Beer -- Engadget

beer posts

BrewTroller simplifies homebrewing, makes it doable while inebriated

by Darren Murph posted Apr 11th 2009 at 2:06AM

It's been a mystery for ages, but at long last, it seems a simple DIYer has found a solution. We all know that the best beers are the ones brewed at home, but after a given amount of "test sips," things can easily get a little out of control. In order to simplify the homebrewing process, the brilliant BrewTroller was concocted during a short stint with sobriety. In essence, the system utilizes a Sanguino microcontroller platform which was inspired by the tried-and-true Arduino in order to give brewers complete control over temperature and the like. When connected to a simple menu-driven display, it removes the need to bang out a paragraph of code while tipsy in order to tweak the flavor ever so slightly. Hit up the read link to have a look at the progress, but make sure you strap on those Beer Goggles first.

[Via HackedGadgets]

Crapgadget CES, round 8: Remote Control Cooler

by Kevin Wong posted Jan 12th 2009 at 7:02AM

Don't drink and drive.

Serv O'Beer pours when iPhone accelerometer tells it to

by Darren Murph posted Jan 5th 2009 at 5:31AM

Now that the holiday season is officially over (CES notwithstanding), there's officially no better time to get inebriated and wash away the sorrows of not having another government-recognized holiday for like, ever. After you've drug that dead tree out to the roadside and filled a few buckets with tears, why not try constructing your very Serv O'Beer in order to bring just a sliver of that joy back into your heart? Put simply, the project pictured above utilized Construx as the mechanical platform, a servo driving the action and ioBridge controlling the system; a so-called "perfect pour" was executed by linking an iPhone accelerometer to the system and turning it up. Have a look at the demonstration vid just past the break -- dollars to donuts it'll make you smile.

[Thanks, Hans]

Continue reading Serv O'Beer pours when iPhone accelerometer tells it to

Basil the Robot trained for symbolic recognition, beer toting

by Ross Miller posted Dec 22nd 2008 at 7:44PM

Though not much of a looker -- feel free to insert your own beer goggles joke here -- Basil the Robot is an experiment by Jim and Louise Gunderson to train an AI to identify its surroundings symbolically. That way, the couple hopes, he can react dynamically in new environments. Basil was intended to be shown off at a Cafe Scientifique meeting by having him go to the bar and order drinks for his creators, but that proved unsuccessful when Basil's battery died. The couple did videotape a successful trial run from the night before, which you can see after the break. Basil will next receive a microphone for voice commands and be upgraded from his current sonar navigation to a video sight system. The eventual goal is to teach Basil to go to the local brewery and pick up beer. Sure, we're still terrified of the robot revolution, but let's get serious here -- who are we to deny our mechanical overlords if they keep proffering us six-packs? Hit up the read link for the full story.

[Via Metafilter]

Continue reading Basil the Robot trained for symbolic recognition, beer toting

Micro Matic v-POD weds beer dispenser and LCD TV

by Darren Murph posted Dec 1st 2008 at 5:32PM

It's two things that are inevitably tied to one another each Sunday -- LCD TVs and alcohol. Now, Micro Matic is bringing them together like never before, and only the most serious of in-home bartenders need apply. The v-POD comes in a couple of shapes and colors to best suit your needs, with the stainless steel Kool-Rite boasting a half-dozen taps, stereo speakers and an inbuilt 10-inch LCD. Now, if only these were available with slightly larger HDTVs and price tags nowhere near the three grand mark, we'd be talking.

[Via Engadget Chinese]

Budweiser telephone lets you drunk dial, like, for real

by Darren Murph posted Jul 4th 2008 at 2:03AM

We can only hope that the makers of this beer bottle phone actually got Budweiser's permission before slapping its logo on there, but regardless of all that, who can deny the awesomeness here? Okay, so you've got to be "that guy" for it to take your breath away, but we know you're out there somewhere, that guy. Aside from looking like a cold one, it pretty much handles everything else a hamburger phone (or similar) would, but at least this one doesn't require prior knowledge of Juno to be appreciated by your tipsy pals. Get your inebriated dialing on now for just $16.99 delivered.

[Via CrunchGear]

Chassis the beer pouring robot gets paint job, even more lovable

by Darren Murph posted Mar 12th 2008 at 9:54AM

Robots that assist in taking humans to their desired level of inebriation are far from new, but Chassis is just too darn likable to ignore. The beer pouring creature itself has actually doled out a few pints in its lifetime, but apparently, the latest spotting showed off a snazzy new paint job and a few additional lights. Heck, there's even a built-in microphone and speaker for "audience interaction." Best of all, however, is that the operator of this fellow can make it talk to party goers in the vicinity, and while we're currently unsure of its marital status, we have all ideas that it's a real hit with the ladies. Check out a few more snapshots in the read link below.

[Via UberReview]

Bill Gates: philanthropist, nerd, beer baron

by Evan Blass posted Dec 21st 2007 at 1:34PM

Being the shrewd businessman that he is, Bill Gates has just invested a significant amount of money in one of the few products consumed during both good times and bad: alcohol. Actually Femsa, the Mexican brewery in which Gates now owns a $392 million stake through his Cascade Investment LLC fund, does a lot more than just brew booze: according to Reuters, it's also the world's second-largest Coke bottler as well as operator of Oxxo, Latin America's largest convenience store chain. When asked how he felt about the Microsoft founder moving in on his home turf, fellow billionaire Carlos Slim reportedly shrugged off the threat, boasting, "Not only am I a wealthier man than Mr. Gates, but he couldn't even make it through half a Power Hour with his nueva cerveza."

Pocketable probe could detect drink spiking

by Darren Murph posted Aug 15th 2007 at 1:31AM

Granted, we've come across hordes of patent applications that were far from practical, but if it's the premise that counts, we suppose this one works out alright. The app calls for a "probe" which could then be inserted into a drink, and an indicator connected to a database that would enlighten you if your drink has indeed been injected with a noxious solution while you weren't paying attention. The process would also require that a blast of electricity be sent through the probe, and though it's not directly stated, it also entails that the user be sober enough to understand it and willing to bust it out whilst partying. We have our doubts about the last two ever truly working out.

[Via MedLaunches, image courtesy of BBC]

Nuvo Wino infrared wine thermometer sports retractable sensor

by Darren Murph posted May 22nd 2007 at 10:41AM

There's no shortage of gadgetry designed to keep your wine legit and chilled, but the Nuvo Vino infrared thermometer is hitting the market to ensure that your pre-drink rambling doesn't lead to you drinking an overly warm glass. The simplistic device sports a retractable sensor that purportedly measures the exact temperature of the wine itself, and there's plenty of accompanying documentation to inform you of what perfect degree you should look for before indulging. As expected, it also features a fairly attractive motif in order to catch the eye of the affluent, but until they add built-in aural cues that blurt out whether or not your beverage is ideal, we'll hold onto our $49.95.

Foster's to aid in first "beer battery" fuel cell project

by Darren Murph posted May 3rd 2007 at 8:16AM

While it's certainly debatable whether beer is to thank for the explosion in the consumer electronics industry, it looks like we'll be thanking the beverage without hesitation for making our world a little greener. Oddly enough, "scientists and Australian beer maker Foster's are teaming up to generate clean energy from brewery waste water by using sugar-consuming bacteria," and better yet, the University of Queensland will host a microbial fuel cell at a Foster's Group brewery near Brisbane. Essentially, the cell will consume brewery wastes such as sugar, starch, and alcohol, while producing clean electricity by harnessing the energy released from the organic materials coming in. The device is expected to produce two-kilowatts of power, and while hopes are to bring the technology to other breweries and wineries around the country, this iteration should crank up sometime in September.

[Via Physorg, thanks Michael T.]

Beer to thank for consumer electronics explosion?

by Darren Murph posted Apr 18th 2007 at 9:07PM

Beer has certainly found its place in worldwide culture, but claiming that it's the foundation for all of the consumer electronics that we enjoy today is probably stretching it. Nevertheless, the controversial (or just plain sarcastic) Charlie Bamforth proclaims that "beer is the basis of modern static civilization," touting his three decades at Anheuser-Busch as a knowledge base. Essentially, Charlie insinuates that beer spurned innovation in ages past by making the early brewers think outside of the box, which subsequently led to tents, then cities, and by extension, iPods, laptops, and USB-powered oddities. Granted, the man's linkages make entirely more sense when inebriated (or at least tipsy), so if you're looking to prove just how important alcohol is to your gadget collection, grab a few cans and hit the read link below.

[Via Inquirer]

PS3 or beer? Microsoft poses the ultimate question

by Paul Miller posted Mar 23rd 2007 at 8:06PM

While we might've put down a few of Microsoft's last night Europe exploits as a tad immature, we aren't going to deny the genius here: Microsoft's message to gamers is that the PS3 = the Xbox 360 + £146 in beer money. Of course, such a mental exercise is nothing without a bit of illustration, so Microsoft carted in just that much beer to the offices of the UK's CVG magazine (above) and Auckland, NZ's GamePlanet store (pictured after the break). Naturally, Sony will have the last laugh when its utterly sober fanboys use keen rhetoric to destroy their tipsy MS fanboy opponents in the comments section following this post.

[Via Joystiq]

Read - CVG
Read - GamePlanet

Continue reading PS3 or beer? Microsoft poses the ultimate question

Inebriated crooks leave behind digital snapshots of themselves

by Darren Murph posted Mar 18th 2007 at 6:45PM

It's one thing to lose track of all the peripherals you need to gank whilst stealing a gaming console, but to leave behind digital snapshots of yourself at a crime scene is on an entirely different level of dumb. In a case filled with Darwin award nominees, a team of self-incriminating thieves managed to break into private property and jack about "$5,000 worth of expensive alcohol, including $800 bottles of wine and high-dollar scotch," only to forget a digital camera filled with photos of the party in progress. Interestingly, game designer Richard Garriott (Ultima Online, anyone?) actually owns the property, and has stated that he'll probably install a swank video surveillance / security system to prevent such an annoyance from happening again. But if you've been wondering how to make a quick buck in order to snag a few new pieces of kit flowing out of CeBIT, Texas police are offering "up to $1,000 in reward money" for leading investigators to the less-than-intelligent criminals.

[Via Fark]

Heineken to track shipping containers via GPS

by Cyrus Farivar posted Nov 9th 2006 at 4:37AM

We're not exactly sure why Heineken needs GPS to monitor the location of its beer shipments, but they probably know more about global shipping logistics than we do. According to RFID Journal, starting this month, the Dutch beer giant will begin the first test of its "Living Beer Plan," tracking 10 shipping containers of beer from Heineken headquarters in The Netherlands to the United Kingdom and the United States. Customs data, such as whether or not the containers' doors have been opened, will be available online to British and American customs officials, (as well as the researchers monitoring the project at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) even before the cargo ships reach UK and American ports. Heineken claims it will save on the 30-odd pages worth of printed customs forms and other documents by using GPS and online tracking instead. Surely with the money saved on not printing up documents, Heineken wouldn't mind sending its friends at Engadget a free case of brew? Pretty please?

[Via Brandish]

Read - VNUNet
Read - RFID Journal