Here is a great video of a beer production line filmed by tech blog gizmodo. The beer is named Arvo and is a new product by the Australian wine people behind the currently very popular Yellowtail brand. Jump on their link below to read the full story or watch the video of production line above.
KegDroid the Beer Robot
Here at hoppsy, our second love (after beer) is high tech gadgets and we hope that one day our beer will be served to us by our robot butlers. The guys in the video above have done the next best thing and created a home brew dispensing device in the shape of an android robot filled with some hobbyist electronics, an android tablet and a Near Field Communications reader. The robot is named the KegDroid and is able to dispense beer to pre-registered users who swipe their NFC card and then make a selection via the Motorola Xoom tablet embedded in the robots tummy. Pretty clever (and tasty) stuff there guys. Read the rest of this entry »
Penguins can sell beer
With St Patrick’s Day only a few days away I though I would do a search for some Irish beer ads, and I got no further than this cute Guinness advertisement with a bunch of penguins.
Beer Jug Jokki Hour
We at hoppsy (being Aussies) like a small head on our beer, but whenever we visit Japan we notice that the locals there love the head to take up a third of the glass. This must explain the need for this amazing product from Japan that helps you ruin improve your beers head automatically. From what we can tell there is some sort of spring loaded leaver in the handle connected to a disc in the bottom of the glass that must rattle about to cause the frothy goodness you see in the video above. The amusingly titled Beer Jug Jokki Hour is available soon from Japan trend shop, hit up the link below for a closer look.
Classe Royal a Royal Class Dutch treat
Classe Royale is a premium larger from United Dutch Breweries brewed in Brenda in the Netherlands which is located between Amsterdam and Antwerp. The beer is s a classic pilsner with a 5% alcohol content and as its name suggests is a royal class or premium beer. The beer is a classic European pilsner with light colour and a malty and somewhat sour taste not unlike that of Stella. There is also a non-alcoholic version of the beverage this has similar looking but silver can. The beer was first brewed in the 1960’s and is sold in about 30 countries around the world.
4 Pines Vostok Stout – Space Beer
4 Pines Brewing Company comes from the beautiful seaside city of Manly in Sydney NSW. The brewery in relatively new beginning in 2008 but they have gained a name as a producer of quality handcrafted Australian beers. Their Vostok Space Beer Stout has won a bronze award at the 2011 Sydney Royal Show and a silver award at the Australian International Beer Awards in 2010 and is the world’s first space beer. Yes the stout has become the first beer to be drunk on a commercial space flight. In a partnership between Saber Astronautics and 4 Pines the beer was flown into zero gravity on the 26th of February 2011 and drank. It is hoped the beer will be a regular offering when commercial space travel becomes more popular. The stout is an Irish styled stout and is very dark almost black with the traditional caramel coloured frothy head. It has some coffee like flavours and although full bodied is very smooth and has a very pleasant balanced bitterness. As the brewery is small it is not all that readily available throughout Australia although more and more liquor stores are getting onto it including some a few of the larger retailers. Keep you eyes open for it- it is really tasty!
Rudy’s Hells Kitchen New York City
It’s not always easy to get away from the chain or Irish themed bars and pubs in New York City, but sometimes you come across an absolute classic as we are featuring today- Rudys. Ruby’s is in Hell’s Kitchen and is an institution in New York City. This small bar is so good you want to pack it up, with its pig, beers and very friendly staff and bring it home- it is so good. Rudy’s features what is sure to be the cheapest draft beers in the city, and there is quiet a choice including, the Pigslapper we features a few days back. If you are hungry, well the menu is pretty simple- hot dogs and guess what they are free, yes free a perfect way to enjoy a few beers. The décor is a bit old school, the 70’s tiffany lampshades are pretty daggy, the wrap around couches have seen better days (much better days) but it is so fantastic and you wouldn’t change a thing. There’s great grungy and sultry tunes of the 60’s 70’ and 80’s ad to the experience and atmosphere. The place is not trying to be fashionable or styled to look and feel like it is, it somehow just turned out this way and this is what makes this bar so good and full of character. It’s just down to earth and real. Rudy’s has a great friendly place for pitcher or two, the choice of beer is great and it’s a fantastic night out which won’t cost you the earth.
NYC’s Indian River Light
As we mentioned on an earlier story one of our favourite Brew Pubs in New York City is the Pony in Hell’s Kitchen, well another is Heartland Brewery which are found in about seven locations all over the city. We tried the Times Square, Radio City and Empire State Building pubs but the one we loved the best was in the historic seaport district on Fulton Street overlooking the tall ship museum. The choice of beers was fantastic and this Indian River Light was one of the highlights. The pub is housed in a building that dates back to about 1812 and has been beautifully restored with rich timbers, old time charm and some lovely breweania on the walls. Food is pretty good too but it’s the beers we have been visiting for. The Indian River Light is like a Belgium beer it has a hint of coriander and orange amongst its fruity and aromatic flavours. The beer is a mid-strength beer having only 3.9% alcohol and it is also low carb having about 25% less of those nasty carbs than the normal beer. The beer is has a low carbonation which makes it pretty easy to knock back and enjoy.
Brooklyn Lager
Today’s beer is Brooklyn Lager from New York’s Brooklyn Brewery. The brewery began in 1988 and today is one of the top craft beer breweries in the world with a whole array of awards and one of the biggest exporters of craft beer. This picture we took in New York City but we have a local bottle shop which stocks the Brooklyn Lager in our hometown of Geelong Australia, only problem it’s about 3 times the price! The beer is a brewed in a Vienna Style with amber gold colour and a very nice caramel malty taste. The beer has been dry hopped giving it a very crisp bitterness making it quiet easy to drink.
The Lager is delicious but the brewery also has wide range of beers available all through the year and a number of fantastic seasonal beers including a magnificent pumpkin beer called Post Road we tried during the Halloween festivities it has a lovely nutmeg and sweet flavour.
The brewery is open to the public, with tours and happy hours available. Learn more on their website at www.broklynbrewery.com Read the rest of this entry »
Porkslap Pale Ale
Well here is a beer which has a name and label just as fun as it is to drink the tasty farmhouse ale. Porkslap Pale Ale is brewed by Butternuts Beer & Ale who are from Garattsville in New York State. The photo is of a six pack we bought in Washington DC, and we first tried Porkslap at Ruby’s in Hell’s Kitchen New York City where we thought it was a great drop. The beer is brewed with 2 row North American barley and English Crystal Malt. There is a touch of ginger and crystal hop to flavour the beer and it has a 4.3% alcohol volume.
Take note of the interesting plastic device which snaps on the six pack- we have never seen anything like that and think its pretty cool- just like the Porkslap. Butternuts make a few other interesting named beers including Moo Thunder Stout and Snapperhead IPA to name a few.
