Category Archives: Gadget

Happy Hour Timepieces – THE ISH

by Mike

I have always been a fan of watches but have not worn a wrist watch for some time.  My last one I wore back in college over 11 years ago but it broke and I have not replaced it since then.  I have at many times looked to buy a new one but my tastes always ran in the $600 and up range and I just can not make sense of spending that much on a watch.  I am also not a fan of smart watches.  Your phone takes up so much of your time you do not need your wrist ringing and pulling you away from what you are doing all the time.

Then I caught wind of the company Happy Hour Timepieces and what they were doing.  I would have purchased the watch as soon as I heard about it but it was only sold in the United States.  Luckily for me my Wife bought it for me as a wedding gift.

They have multiple watches that they sell but my favourite and the one that I was given was THE ISH.

The watch face on this piece does not spell out the hour and expects you to know how to read an analogue watch.  It does have the hour hand (big circle) and the minute hand (small circle).  From there you can either get the proper time or a quick approximation of that time.  Or as you can see on the face of the watch it is always 5 o’clock somewhere the standard time for happy hour. A fun feature of this watch is the buckle for the strap.  The buckle is also a bottle opener!  How do you not want a watch that can also open your beer when it is beer-oclock?

Here is the diagram from their website on how to use the bottle opener.

 

If you are like me and you do not need or want the bells and whistles of a smart watch this or one of the watches from Happy Hour Timepieces would be the right thing for you and I hope you will give them a look.  This watch is a very reasonable $99 USD currently.  If you live in Canada like I do then you will have to have this watch shipped to the closest state to pick it up down there.

https://www.happyhourtimepieces.com

 

Growler Werks uKEG 64 Copper Plated

by Mike

Thank you so much Steve for purchasing this growler for me!

The Growler Werks uKeg started as a Kickstarter project but is now available publicly.  You know you have an idea people like though when you are asking for $75,000 in backing and end up raising over $1.5 Million!  This was a serious success.  There were some problems during production that held this product up but its now fully available on the market.

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Growler Werks is located out of Portland Oregon.  They produce two versions of the growler in two sizes.  They have a straight stainless steel growler and this copper plated version.  They produce a 64oz and a 128oz version and they are double walled to keep the beer cold for longer.  With it being winter I have not actually tested how long these growlers will keep the beer cold.  I will have to follow up in the future.

Some of the features of this growler on top of the tap and it being insulated are as follows:

The growler lid has a regulator and holds the CO2 cartage.
There is a pressure gauge at the bottom of the tapping system.
The tapping system can have the handles changed out for customization.
There is a sight glass on the front of the tap system that shows how much beer is left.
This system uses low cost food grade CO2 cartridges.  Depending on the size of your growler there are two sizes of cartridges.

The Instruction Manuel gives a recommended CO2 pressure for different types of beer.  For the following these are the recommendations:

Stouts, porters, cream ales, barelywines 3-6psi
Brown ales, ambers, reds 5-10psi
IPA’s, pale ales, wheat beers, other ales 7-12psi
lagers, pilsners 12-15psi

The real test with any of these tapping systems though is how well do they pour.  I did not know what to expect as I have had varied success with my two systems.

To say that this growler pours well is a serious understatement.  This system pours better than some taps at breweries.

I will likely never use my old tap systems again unless I decide to do a side by side test of the taps.  This one by far takes the cake as the best system and it is not difficult to figure out.  All you have to do is turn the dial on the lid to the point that the pressure is what you want and it will keep it there during your enjoyment of your growler over the next few weeks.

Currently the standard version costs $199 ($139 USD) and the copper version costs $229 ($159 USD) for the 64oz.  The Stainless 128oz version is $279 ($199 USD) and the copper version is $319 ($229 USD).  That price difference covers the following “fluctuating currency rates, shipping, brokerage and duty into the country”.

Purchase your own here in the USA.

There is a Canadian website where you can purchase your growlers without having to cross a border.

Growler Werks Canada.

Final Touch Watermelon Keg Tapping Kit

by Mike

As a lark I picked up the Final Touch Watermelon Keg Tapping Kit when I was at Cabela’s in Abbotsford.  I have drank beer out of more than one pumpkin at events that I have attended but never at home.  While the events I attended the taps were far more expensive than this one.  At around $20 Canadian you can’t really go wrong with this cheaper plastic option.

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Accidentaly took a photo of the french side.

Basically all you have to do is hollow out your pumpkin or watermelon.  Once you have hollowed it out you use the coring tool that comes in the box to make an opening for the tap as seen in the first photo below.  The second photo shows the tap system in its three parts.  The next two are of the tap put together.

To fasten the tap system you push the front portion of the faucet through the pumpkin or watermelon ensuring the gasket is on the outside of the pumpkin.  Then you screw the back portion onto the back of that first piece.  From here you screw on the tap portion of the system onto the front faucet.  Once you have it all set up and you think you are ready to put liquids into it make sure to test it with water just in case.  When you are sure the tap is sealed pour your beer into the pumpkin or watermelon.  If you want to get serious about your tapped pumpkin purge your pumpkin with CO2 then pour the beer into it.  Let it sit in the fridge to take on some flavour of the pumpkin.

While I purchased this as a lark I really enjoyed how it became the center of a birthday party.  It even pours really well!

This can be used in both the Fall or Summer and can be used for all kinds of drinks other than beer.  Think vodka and watermelon, Witbeer and watermelon or even a fruit punch.  I am sure this won’t hold up over the long term but it was certainly cheap enough to make it worth pucking up and ting out.

Here are a few places to tick it up currently

Cabela’s Canada

Gourmet Warehouse

Bed Bath & Beyond

Pop & Stop (Open – Drink – Seal)

by Mike

Do you ever accidentally after a few to many beers open up a bottle and realize after you can’t drink it?  Or do you ever just want half of a big imperial beer?

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Pop and Stop could just be your best option.  The Pop and Stop like the name would suggest is both a bottle opener and a bottle stopper and can even be attached to your key chain if you would like.

I popped open a bottle of Cannery Brewing Stumbling Goat to test out the device.  I poured half of the bottle and then stopped it and put it in the fridge.  Here is my photo from my first glass of beer.

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The Pop and Stop slides onto the neck of the bottle.  I had to check out how well the stopper works.  It is so water tight that you can hold the bottle upside down and it will not leak or store it on its side if you need the room in your fridge.

Approximately 24 hours later I took the bottle out of the fridge and I poured it in my glass.

I did not pour the beer quite as vigorously but as can be seen the beer still have a great head on top.  The beer still tasted nice and fresh also.  I would not stop and opened beer for more than 24 hours personally but I am sure it could go longer if you wanted.

They even have a fun commercial.

The sales sheet speaks of the following features and benefits.

– Opens and Re-seals any beer bottle
– Keeps beer fresh and carbonated for over 72 hours
-Air-tight seal prevents spills at BBQs, camping trips
– Easy to use, hard to break, and keychain compatible
– Fully customizable with your logo and colors

I think this would be a great gadget for every beer drinker to have at least one of.  It even works on other glass bottles with a standard beer bottle neck.  Just don’t use it on a screw cap bottle as they warn it could cause breakage.  Check out the products website for more information!

http://www.popandstop.com/

here are the full sized photos.