Alcohol

January 14, 2006 If you’re considering the fit-out for your next luxury home and you’re one of those wine enthusiasts who anxiously awaits each November for the Beaujolais Nouveau to arrive, then feast your eyes on General Electric’s latest - a complete, turnkey walk-in wine vault. The US$35,000 GE Monogram Walk-In Wine Vault combines advanced cooling technology, an electronic inventory-management system, insulation, racking, and lighting - all in one spacious, self-contained unit that can be installed in as little as a day. The Monogram Wine Vault offers the ideal location for storing or displaying wines. Read More

July 19, 2005 Beer is big business - the world consumes 150 billion litres of beer annually and in America alone, beer is a US$78.1 billion dollar industry accounting for 54% of all alcoholic beverage sales in dollars. Which is why the TurboTap is such an important invention - the oddly-shaped elongated beer tap pours beer four times faster than existing beer taps at the same time as increasing keg yield by up to 30% and reducing training time to roughly 60 seconds. By increasing the number of customers that can be served in a given time by bar staff, the TurboTap can significantly increase throughput at peak times, and reduce staff numbers across the board. For the customer, it will mean shorter queues and a perfect beer every time. It’s a classic case of recognising the important problem and the founder of TurboTap, 31-year-old Matthew Younkle did just that in seeking out the technology to pour a faster, more consistent beer. Read More

February 26, 2005 Alcohol WithOut Liquid (AWOL) has launched a small portable, home version of the controversial commercial AWOL machines launched last year into pubs, clubs and bars. The personal AWOL machine will be named AWOL 1 and will be priced at US$299, a significant reduction from the commercial two and four person AWOL machines, priced at US$2595 and US$2895 respectively. The price reduction has been enabled by substituting the oxygen generator used in AWOL 2 and 4 for an air compressor used in AWOL 1. Both methods deliver alcohol into the bloodstream in the same way - a method that has caused controversy on both sides of the Atlantic, though some US states seem intent on taking silliness to new extremes. Read More

January 14, 2005 UPDATED IMAGE LIBRARY Pioneering automotive company ZAP may well be embroiled in a legal battle with Daimler Chrysler’s smart, but it has not slowed the expansion of its fleet of intriguing and economical cars. Amongst the cars which had their first public showing at the recent San Francisco International Auto Show were the WORLDCAR, Obvio! and XEBRA. The three-seater (side-by-side) Brazilian-made Obvio 012 and Obvio 828(main image) look to be the pick of the litter, powered by a Tritec 1.6 litre four cylinder motor (as used in the MINI) using flexible fuel technology that enables the engines to run on gasoline and alcohol or any combination plus an additional electric drive – effectively making it the world’s first “trybrid” automobile that can switch between three energy sources. Both cars bristle with the latest thinking, such as a survival cell, (a la smart), McPherson struts all round, four big disk brakes, an immobile carputer and a CVT (Constantly variable transmission). The engines are available in 115 bhp standard output, with tuned versions available all the way up to a brutal 250 bhp. Mainly constructed of composite materials to enable the lightest possible result (750 kg – the MINI weighs 1150 kg), the 012 looks to have all the ingredients for a top seller, looking great, offering startling performance and ecological cred at a time when we are seeing the "greening" of the American market. Read More

November 14, 2004 Move over, Monopoly - Winerd, The Wine Tasting Game That Crushes Grape Fears is a new approach to improving wine knowledge for connoisseurs and amateurs alike. Created by Tamara Leigh Murphy, a private wine instructor and former chef, and Richard Murphy of Winerd Entertainment, the board game brings the fun of wine tasting to the masses and dispels the notion that wine has to be intimidating. Read More

It had to happen. The success of the heavily caffeinated "energy" drinks such as Red Bull in the tten and twenty-something markets has seen US brewing giant Anheuser-Busch (best known for Budweiser beer) announce a new fruity beer infused with caffeine, guarana and ginseng. Also infused with select hops and aromas of blackberry, raspberry and cherry, the new beer, which will be known as B(E) will offer a lightly sweet and tart taste. B(E) will be priced slightly higher than Budweiser and marketed through local print advertising, point-of-sale materials, bar and club promotions and online programs. B(E) will contain 6.6 percent alcohol by volume. Read More

Interbrew and Royal Philips Electronics have announced the development of PerfectDraft, a new system which combines a high-quality appliance and consumer-preferred beer brands in light metal kegs, delivering the taste of draught beer in the comfort of one's own home. PerfectDraft is a new type of appliance with a tap handle, internal cooling system, pump, and 6-liter light metal keg. PerfectDraft keeps beer at the optimal conditions and the beer stays fresh for 4 weeks. Read More

There seems no end to the number of diverse and clever technologies destined to find their way into the handheld device formerly known as the mobile phone. In recent times we've seen voice and lie detection analysis, projection keyboards, terrestrial television reception, health heart-rate and diet monitoring, location tracking, and this week there's a holographic projection screen and a breath analyser. One that can not only tell you when you're over the blood alcohol limit, but also tell you when you've got bad breath. Indeed, we could easily use this device to measure the efficiency of our breathing and track it alongside the heart rate, calorific input and output and location to micromanage our health from a body server. Read More

A new way of consuming alcohol that offers an immediate hit with no hangover the next day has been introduced in the United Kingdom.The new method is known as AWOL, an acronym for 'Alcohol With Out Liquid', and could become a hit in the global club scene due to the euphoric 'high' created when alcohol is vaporised, mixed with oxygen and inhaled. Billed at launch as the 'ultimate party toy', AWOL machines serve bar customers via tubes and could be seen as a modern version of the 'Nargile' or 'Hookah' water-pipe which originated in India and became an important part of society in Turkey and Middle Eastern countries in the 17th century, eventually becoming the height of fashion at sheik Western society parties during the late 19th and early 20th century. Read More