Dehydrated beer?

December 15, 2013 9:39 PM

It's the 21sth Century, so how about some dehydrated beer?

It costs about $3 per serving and it's intended for backpackers.

posted by Chocolate Pickle (52 comments total)

"their new Brew Concentrates come in featherweight 50ml packets and can be reconstituted with carbonated water"

Good thing the flavor packet is featherweight, because having to carry a few liters of carbonated water with you and drinking your beer without any alcohol renders the entire concept useless.
posted by three blind mice at 9:49 PM on December 15, 2013 [9 favorites]

They solved that problem, too. They offer a carbonator for creating carbonated water on the spot. One serving takes about two minutes of shaking. (And the packets contain alcohol along with flavor components.)
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:56 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

drinking your beer without any alcohol

If these did not have alcohol, they could be shipped to Pennsylvania. That they cannot be shipped there suggests these mixes are indeed alcoholic.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:56 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]

No.

I don' t know about you guys, but I'm living in the golden age of beer.

I can walk six slow blocks and pick up some fantastic stuff.
posted by Sphinx at 9:56 PM on December 15, 2013 [7 favorites]

Reminds me of the time when I was working in YNP when I paid menu price to have the restaurant kitchen cut us some steaks to take with us on the hike to Mt. Holmes.

I surprised folks with the steaks I'd hiked in and folks surprised me with the Coronas they'd hiked in.

It was glorious.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:05 PM on December 15, 2013 [8 favorites]

because having to carry a few liters of carbonated water with you

seltzer bottle and CO2 cartridges. problem solved.
posted by hippybear at 10:06 PM on December 15, 2013

Dehydrated beer. Just add beer.
posted by charlie don't surf at 10:10 PM on December 15, 2013 [9 favorites]

I can walk six slow blocks and pick up some fantastic stuff.
Yup, unfortunately the target audience finds that the nearest beer is a good 20kms to the nearest road (and that welcome back stash in the trunk), and if you forgot to leave some its another 100kms of driving to the nearest store.

So I can almost see this making sense, there have been days on a windswept ridgetop overlooking the rocky mountains where I have thought, damn. I want a beer.

Personally for the effort involved in accoutrements and hassle I am going to stick to my hip flask of single malt and the occasional wine in a bag (unsurprisingly the liquor stores in Banff have a wide selection), and wait for them to come up with something like the Nuun tablets that auto carbonate and flavor your drink, but you know, with more beer and alcohol. Get on it science.
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 10:12 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]

Next will surely be powered meals (just add water for a three course roast beef experiecne) and food pills.
posted by Mezentian at 10:20 PM on December 15, 2013

If these did not have alcohol, they could be shipped to Pennsylvania.

Interesting. I didn't know you could freeze dry alcohol, but alcohol powder is a real thing apparently.
posted by three blind mice at 10:24 PM on December 15, 2013 [4 favorites]

But one of the most sublime joys of hiking/camping is when someone surreptitiosly humps in some ridiculously impractical delicacy, pack weight be damned.
posted by louche mustachio at 10:26 PM on December 15, 2013 [10 favorites]

wine in a bag


*applause*
posted by louche mustachio at 10:28 PM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]

three blind mice, did you read the article?

- The beer is alcoholic

- They give you a carbonator, you don't need to carry carbonated water

- It comes in 50ml packets of concentrate. Despite the metafilter title speaking of dehydrated, in reality the article makes it clear it's liquid concentrate.
posted by ill3 at 10:34 PM on December 15, 2013 [4 favorites]

How gross would it be to simply drink the concentrate? I can see me and my friends getting impatient.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:34 PM on December 15, 2013 [11 favorites]

Wine in a bag is properly known as goon.
I just want you to know that.
Or Chateau Le Cardboard for the classy plonk.
posted by Mezentian at 10:36 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

Wouldn't dehydrated alcohol just be spirits?
posted by Mokusatsu at 10:45 PM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]

I heard decent box wine is referred to in Quebec as "cardbordeaux", which is pretty clever. If they could find a way to use a road bike CO2 cartridge this could make a great bike camping invention.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:51 PM on December 15, 2013 [7 favorites]

Though it does not technically fit the Black Box Cabernet I generally pop out of its box for camping purposes, I must remember that.
posted by louche mustachio at 10:54 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]

Mokusatsu makes a good point, they're pretty much just distilling beer through some process other than traditional steam distillation. I didn't notice it mentioned in the article, but I wonder if the fact that it's meant to be reconstituted is keeping the feds from prosecuting, if they have a distillery license, or what line in the sand that they're straddling to keep the business afloat. IIRC companies removing alcohol from wine to sell the resulting liquid as alcohol free grape drink have been shut down because the processes they were using technically qualified as distillation.

Jon- look/ask around on some of the homebrew forums. I guarantee you someone has already devised something using a plastic coke bottle, an air pistol and some pipe fittings from the local ace hardware that will do pretty much what you're looking for. If not give me a couple of years and I'll come up with something that will take spring water, rubbing alcohol and a few spruce leaves and make a passable gin and tonic.
posted by mcrandello at 10:58 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

Another problem: warm beer.
posted by armage at 10:59 PM on December 15, 2013

JohnnyGunn: It will be fucking gross, I promise. Take your favorite beer, and slow simmer it over the stove until it becomes a syrup. Chill it then add a shot of vodka, then try to choke it down. That's going to be an approximation of what's in the bota bag there (not that it would stop me far enough down the trail.)
posted by mcrandello at 11:01 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

Gipfelbier for the gel shot crowd.
posted by furtive at 11:25 PM on December 15, 2013

It's the 21sth Century

Occifer, iss the 21sth cenchry, an this iss didrated beer!
posted by Joh at 11:52 PM on December 15, 2013 [11 favorites]

I don't think some kind of hyper-distillation would work for this. My guess is they start with a non-alcoholic beer, freeze-dry that, and mix in some of the powdered alcohol mentioned above.
posted by Mitrovarr at 12:06 AM on December 16, 2013

Maaaaaaaaaaaaan, this would have made my days in the Drunken Spelunkers Society SOOOO much easier on my back...
posted by Samizdata at 1:42 AM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

...so liquid Vegemite, then?
posted by divabat at 1:55 AM on December 16, 2013 [3 favorites]

Wine in a bag is properly known as goon.

Surely it's called winnebago (pronounced 'winey-bag-go')?
posted by pipeski at 1:57 AM on December 16, 2013

In Alberta they sold quite good wine in 500ml tetrapacks. I haven't seen them in BC. This is my go-to format for backpacking. They're easier to squeeze into a pack than the 1L. I really like beer on trips and may take 1 or 2 but I can easily be satisfied with wine. This reconstitution seems like more trouble than it's worth.
posted by jimmythefish at 2:17 AM on December 16, 2013

The complicated reconstitution process has to get more difficult and/or more hilarious with each beer you drink.
posted by graymouser at 3:33 AM on December 16, 2013 [5 favorites]

Still trying to get the titration right on the feed into the shower head with this. When we get there I will switch on the signal on the roof.
posted by aesop at 3:38 AM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

>21sthrd century

FTFY
posted by kcds at 4:28 AM on December 16, 2013

I like the idea of using, essentially, Alka-Seltzer to carbonate this. Makes me want to carbonate up some otherwise-still cocktails in a soda bottle without all the fancy-schmancy equipment.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:09 AM on December 16, 2013

I was thinking this sounded familiar.

I'm not sure if I should be impressed or concerned that I remembered that story from 11 years ago.
posted by COD at 6:11 AM on December 16, 2013

Wouldn't dehydrated alcohol just be spirits?

Wouldn't dehydrated alcohol just be ethene?
posted by beryllium at 6:17 AM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Professor Schusch, who invented swimming pools in the Sahara by airmailing dehydrated water
posted by flabdablet at 7:08 AM on December 16, 2013

Wine in a bag is properly known as goon.
I just want you to know that.

Hence Goon of Fortune and Goon of Doom.
posted by flabdablet at 7:17 AM on December 16, 2013

If not give me a couple of years and I'll come up with something that will take spring water, rubbing alcohol and a few spruce leaves and make a passable gin and tonic.

Other than the nasty way "rubbing alcohol" will effect your guts - sure....
posted by rough ashlar at 7:25 AM on December 16, 2013

So a sixer weighs about 4 1/2 lbs, you just need to offset the weight by ditching something you were going to take but never use, like a tent.

Alternatively if you just want to get polluted on the trail, build one of these and take a bottle of this for "fuel". Sugar-free kool aid mix is practically weightless.
posted by Ham Snadwich at 7:37 AM on December 16, 2013

Just to drop a science in here: Something can be liquid and also dehydrated at the same time.
posted by Mister_A at 7:44 AM on December 16, 2013

Hmph. I'm a traditionalist; alcohol should be red wine drunk from a bota bag.

If you're going to do beer though, I say don't take any half measures; rig a travois to carry your pony keg and chemical chill packs. It's traditional to have the newest out youngest member of the group pack the beer.
posted by happyroach at 8:35 AM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

I usually make a crude mash of gathered fruits and wild yeast from my saliva. Sure it takes a few days, but when it's done it's potent enough to make you forget the giardia.
posted by Think_Long at 8:42 AM on December 16, 2013 [2 favorites]

Dude, just bring an aluminum soda siphon and some CO2 cartridges. No shaking necessary. The little aluminum ones are super light.
posted by domo at 8:55 AM on December 16, 2013

Bring whiskey, because you can also sterilize the many abrasions and lacerations you'll incur as a result of drinking whiskey.
posted by Mister_A at 9:03 AM on December 16, 2013 [4 favorites]

Now can anyone point me in the direction of a decent powdered tonic water?
posted by The Violet Cypher at 9:11 AM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Whiskey is for backpacking. Beer is for when you are at the car before and after the hike.
I am intrigued by this, the process and product, but not enough to buy the extract and equipment.
I like to be able to wake up in the morning on a backpacking trip and spend an hour drinking whiskey or mezcal while throwing tomahawks at a dead tree before making some coffee.
I'm not sure where we ever find the time to backpack as it is. Trying to make the beer would take even more time.
posted by Seamus at 9:26 AM on December 16, 2013

Now can anyone point me in the direction of a decent powdered tonic water?

There are lots of tonic syrups that will cut the weight down some. Or you can pack cinchona bark powder and make the tonic water from scratch.
posted by jedicus at 9:34 AM on December 16, 2013 [2 favorites]

Thanks Jedicus. I wasn't aware that the syrups were out there. You have made this summer's canoe trip better and I thank you for it.
posted by The Violet Cypher at 10:45 AM on December 16, 2013

then you go behind a tree nod whip out a frothy cup.

I am not drinking anything frothy that you produced behind a tree!!!
posted by ian1977 at 1:05 PM on December 16, 2013 [4 favorites]

I don't know what kind of clown carries a lab's worth of equipment up a hill to shake up a pint of powdered beer, but I do know that if I see another "craft" IPA I am going to kick six nuns in the face.
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:24 PM on December 16, 2013 [2 favorites]

I can't see myself ever wanting to bother with something like this. It sounds like kind of a complicated pain in the ass for something that at the end of the day still only produces one beer. And you have to fetch water for it too, which we all know is annoying, and if you're backpacking the water ain't always exactly crystal clear and flavorless either.

I can't see this being better than just passing a pint of whiskey around the campfire. It just seems like such a fiddly thing to be doing when all you want is to chill out and stare at the flames while mumbling into your beard about how badass the day's hike was, how beat you are, and how much fun the next day is going to be. This sounds like the sort of thing that a well-meaning relative would buy for that nephew who they don't really know anything about except that they like camping and fancy beers.
posted by Scientist at 4:21 PM on December 16, 2013 [3 favorites]

Wow, Scientist, now I know what I am getting for Christmas from some well-meaning relative.
posted by Seamus at 7:30 AM on December 17, 2013

No, no: dark rum and your choice of appropriate Kool-Aid flavour. It's a tradition, dammit!
posted by sfred at 1:23 PM on December 17, 2013