Save the Ales (and Lagers)!

Time to fess up: How long has that big bottle of really special beer been sitting in your fridge or cellar, tempting you to crack it open—just to take a tiny sip or two—every time you lay eyes on it?

You never thought it would be around this long, right? When you first got it, you could hardly wait to get it home. But then, life got in the way. You wanted a special occasion, and enough time, to enjoy its full, robust flavors and let it warm in the glass, taking you through a journey of experiences in the way that only a great beer can.

As much as you want to capture the aromas and drink even a small glass of its intoxicating nectar, you don’t dare open it because you might not be able to finish it all in one sitting, and you can’t bear the thought of something so precious not being savored to the final drop. Letting it go to waste would be a fate so unworthy of such a wondrous delight.

OK, well, maybe that scenario only happens to me. But it’s happened enough times that a new gadget, so elegant in its simplicity, has wone me over. The Beer Saver is a durable, stretchy, molded beer bottle cap that fits snugly over your opened beer bottles like a protective seal, keeping the bad air out and saving all the bubbly goodness for another day.

Created by the folks who designed another Innovations-worthy beer accoutrement (loyal readers might remember the Tap Board, a chalkboard beer-tap handle), Beer Savers come in an array of summer-sherbet colors that not only promise to help keep an opened bottle of beer fresh, but, because of the variety of festive shades, can help you keep tabs on your beer bottles at parties and other events—sort of like “beer charms,” in the style of the wine charms that folks use to identify their wine glasses. The brightly colored tops can also help color-code beers and beer styles for serving at events where labels aren’t allowed, such as competitions and blind tastings.

Beer Savers are made from food-grade-silicone—the same stuff that’s used in all kinds of baking and cooking devices, from muffin tins to oven mitts. These spongy caps are dishwasher safe and reusable, making them a sustainable option as well. Slipped effortlessly atop a bottle in a fashion much like a regular bottle cap, Beer Savers gently grip the sides of the bottle opening, keeping the beer’s aromas, flavors and bubbles in, while keeping oxygen, light and other unwanted elements out.

“They’re great for homebrewing,” says inventor Christian Lavender. “Homebrewers can sanitize and temporarily cap a bunch of bottles with Beer Savers before the bottles are filled and permanently capped, keeping out any unwanted pathogens or wild yeasts that might infect the beer.”

Beer Savers are flexible enough to fit onto a variety of different beer bottles—even many of the larger-sized ones—so it’s safe to say that one size fits most.

Sold in sets of six (one of each color in blue, red, yellow, purple, orange and green), they retail for $12.99 but can be found on the Beer Saver website at a discounted price of $7.99 for the set. At that price, Beer Savers make for a great host or hostess gift, or a fun present for yourself—and that bottle of beer that’s been tempting you for so long! ■