Download issue as PDF - SLUG Magazine

BeerCloud Mobile App
greatbrewers.com/story/beercloud-mobile-app
These days, for every niche market, there is an
app to match. So it would only make sense that
the growing number of beer nerds should get
theirs. Enter, BeerCloud. This application for
both the Android and iPhone has a solid, userfriendly
interface and a well put together design.
The app features a beer pairing sommelier with
a recommendation guide so wide it was hard to
stump. Within the beer pairing recommendations
there was even a decent selection of labels to
go out and purchase with your meal. However,
this being Utah, a lot of those fell short due to
our availability. The app also has a beer style
information guide to get any beer noob up to speed
with the lesser known beer styles that are becoming
more available on the market. And finally, it had
a “search for a brewery/beer” section that I found
pretty helpful when looking up major breweries and
the beers that they put out. However, information
on the little guys out there was nowhere to be seen.
In the end, I’d download the app because it’s free
and it’s not too bad for someone getting into craft
beer. While the beer/brewery search is a little weak
and hopefully improving, the beer sommelier is well
worth its weight in recommendations and info. –Tyler
Makmell
Beer Tasting and Hop
Appreciation Kit
tasteyourbeer.com
It’s pretty embarrassing when you work in a bar
and the only difference you know between a lager
and a porter is that one is light and one is dark.
Fortunately, Texas-based home-brewing enthusiast
Brian Lewis has taken it upon himself to educate
the booze-illiterate masses on the basic science and
art behind craft brews with this Beer Appreciation
Kit. Featuring 13 bottles of commonly used hops,
a palate cleanser (coffee beans), a color swatch
and both an extensive guide to beer drinking and
a quick-start sheet for those of us with A.D.D., this
kit contains everything you need to become one
of those geeky beer snobs that skulk at the bar on
weekdays. I tried it out with one of my favorite local
brews, RedRock’s Nut Brown Ale, and was able to
identify Cascade Hops—I think. With a little more
practice and a peek into the extensive beer and hop
database available with the purchase of the kit, I
should be giving Tyler Makmell a run for his money
in no time! –Esther Meroño
Chrome Pawn Rolltop Backpack
chromebagsstore.com
Chrome bags are sturdy, weatherproof and well
designed. They’re based in the cycling community
but would serve for a day hike. Each compartment
is individually sealed by “rubberized” liners. So
rubberized, in fact, that we put a whole 12-er of beer
and a sack of ice into the bag with no cross water
contamination. The Pawn is a rolltop-style backpack
and the rolltop is exceedingly useful. I had a largerthan-expected
number of grocery bags one rainy
night and couldn’t fit the rest on my handlebars.
The rolltop expanded an extra cubic foot and I was
able to fit my OJ, etc., in the bag and keep it mostly
dry for 14-plus blocks. That and Chrome’s almost
indestructible fabric (it bent a pin back when I was
trying to give some “flare” to it) make this one of
the best packs—out of hiking, camping and cycling
styles—I’ve ever tried. –JP
My Wriskey
mywriskey.com
The first time I encountered a pair of Reefs with a
bottle opener in the sole, I liked the concept, but
was disgusted by the idea that someone would
actually use the sole of their dirty flip flop to open
a refreshing beer. I imagined all of the grotesque
things one might step in on a daily basis and
cringed anytime I encountered someone with the
novelty flip flops. Unfortunately, I had a similar
distaste with many of the novelty beer bottle
openers I’ve encountered. Belt buckle openers?
Great, I get to have some dude rub my beer against
his crotch before he hands it to me. Ring bottle
openers? These looked tacky and almost never
fit my fingers. I had all but given up hope on a
convenient bottle opener, relying entirely on my flip
flop key chain opener or hoping someone knew
how to open beers with a lighter. Lucky for me, My
Wriskey has created a nontacky alternative to those
foolish rings. Wriskeys are classy leather cuffs that
come in a variety of colors and come equipped with
bottle openers. Every single one is handmade and
the bottle opener portion lays against the inside of
your wrist in an unobtrusive way. Although opening
bottles with the Wriskey took some getting used to,
once I got the knack of it, it was as simple as using
a traditional bottle opener, minus the time spent
trying to track the thing down. I imagine bartenders
would rejoice if given a Wriskey. I personally have a
feeling this classy accessory will be one of my new
faves as backyard barbecue season kicks into high
gear. –Jeanette D. Moses
Zaca Recovery Patches
zacalife.com
If you’re going to spend 24 dollars to buy a box of
these, you might as well buy the homies another
round and say “Fuck it.” I was given two boxes of
Zaca Recovery Patches, each box containing six
patches. They looked like nicotine patches: about
an inch across and beige in color. The box claims
they are “a simple, all-natural organic hangover
patch.” Then I was told the directions—use one
when drinking normally, but “you should probably
use two.” I went to the birthday bash for Katie
Panzer and Maggie Anderson at the W Lounge
and gave two to the birthday girls and two to my
homies Jeremy and Cam. The real test was for me
because I started my first day of work bright and
early at 8 a.m. the next morning. These things have
about the nutritional value of a packet of ketchup,
and I felt like shit until the guy at Whole Foods
hooked it up with the happy belly tea (thanks, dude).
I got the word back from everyone else and the
crew agreed to veto this product. Taking a vitamin,
drinking enough water to rehydrate your alcoholridden
body, getting some late night pizza at the
Pie Hole or eating breakfast the next morning are
all cheaper than these patches and will work better.
Whatever avenue you choose, good luck finding the
cure to the sickness that results from binge drinking.
–Billy Ditzig
56 SaltLakeUnderGround SaltLakeUnderGround 57