Fourteen promising drinks inventions unveiled in 2018

From products inspired by the onset of commercial space travel to injectable biochips that monitor the body’s alcohol levels – we round up some promising, clever and outlandish drinks inventions that have launched this year.

This year has already seen a plethora of drinks companies, scientists, engineers and designers launch products into the market.

Some have been developed where there is clear need, with the inventor of a pill which claims to reduce hangovers admitting that the product would go down well with college students.

Others have been created with future markets in mind. The advent of commercial space travel, in particular, presents many opportunities for the drinks industry in the luxury sector.

And for those who are after something slightly more quirky, this year has also witnessed the launch of a wine-inspired paint shade, straws made from bike parts and animated beer cans.

Scroll through to view the round-up of inventions and comment below with any that we may have missed.

Hangover pill 

Could the pain from last night’s overindulgence be a thing of the past? In May, news broke that a chemical engineer and his team are developing a hangover pill that will allow the body to process alcohol at a faster rate.

Having tested the pill on mice, it was found to reduce the blood alcohol level by 45% in just four hours.

Levels of acetaldehyde – a chemic compound produced during the metabolisation of alcohol which causes headaches, vomiting and blushing after drinking – were also found to be “extremely low”.

While avoiding that splitting headache and next day nausea is a bonus, the pill has a serious message too.

Professor Lu stated that the pill is “something all college students would appreciate” but that it also prevents the possibility of alcohol poisoning and “protects the liver from alcohol-associated stress and damage”.

To find out more, please click here. 

Space beer

The drinks world is getting well and truly into the space race, with the beer industry already having brewed a beer with space yeast and sent an Oregon IPA into orbit via helium balloon.

With commercial space travel due to take flight, space engineer Dr Jason Held believes astronauts should be allowed to enjoy a cold beer mid-flight.

He, and his company Saber Astronautics, have launched the world’s first space beer bottle in collaboration with Jaron Mitchell of 4 Pines Brewery.

The bottle uses modified technology from fuel tanks to defy the challenges of drinking beer in zero gravity.

Inspired by the “unique surface of the moon” and “the sensation of floating in space”, the black aluminium bottle design includes a ‘wicking’ insert that allows the beer to flow in zero gravity.

To find out more, please click here.

Space Champagne

Not to be outdone by beer, Champagne Mumm is equally keen for its to be quaffed in zero gravity.

Launching a new Champagne, complete with specially designed bottle and glasses, Grand Cordon Stellar is due to be unveiled next month.

The specially-designed clear glass bottle uses the pressure within the bottle to expel the wine into a ring-shaped frame, when, in zero gravity, it looks like a droplet of bubbles. This droplet can then be gathered in a custom-made glass.

Mumm cellar master Didier Mariotti said the drinking experience was also very different: “It’s a very surprising feeling. Because of zero gravity, the liquid instantly coats the entire inside of the mouth, magnifying the taste sensations. There’s less fizziness and more roundness and generosity, enabling the wine to express itself fully”.

To find out more, please click here.

Re-usable and recycled metal straws

An American bike manufacturer decided to help the drinks industry reduce is plastic usage after it decided to sell straws made from leftover tubing.

Firefly, which is based in Boston, Massachusetts, started selling titanium straws on 24 July in three sizes — five, eight, and 10 inches, but sold out of them after less than 24 hours.

“We have used up 7.5 years worth of titanium scrap in less than 24 hours,” said a blog post on the manufacturer’s website.

The straws, which can be shipped oversees, are made to order, meaning you can pick the length, the color and whether you want it bent or straight

“As we generate more scrap that can be turned into more straws we will make these available again and broadcast their availability.”

To find out more, please click here. 

Blind tasting wine app

Launched in June, WineGame is a new app that transforms any collection of wine bottles into a multiple choice blind tasting quiz, inviting players to test their tastebuds while learning about wine in a fun and informal setting.

It was developed as a “late-night lark” between co-founders Rob Wilder and his “partner-in-wine”, José Andrés, who would often challenge each other to name the wine hidden inside a paper bag.

The app works by inviting a host to first input their wines by taking a picture of each label, before concealing the wine labels from guests. All players can login in on their own device using a code generated by the host. The app then generates a multiple choice quiz that challenges players in turn to identify the grape, country, region and vintage/label of a wine, drawing on a database that includes “nearly every bottle of wine in the world”.

The app is free to download from the Apple app store and Google play.

To find out more, please click here.

Augmented reality beer labels

In May, it was announced that creative design agency Freytag Anderson was partnering with 3D visualisation specialist Render Studio to develop technology that will enable users to view animated can designs in real-time using a mobile application.

Based in Glasgow, the agency has teamed up with local brewer Up Front, using Moby Dick-inspired illustrations by artist Stanley Donwood.

It is now working to animate the cans and create an augmented reality experience that can be viewed through an app.

Creative director at Freytag Anderson, Greig Anderson, said: “We decided to animate the cans as the artwork created by artist Stanley Donwood naturally had a strong sense of movement to it and a story to tell. We animated the flat artwork internally to create looping animations and then worked with our partners at Render Studio to create a series of 3D visualisations in which the packaging literally comes to life on can”.

To find out more, please click here. 

Alcohol made from wood

Researchers at Japan’s Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute have created alcohol made from tree bark, which they say resembles the qualities of an alcohol aged in wooden barrels.

The 15% ABV alcoholic beverage is made by pulverising wood into a creamy paste and then adding yeast and an enzyme to start the fermentation process.

The team said that the alcohol presents better as a distilled beverage, with 4kg of cedar wood producing around 3.8 litres of liquid.

The government institute aims to commercialise the product with a private-sector partner and have the liquor on shelves within three years.

To find out more, please click here. 

Injectable chip that detects alcohol use

US engineers have developed a tiny biochip that can be injected into the body to monitor alcohol levels over a prolonged period, with the aim of supporting patients in substance abuse programmes.

Developed by a team at the San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, the chip can be implanted just under the surface of the skin and is powered wirelessly by a wearable device, such as a smartwatch or patch.

“The ultimate goal of this work is to develop a routine, unobtrusive alcohol and drug monitoring device for patients in substance abuse treatment programs,” said Drew Hall, an electrical engineering professor at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering who led the project.

To find out more, please click here.

Fully automated Coravin

One of the industry’s hottest gadgets, Coravin is launching its new, fully automated version this year, arriving in the US in September and the UK in October.

Among its features, it has the option to pour a glass (150ml-175ml) or a taste (30-50ml) of wine, with the ability to set the volumes via an app.

Demonstrating how it worked, Coravin founder Greg Lambrecht showed db earlier this year that the pour can be stopped at any time, even if the full volume selected hasn’t been poured out. The needle can then be pulled straight out of the bottle without the need to remove a clamp.

A new app, which Lambrecht admits has taken more time to develop than the actual Coravin itself, will be released in conjunction with the Model Eleven, although you don’t require the latest Coravin to be able to use it.

Due to retail for US$999, the gadget is certainly not suitable for all budgets. Lambrecht, however, told db that he was aiming to get the Coravin cheaper and take this automated version [Model Eleven] down to the other models of Coravin.

To find out more, please click here. 

Wine made with naturally lower alcohol

Speaking to the drinks business earlier this year, Dr John Forrest, the creator of a viticultural technique used by New Zealand wineries involved in a seven-year project to produce premium wines with naturally lower alcohol, has said that it’s capable of helping wineries across the world “to ameliorate the effects of global warming”.

While the technique itself has been used for a number of years now on white grapes, Dr Forrest told db that he’s currently developing a similar technique to naturally reduce alcohol levels in red wine.

The method, which involves the removal of selected leaves to reduce the photosynthetic ability of the vine and thus the sugar accumulation, can be used by wineries that are struggling to control the alcohol levels in their wines due to global warming.

He added: “We found that reducing leaves can actually increase acid drop by 5%. The grapes are harvested at same time – we’re not picking early – so it allows the same time as normal wine for the grapes to develop.

To find out more, please click here. 

English wine paint 

If your love of English wine knows no bounds, this one’s for you.

A recent collaboration between UK wine merchant Laithwaites and colour institute Pantone has resulted in the launch of a paint shade called ‘English sparkling’ to mark the growing success of the category.

“Just as Burgundy and Champagne are very well known terms for colours it’s now time for quality English sparkling wine to take centre stage,” said David Thatcher, CEO of Laithwaite’s Wine.

The natural off-white shade is described as “subtle and stylishly elegant” and takes its cues from the “soft and natural creamy hues” of English sparkling wine, specifically Wyfold Vineyard Brut by Barbara Laithwaite, with the intention of conveying “freshness and modernity”, a release announcing its launch stated.

To find out more, please click here.

Edible beer foam art

Combining drinks and decorating again, but this time you can drink it, Beer Ripples launched a programmable machine which prints images and text onto beer foam using an edible, malt-based ink.

The printing process takes up to 11 seconds and can reproduce both images and text. It is operated using a WiFi connected touchscreen and fits glasses 18cm in height.

Users can choose from the company’s image library, or alternatively, they can download the free Ripples app, available on iOS and Android devices, and add one of their own.

To find out more, please click here.

Whisky based cryptocurrency

In March, the “world’s first” whisky-based cryptocurrency, called Cask Coin, launched, giving investors the chance to own a share of a £40 million Scotch whisky portfolio by investing in its digital coins.

Described as an “asset backed cryptocurrency combining blockchain technology with a physical asset investment in the form of maturing Scotch Whisky”, CaskCoin was founded by Ricky Christie – the boss of the North of Scotland Distilling Company.

Each coin translates to physical ownership of a share in every cask of maturing whisky in the portfolio, which the company says includes old and rare malts aged between 21 and 50 years.

To find out more, please click here. 

Eco-friendly six pack rings

We are beyond excited to announce that the Eco Six Pack Rings have officially launched! After months of prototype testing and product improvement, the #E6PR featuring #ScreaminReelsIPA is available to purchase here in the @Saltwater_ReefRoom and in select #SouthFlorida stores such as @Publix, @TotalWine, @WholeFoods, @LuckysMarket, and @ABCFineWineSpirits. #saltwaterbrewery #sixpackrings #ecofriendly #environmentallyfriendly #saveourseas #gogreen

A post shared by SaltWater Brewery (@saltwaterbrewery) on Jan 23, 2018 at 1:09pm PST

In January, Florida brewery SaltWater announced it was the first to use what it claims is “the first eco-friendly six-pack ring” made from by-product waste and other compostable materials, called E6PR.

According to E6PR™ when properly disposed of, the eco-friendly six-pack ring “finds its way to a compostable facility, where it will degrade in days, and when, unfortunately, left out in open land or a water system, it will degrade in a matter of weeks”.

It also states that the product is made from compostable organic materials, meaning that should it be ingested by wildlife, it will not cause harm.

E6PR has worked closely with Chris Gove of Saltwater Brewery and the Florida-based brewery is the company’s first client, now featuring the E6PR rings on its line of Screamin Reels IPA.

SaltWater Brewery was initially approached to trial an edible six-pack ring, but the edible element was abandoned due to possible contamination during the shipping process.

E6PR™(Eco Six-Pack Ring) was founded in 2017 after securing the backing of New York-based advertising agency We Believers, eco-friendly engineering company Entelequia and a group of private investors in the beverage packaging industry.

To read more, please click here.