Instant beer: Beer concentrate for camping

I spent 10 days in the boundary waters on a canoe/fishing trip we packed in whiskey in plastic but because of weight did not bring beer. The weather was warm and the whiskey did not hit the spot. By the end of the trip I was craving a cold one in the worst way...I would give this a try for sure...mix up some brews, put them in a mesh bag and sink them deep into one of those cold lakes...at the end of the day over a plate of fresh caught walleye...ya, I could do this.

 

Funny most posters either don't like "camping outside" (not sure where else you would camp)? and/or right off the product without testing. I understand some people don't like the "outdoors" but am always amazed at the lack of interest in things never tried?

I doubt the product is very good...but...I won't really know until I try one or two? I try not to pass judgment on things unless I have had first hand experience?

For the record I have camped, hiked, fished, canoed some very "wild" areas that were hundreds of miles away from everyone. I have packed in whiskey, wine and beer. Beer in any quantity is a no-go. Wine and whiskey has its place but in warmer weather it can be a downer.

I would easily gives this a try. After a day on the water or an all day hike, a few of these sunk deep in a lake or river would probably blow away a few of your minds...but of course, many of you wouldn't be there in the first place, soaking in the surreal experience of trying something for the first time in a place that few travel...in mother natures back yard.

 

How does is carbonate?

 

I'd try it just for kicks.

I tried to order, $9.99 for the beer solution, $15 to ship it.

No thanks

 

id give it a go just to say I tried it

 

So, I was going to start a thread and then found this one - anyone tried it yet?

I have. (Full disclosure, I have nothing whatsoever to do with the company).

I hike a fair amount, and beer is a never-ending topic. Despite liking to hike, me and the crew I hit the trail with are not particularly athletic, and so we generally don't carry even a single beer. Gotta keep that weight as low as we can, or we suffer.

We've done beer drops - cruise down a logging road, hike in and throw some beers in a lake you're hiking toward for later in the day, but as good as beer is, that's a hassle. Only did it twice so far. It's wonderful, but work.

Usually, we just pack Windsor Canadian in with us, but as the guy above said, there's sometimes when whiskey is just not what you want, especially if it's hot.

Years ago, we talked about how to do this dehydrated-beer thing - closest we got was maybe a super-fast ferment, but that'd take GMOs and more research money than any of us have, not to mention might loose a freakish new organism upon the planet, so obviously we got nowhere with it.

We heard about this guy years ago, and started emailing him immediately up there in Talkeetna, offering to be beta-testers, trade a guide trip on the Superior Trail for some, or whatever it took, but no dice. Too much red tape on his end, I get it.

Then the red tape cleared, and this year I got one. I mean, I couldn't not get one. We were out in Leadville for a couple weeks, went over to see what all the fuss was about in Vail for a day, and there was the kit in a store.

Two flavors as it stands - Pale Rale Pale Ale and Black Hops IPA. You get pouches of beer concentrate, pouches of carbonation mix, and a water bottle with a carbonation top on it. Load up the carbonator, put the concentrate in with 16 oz of water, and shake it until it carbonates. (That's the simple version).

Long story short, it works. You get a sort of nitro-style carbonation, which I like.

Obviously, your beer is only going to be as cold as the water you use, but hiking in northern Minnesota, it's pretty easy to find cold water.

We've made both several times now out in the woods, and I don't need to drink another Pale Rail. It's just not very good. The Black Hops is actually pretty tasty, once you give it some air for a while - my reorder consisted of Black Hops.

But here's the real winner, I've found - they started out selling soda mix, and still do. I don't know about other people, but when I am on a multi-day hike, I REALLY start to crave something citrusy and carbonated like Squirt or just something clean but bubbly like ginger ale, both of which I almost never drink when I'm not hiking. Like, I want it bad. Every time. I always stash a Squirt in a cooler in the trunk of the vehicle we're hiking toward.

So this last time we were out, I didn't bring any beer concentrate, but I did bring the carbonator and a couple packets of the ginger ale mix. First night, I figured I'd make one, then I saw the bottle of Windsor Canadian, and thought "Now, why couldn't a guy . . . " Bam, mixed 'em up, and saaaaaaaay was that tasty, O my brothers. Score that one a win.

They also say that you can put some life back into a flat growler with one of these, but my growlers never have a chance to get even slightly flat, so I have not tried that.

Anyone else try this yet?

 

Couldn't you just mix it with bicarbonate of soda to carbonate it?

 

How about a soda stream.

 

Beer concentrate sounds disgusting and while I would take a sip out of curiosity, I would have no expectation of actually using this stuff.

 

Friends and I tried it camping a few weeks back. Taste about as you'd expect (aka taste like death). Seriously terrible!

 

Yeah, I suppose you could do that. Problem from a hiking standpoint is, you gotta carry the bicarbonate around all day, just to make beer with later on, and it won't be very cold. In a pack that already goes 40 pounds, I'm not gonna carry an extra bottle of soda water.

But if you're just sitting around a campfire - sure, can't see why that wouldn't work. But then, if I have thje option of camping near my vehicle, I'm always going with a ice-filled cooler with actual beer in it anyhow.

So this is basically just an option that's viable for multi-day backpacking or canoeing, any time you just can't or won't carry real beer.

Main thing with it is, there's just times when a cold (or at least cool) beer is what is going to hit the spot. It ain't so much about the buzz out in the woods, there's whiskey for that, it's kicking back with a beer. For something I can make in a water bottle from a nearby stream, this is my option right now.

But like I said above, I think I'm retiring the beer concentrate in favor of the ginger ale anyhow, when I use this.

 

I'll be ok with one bomber or two cans, and a deer park bottle of glenny 12. Not too heavy for weekend hikes 5-8 miles total. BTW I think camping is something that you develop a love of from childhood. Most of my friends who don't camp/hike didn't grow up camping/hiking. Most of my friends who grew up with it are enthusiasts. I'm sure there are plenty of exceptions to that rule.

 

Man if you can sell this product to BA's I bet you could sell sand in the Sahara.

 

they laughed at Tang

 

I camp in Colorado every summer, and there are liquor stores that sell good fresh craft beer. I buy that and then head to my camp site. The beer fits in my cooler. When i run low, I drive a few miles to buy more. Works every time.

 

They still do.

 

I enjoy a good snark as much as the next person, but to be fair you are a car camper and this product is intended for backpackers.
EDIT: Urban Dictionary definition of car camper: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Car+camper

 

Don't forget to pick up batteries and fill gas can to power generator for the portable tv/video player. Car camping is real camping.

 

I do that too.

Thing is, I also do a few trips a year where you carry the whole shebang on your back from site to site. Multi-day packing, usually in the ballpark of 30-40 miles or so. And when I do that, I don't even carry as much water as I really need, because I don't train for hiking, I just go with my weak self, and my pack can't weigh any more than 35 pounds or so or I am in the definite hurtbag. That being the case, a growler of this, a bomber of that, two cans of Dale's or even just one of an imperial are not on the manifest.

I ain't sellin', just wondering what the reaction to this rig is from folks who've tried it. When you can't carry beer, and you want beer out in some backcountry with no car, what are your realistic options?