or garden which is why they were adopted by so many German homes. The familiar pointed red hat that we see on many garden gnomes today was originally a representation of the hat that was once worn by miners in the mountains of south-east Germany.

Now Gnomeland, a UK dealer in garden gnomes is offering a beer drinking garden gnome, perfect for your hop yard.

beer-gnome

You can also customize the label on the beer bottle your garden gnome is holding on to, as shown in this Newcastle example.

beer-gnome-custom

Of course, at least one other beer variety exists, the gnomes created by Bas for his wife’s Urthel beer. Oh, and you want more gnomey puns — and who doesn’t? — check out Gnome Pun Intended.

Filed Under: Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: gadgets, Gifts, UK

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