Photo: PR Times
business

Crowdfunding opens on Japanese version of a gadget that makes any canned beer easier to drink

27 Comments
By Katy Kelly, SoraNews24

Now that some travel advisory levels have lowered and the temperatures are creeping up, people are beginning to dream longingly about venturing out to hang out with people outside once more. Spreading out a picnic blanket, sitting a responsible distance apart from each other, and then grazing on snacks and drinks…what a beautiful fantasy!

There’s one element of the fantasy that American-based business Draft Top thinks they can improve upon. Imagine taking an ice-cold beer can from the cooler, and cracking it open. Pause. What comes next?

  • You lift the can to your mouth and purse your lips into the tiny opening like you are trying to French kiss it, in hopes of extracting some beer
  • You rummage in the picnic bag for some plastic cups, find none, and settle for pouring beer into a paper bowl and drinking it that way
  • You lift the beer can above your head and pour it down into your waiting mouth like a lion drinking from a waterfall

There has to be a better way to enjoy a canned beer on the go. And there is.

The Draft Top 2.0, which modifies the existing Draft Top sold in America to a size tailored to Japanese beverage cans, removes the top of the can altogether. Slot the can into the device and twist, and the top will slide off easily—and the device even neatly shaves away all those sharp edges and tucks them into a smooth, finished edge that’s safe to sip from without risking your lips.

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Japan has been flirting with similar products recently, such as Asahi’s “draft beer in a can” and the “Nama-Jockey” which allows you to peel the whole top off in one go, but there’s a gap in the market for a product that will cleanly remove the top of any standard-sized can.

▼ This product really allows you to enjoy the sight, smell, and flavor of your canned beer.

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The marketers even argue that canned beer tastes better without an intense cap of foam, and so this manner of opening it will minimize bubbles. A controversial take in these times, but a brave one!

Allegedly, sipping from beer in a cup-like can allows you to appreciate its malty flavor more directly than siphoning sips through a tiny keyhole opening. This also makes the empty can easier to clean, as you can rinse it out more easily before dropping it in a recycling bag. As an added bonus, the Draft Top 2.0 itself is light and small enough to tote around wherever you might need it—a garden party, a barbecue, or a park outing.

The crowdfunding campaign is being hosted by Kibidango, who will also serve as the primary representative company for Draft Top in Japan. A range of rewards is offered for backers, including deeply discounted Draft Top 2.0 sets which have almost all been snatched up. A single Draft Top 2.0 can still be purchased through the crowdfunding campaign for a 13 percent discount — while the product ordinarily costs 4,000 yen, Kibidango is offering it for 3,500 yen.

The campaign offers additional bonuses like branded T-shirts, caps, and stabilizing cooler sleeves, that come at an additional cost.

RelatedKibidango Draft Top 2.0 Campaign

Source: PR Times

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Asahi Super Dry’s draft beer in a can, the Nama Jockey Can, is here【Taste test】

-- A year of beer at Tokyo restaurant offering all-you-can-drink Asahi for 12 months

-- Awesome Tokyo cafe’s less-than-a-buck beer is so cheap it’s almost criminal

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

27 Comments
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Yep. Finally, somebody saw past those little pesky issues the world has (China, Covid, geopolitics, hunger, wokeness, etc.) and saw what the world really needs . . an easier way to drink beer, a problem which has plagued mankind for eons.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Will probably end up the same as the other 101 gadgets (usually from the 100 yen shop) that end up cluttering the bottom kitchen drawer

Amen to that! I can't count how many times I bought something from Daiso because it had a "neat" factor but it ends up a dust collector or in a headed to a thrift store.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Fork out ¥4,000 to look like a total pleb. Nice.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Gee, how hard is it to pop the top and swig it down, it ain't that hard, and also, if you have a gadget like that and can grind the entire top off, you will be prone to drinking more and faster because you will be able to put more in your mouth, the slit that we all know and were born into is better because you can more easily pace yourself. The key is to enjoy a nice cold microbrew and not be an ogre and slug it down, if you do that, you don't know or understand anything about beer drinking and if you want to get drunk, go to 7 and the cheapest high sugar content beer if you're looking for a quick and painful hangover, but if you want to enjoy a quality one, best to take your time and really enjoy it with a more expensive higher quality beer with glass, if available, if not, the slit is good enough.

Btw, a list and these are some of the best craft beers that you can find in Japan.

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/the-10-best-craft-breweries-in-japan/

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Honestly, the type of person who can't drink a beer from a can and need it in a cup, are not people who are going to remember to pack this when they go out.

Also, how many uses do you get out of this? I bet after 6 months, the cutter part gets dull and there's no way to sharpen it again. Then it will be just one more piece of garbage.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If shark tank is anything to go by you split alot of your drink trying to open it and you need to be young and strong to do

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

They already sell stuff like this for around 200 yen on AliExpress.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I'm old enough to remember when can tabs were a scourge of California beaches until they became permanently attached to the can (the pull-back tab). One step forward, three steps back this is.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

You lift the can to your mouth and purse your lips into the tiny opening like you are trying to French kiss it, in hopes of extracting some beer

You rummage in the picnic bag for some plastic cups, find none, and settle for pouring beer into a paper bowl and drinking it that way

You lift the beer can above your head and pour it down into your waiting mouth like a lion drinking from a waterfall

What on earth are they talking about!? Drinking a beer from the can is perfectly normal. Have these people ever had beer before?

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Another solution in search of a problem.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Will probably end up the same as the other 101 gadgets (usually from the 100 yen shop) that end up cluttering the bottom kitchen drawer.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Yona-Yona is the best beer in Japan. (and their Aoni IPA is the best in class here as well)

Totally agreed! I miss the days of popping into a conveni for a few cans of Yona-Yona and Aoni! They make awesome beer, just a little more expensive than the bland megaswill from the majors.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Try drinking it from a glass instead. LOL

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Another solution to a problem that doesn't really exist.

If you're not capable of drinking from cans, maybe you shouldn't be out by yourself, and you certainly shouldn't be left around sharp objects.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

When I walk with my dog on the beach I have to dodge discarded masks. Now it will also be sharp round metal objects.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Why invent something that has existed for many years? It may not look that epic, but it works exactly the same. It can be used on cans with different neck diameters. I can't remember if I bought it in the 90s here in Japan or in China. And lo and behold, you can even buy it on aliexpress and it's not a novelty.

Crowdfunding seems to be the buzzword of 2020s

The marketers even argue that canned beer tastes better without an intense cap of foam, and so this manner of opening it will minimize bubbles.

Tell this to people in Germany, especially Bavaria or in the Czech Republic. And run

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@Gorramcowboy It is meant to get foam and also allow aromas to reach your nose, most people pour canned beer out for these reasons.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

If you can't open and drink a can of beer normally - you probably shouldn't drink it at all. I've never had any issues or felt the need for yet another piece that will end up as landfill..

2 ( +6 / -4 )

+1 for Yona Yona, a great beer at an affordable price. Which it ceases to be if you use an expensive gadget to slice the top off. It pains me to say it because it's made by DHC, but that New England IPA in the pink can is also very good. Super fruity and drinkable.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

This would be good to prank drunk people with. Slice their can open when they're in the toilet then blame it on aliens.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Never knew drinking from a can was such a challenge that it required such a gadget.

If drinking from a can is that difficult for some people maybe those people shouldn't be consuming alcohol at all.

20 ( +22 / -2 )

Yeah, be THAT guy at a party....

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Yona-Yona is the best beer in Japan. (and their Aoni IPA is the best in class here as well)

10 ( +10 / -0 )

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