The Craft Beer Nation Bottle Opener

Not too long ago I was contacted by a company that sells customized bottle openers, along with a complete collection of other items. Seriously, just about anything you can think of to put a custom design on, you can find. If not, I bet you could talk to someone there and they may be able to find a way to make it happen.

When they asked me what design I would like to place on it, at first I was thinking an L's Ales logo... but I have nothing of the sort made up haha So I decided to go with the next, most obvious design... No, not the New Belgium logo... but that would have been awesome. The logo of a community I moderate for on Google Plus, Craft Beer Nation... You remember Google Plus, right? Everyone seems to think it is dead but I just think they never took the time to look.



So first off, I am not saying I expected it to take a great amount of time to get my bottle opener to me, but when I was looking at their order numbers, and considering the type of stuff they already had coming through the pipeline, I thought it would be a little bit of time before I received my product... NOPE! They showed up really fast. I don't know how long it took to produce them, but I was very excited to see them once they arrived. They claim a 7 business day turn around on the site, but I am not sure it even took that long.

The style I received was the Surfer Style Powder Coated Steel Bottle Opener that you can place your own order, with your own design at this link. The specifications are also laid out as so.

Ships In 7 Days
Size 7" x 1 1/2"
Imprint Size 1 1/8" x 3 1/2"
Imprint Method Printed or Laser
Max Imprint Colors 2

You are getting a pretty decently sized opener and I noticed mine had a little weight to it. It is not a flimsy little piece of metal. The coating on this thing is pretty solid around all of the edges, too. I noticed one point on both openers that were slightly exposed but I feel that may be a holding point or something for the machines that it runs through. It is on the inner corner of the "decapping" edge, so I expect that area to see some wear anyway.

I decided to put one of the openers through a series of test just to see how well it will hold up. I have never done anything like this before so trying to decide what to do lead to a little bit of a problem. Obviously I am going to open numerous beer bottles with it. That is just a given. I also decided to throw it through the dishwasher. Why? I don't know. I thought it might show some sort of wear. I don't think I have ever put a bottle opener into a dishwasher before but I needed something to test. It came out just as it went in. I only ran it through once, but like I said, I probably never would have done that anyway.



After many successive bottle openings, and even taking it over to a party, (where I used it on twist top caps), the only major signs of wear are exactly where I was expecting them. On the lip where the cap comes into contact with. It is not that much of a degredation, but it is there. I tried to do some fancy flair opening with this as well and all I was able to uncover from that is I suck at flair bartending. The opener still worked and I could totally grab bottles with the end that I usually use to twirl it around my finger tips.

The printing on the opener I thought was pretty fantastic, too. Very smooth and you can see the quality in the design that was printed. No bleeding colors, just very crisp lines. No smudging, no blurry imaging. Crisp and clear just as the design I gave them. A very high quality job.



I would definitely check this company out for any of your custom order needs. I am really happy with my opener and I hope my Sierra Beer Camp voting campaign contest winner will be happy with his as well.

Cheers!

Fermented Things!

So, this one is not about beer, but I thought I would share another fermented item I am currently working on, Sauerkraut.

So, I decided to do this one when I was cleaning out the fridge one day and I still had almost a whole head of cabbage. I originally bought it to fry in bacon grease, chop up the bacon into it, and then add cheese on top of it. One of my favorite snacks to slow cook on a grill or speed up the process on the stove top.



I was given the idea while reading BYO a while back but I did not really think of it until someone mentioned it on Twitter when I asked what should I do with the rest of it.



Making Sauerkraut is very simple. All you need is your cabbage and salt. Chop it all up, salt it up, and then put some pressure on it to help extract the fluids. Again, pretty fast and easy. The part that takes a little bit of time is waiting for it to finish... I am still waiting for that, but I am sure you will hear about it.



Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp (2013)

So, it's unofficially official!!! I will be heading to Beer Camp this December!!!... Though, that last 12 hours or so was a real... how do I put this... lets just say I was scared like EFF!!!! We have come a long way since I first posted the announcement of my video.



I have so many people to thank for this and I cannot think of ways to thank you all enough! That last push to the finish was the key and I really am so appreciative!!! You have no idea! I guess I better put in my time off from work very soon. I hope that the official announcement comes quick!

But anyway, to celebrate (or get me through the last stressful hours of voting) I decided to drink a bottle of each of the currently released Beer Camp Beers! I wanted to do this sooner but I thought I might hold off a bit. Good thing I did! Check out my video below!!! Not like you haven't seen it already though...

The Best Beer In The World from L Allen Huerta on Vimeo.

I was disappointed by the fact that they were all essentially IPA's but I guess I can look past that as I am trying to think of ideas to pitch and collaborate with the other attendees. So, here we are starting with Beer Camp #93!



What better beer to do it with, too? Celebrator? That is TOO Perfect!!! Granted this IPA was not brewed for me, but hey. I can imagine.



A very floral, light piney nose on top of an awesomely crisp, clean copper body. A nice bubbly off white head with very distinct pine notes sticking to your throat and drying up on the finish. Some light juicy tropical notes, a bit of light sweetness and a light bready background but a very solid IPA overall. Made to the best standards and clocking in at 6.9% ABV. Not the beer I think about when going to Beer Camp, but this beer should be the definition of the style. Bravo!



I know one of the guys that was a part of this beer last year, OC Beer Blog as you might know him. He even used the tap handle in his car for a while as his gear shift! How bad ass is that? I love the name, too. Plus the label art is to die for! Sleight Of Hand. It only makes me wonder...



Honestly, this was my favorite of the bunch. And I am not just saying that. I just love the way the flavors all came together and at 8% ABV with 52 IBUs. A nice dark malt aroma and a bit charred and burnt. The first sip you get that roastiness with some nice Belgian fruitiness and a sharp hop bitterness. I feel it was more pronounced back when I first got this box but it is still very good. An amazing background on this beer. So full and flavorful. Dark Fruit, Dark Malt. I have never been into Belgian IPA's... though this one is a Belgian-Style Black IPA, but this one is fantastic!



This is a beer I know nothing about, but it was a creation of the last beer camp as well... well, the competition rather. Not the last beer camp. Blood Shot aka: What one would say about me if they saw my face right now.



At 8.5% and 95 IBUs (9.5% and 100 IBUs was the initial batch)the malty with a light spicy nose, that kind of reminds me of rye and a very distinct pine or... how do I put this aroma... I am not sure but it comes through in the taste too with a heavy sweetness and a strong bitter attack. Deep ruby color (my bad, the bottle says crimson) and an off white, amber tinted head. Some great flavors in there. Another very solid "IPA" out of this kit. I wonder what the future holds.

Now! Lets (unofficially) Celebrate!



Cheers!