6 Simple Hacks To Keep Your Beer Flowing

“Beer, it’s the best damn drink in the world,” said Jack Nicholson, and we whole-heartedly agree! Whether it’s at a pub with friends, while enjoying some time alone, or chugging some of this cold brew down as you watch your favourite sports team play, there has never been a better excuse to open a cold one (or three) and celebrate. 

To make your brew experience a little more epic and a whole lot easier, we present you with these brilliant beer hacks to solve your most obnoxious beer-related conundrums. 

DIY BOTTLE OPENER

This happens way more than any of us would like to admit. You’re ready to unwind and sip on a cold one — and you realize you don’t have a bottle opener on hand. What do you do? No, using your teeth is not the answer! There’s a way around this dilemma, and we’re going to tell you what to do.

Start with a piece of paper. Fold it horizontally. Then continue folding the paper until you have a thick, thin wad of paper. Fold the paper in half so it makes a “V” and then wedge the point under the bottle cap. With a little elbow grease, you should be enjoying your brew in no time.

COOL A PITCHER

Even at the most intense game, pitchers tend to go down slowly. Unless you’re in a big group where half of you are chugging your beer in joy, while the others drown their sorrow by gulping some cold brew!  But say you know the pitcher is going to be out for some time, slowly growing warmer. There’s a quick way to keep a whole pitcher cool until your friends have developed their chugging skills.

Fill up a plastic cup with ice and float it on top. This will cool the beer without directly putting ice in the brew and watering down the whole batch.

CHILL A BEER

Ran out of luck at the liquor mart, and all they had was warm beer? Don’t fret! To cool your beer down in a jiffy all you have to do is wet a paper towel and wrap it around your beer bottle. Stick the bottle in the freezer for five to fifteen minutes (depending on just how quickly you need to chill that bottle). When you pull the beer out of the fridge, it’ll be covered in frost and refreshingly cold.

REDUCE FOAM

None of us can be as smooth as Dr. King Shultz in Django Unchained (remember where he pours that draught and then wipes off the excess head), and more often then not we end up with a cup full of foam rather than drinkable beer. A quick tip: oils reduce the surface tension of the bubbles in the foam.

While you could probably drop a little vegetable oil or olive oil on the foam to make it disappear, a little known fact is that you can also use the oil on your face. With a finger, swipe a little oil off your nose or forehead and put your finger in the foam. It’ll be gone in a few seconds.

Gross? Absolutely. But make sure it’s YOUR drink that you put your finger in! 

BEER CUBES

Though we’ve never really seen someone drink a beer with ice in it, keep your beer cool without ice cubes watering your drink down, with beer cubes. All you have to do is fill an ice cube tray with beer and stick it in the freezerAll you have to do is fill an ice cube tray with beer and stick it in the freezer. Then you can pop these cubes in your brew and enjoy a seriously cold, full-bodied beer. 

DIY KEG TAP

It is the month of the Oktoberfest, and to celebrate you have gone all-out and somehow bought that keg. But alas! In all that excitement and rush to get the keg to the party, and have all your friends eye you in anticipation of hitting the keg,  you completely forgot the tap! Don’t worry, you didn’t kill the party vibe. You can tap that keg with an easy trick.

First, dislodge the retaining ring at the top of the keg using the flat screwdriver. Use the screwdriver to tap around till you find the end of the retaining ring. Pry on the ring with the screwdriver till it gives way and slowly strip it out. Apply pressure on the ball valve again to remove any pressure. Party on!