Custom Ice Cubes and Bottom-Up Beer

I’ve got two stories for you to read about, both of which involve the sauce: one beer, one liquor. First off, let’s go with the strong stuff:

Michael Dozois has an idea that’s as ingenious as selling bottled water: he wants to sell custom ice cubes to bars. A veteran bartender, Dozois strongly feels that the quality and shape of ice cubes has a direct affect on the drink being served.

There’s a good deal that goes into the process, including water filtration, the actual freezing process, and aging (believe it or not). His company is called Névé, a word for compacted snow that eventually becomes glacial ice.

An interesting solution to a problem I didn’t realize existed.

Next up: The Death of the Beer Line.

In 2009, Josh Springer was eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant with his family. Looking at a margarita pitcher, he wondered aloud about a beer pitcher filling from the bottom up. Soon after, he came up with a working prototype involving magnets.

The new approach fills a cup from the bottom up, reducing spillage and does so about nine times faster than the regular pouring approach. In terms of a speed test, here’s how many beers they were able to pour in 60 seconds:

His start-up company, GrinOn Industries, is now in the process of trying to get their system in every sports arena in the US.

[via MetaFilter, CC Image via Kyle May]