Beer From The Bottom Up

[QuikSand]

MILLION-DOLLAR IDEA: A Beer Dispenser That Fills Drafts From The Bottom Up -- It's 9X Faster Than Pouring And There's Less Spillage (http://www.businessinsider.com/million-dollar-idea-bottom-up-beer-dispensing-system)

The Idea: A new way to pour draft beer that fills cups nine times faster than traditional methods and greatly reduces spillage.

The trick behind the "Bottom’s Up Draft Beer Dispensing System” is a cup with a hole at the bottom and a small, circular magnet that rests over it. When placed on the machine, the magnet is lifted up by the pressure-driven beer.

The cup fills up until the weight of the liquid pushes the magnet back down over the hole, which has a small metallic ring to keep the hole sealed. The cup can then be lifted and the beer consumed in a regular fashion.

[stevew]

That's cool. I had seen the demo video on the internet(possibly on =3 ), but had no idea how it actually works.

[MikeVic]

Won't it be more expensive to have these cups with magnets in them instead of just regular plastic cups?

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

If you go on the website they push for the magnets to be ads. That would cover the additional cost, I would imagine.

MAG™ (http://www.grinonindustries.com/mag.htm)

[stevew]

It addresses that by saying that the facility can imprint them with advertisements. Plus they can cut down on the amount of beer pourers required.

[MikeVic]

All you have to do is go to the website linked by Ronnie Dobbs and see why I would be wary for this... one of the "customer testimonials" says:

"Some facilities have seen such value gain for the customer ... they have raised the price of the beer. The result: Customers love it!"

Really? Customers like raised beer prices from what's already a crazy price at most stadiums/arenas/etc.? I think even with the advertising, I can see places raising the price of beer and I'm 100% against that. ;)

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'm thinking this works right up until about the time a customer either swallows the magnet or they're printed with a contaminated ink or something else that leads to a massive lawsuit.

[terpkristin]

Looks like it destroys the head, though. Some beers are meant to have a little head. Also, different varieties of beers are intended to be poured in different ways...doesn't sound like this could accommodate that.

I dunno, I don't mind a messy glass if it means the beer was pulled properly and it's got the right mouth feel.

Wow, did I just use "mouth feel" and "head" in the same post? ;)

/tk

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

Looks like it destroys the head, though. Some beers are meant to have a little head. Also, different varieties of beers are intended to be poured in different ways...doesn't sound like this could accommodate that.

I dunno, I don't mind a messy glass if it means the beer was pulled properly and it's got the right mouth feel.

Wow, did I just use "mouth feel" and "head" in the same post? ;)

/tk

I doubt the beers that this would be best for are considered for their mouth feel. Think the stands at FedEx.

[Scoobz0202]

I doubt the beers that this would be best for are considered for their mouth feel. Think the stands at FedEx.

Yea, this is more for mass service which would be your Bud Lights, Miller Lites, Budweiser, etc..

[terpkristin]

Yea, this is more for mass service which would be your Bud Lights, Miller Lites, Budweiser, etc..

Oh. The stuff I don't drink. Neat concept as long as they don't ruin the beers I actually drink. ;)

/tk

[Ksyrup]

I think the biggest problem with this beer is the way it has to exit the body so you don't get the bends:

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l146/mon_montrose/l1/handstandurinal.jpg

I mean, there's not a lot of people who can do that. Especially drunk. And who wants to touch the floor of a urinal? Someone needs to re-think this entire idea. :D

[k0ruptr]

someone brought up a decent point in the comments of that site. How far can you throw the magnets, and how heavy are they? do they get heavier and throw further if you stack them? I imagine it takes just one drunk idiot to start throwing them and I'm sure he gets tossed from the venue but that won't stop some people.'

I do like the idea though, as long as it doesn't raise beer costs.

[saldana]

did anyone else notice in the video that they never actually show the machine stopping...every time the cup was about to be full, they faded out to the next scene, except for the very last shot where the guy pushed a button to stop the filling.

[stevew]

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xmnp3aVGyGc" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

[Karlifornia]

We're a lid away from finally being able to drink in outer space.

[terpkristin]

We're a lid away from finally being able to drink in outer space.

Actually, if I'm not mistaken, they have drunk wine and vodka up there. Not in large quantities, mind you.

I think there's room for a NSF grant here to study the effects of space on beer carbonation. Think of it, you could study how say Guinness reacts in outer space as compared to earth. :D

/tk

[Mustang]

someone brought up a decent point in the comments of that site. How far can you throw the magnets, and how heavy are they?

I can hear the NASCAR announcers now. "Jimmie Johnson has 50 beer cups stuck to his car, that really has to be messing up his aerodynamics..."

[Dr. Sak]

Bottoms Up For Tonight’s Flyers Game | Philly Sports Daily (http://phillysportsdaily.com/flyers/2011/01/25/bottoms-up-beer-dispenser-debuts-at-wells-fargo-center-for-flyers-game/)

[MikeVic]

Bottoms Up For Tonight’s Flyers Game | Philly Sports Daily (http://phillysportsdaily.com/flyers/2011/01/25/bottoms-up-beer-dispenser-debuts-at-wells-fargo-center-for-flyers-game/)

If this works in Philly without any incident, then it's probably safe.

[dawgfan]

They used this tech at the beer tents outside Husky Stadium this year. I fucking hate it. Guess what happens if you don't know (or forget) that there's a hole in the bottom of the cup and you grab the bottom of the cup wrong? That's right, you displace the magnet and spill a lot of beer.

[saldana]

If this works in Philly without any incident, then it's probably safe.

article in yesterdays paper says it went over huge...virtually no lines and massive increase in sales...of course they were only serving bud light out of it, so it would never be helpful to me.

[Passacaglia]

They used this tech at the beer tents outside Husky Stadium this year. I fucking hate it. Guess what happens if you don't know (or forget) that there's a hole in the bottom of the cup and you grab the bottom of the cup wrong? That's right, you displace the magnet and spill a lot of beer.

Oh, so you might have had to buy another? I'm sure the vendors would hate that!

[JPhillips]

Thank goodness we've solved the problem of too few drunks at sporting events.