April 20th, 2006
Miller to Use Self-Cooling Cans Next Year
By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
Not to stereotype our readers, but stories about beer usually do quite well on RTN. 
Such as, say, this Open Source Beer story or Asahi’s Beer-Pouring Robot. I’m trying to decide if this is a good development or not. Have we become such a want-it-now, have-to-have-it-NOW society that we can’t even put a can in the ‘fridge?
The specially modified cans use proprietary engineering to create a temperature drop that will reduce the I.C. Can contents by a minimum of 30° Fahrenheit in just three minutes. When activated, the all natural desiccant contained within a vacuum draws the heat from the beverage through the evaporator into an insulated heat-sink container. It is this patented vacuum-power which lowers the temperature so dramatically and quickly, leaving the beverage inside cold. Source: NewTechSpy
We Say: OK, I was really suspicious at first because I figured you’d end up with a lot of toxic chemicals hitting the landfills. But according to their website, the can is completely recyclable. If that’s the case, I could see a market for these for camping or maybe even for events like ballgames. On the other hand, if the recyclability is not true I would really look askance at these things.
Expect the cans to hit shelves around mid-2007.
Rob says:
Yea, but it’s Miller.
April 20th, 2006 at 6:19 pm
David Wells says:
Yeah, I have to agree with Rob. Could be worse, I guess. It could be Bud or Coors. Let me know when they’re putting Laginitas in ‘em.
April 20th, 2006 at 6:48 pm
Bill says:
I would be curious about the per can additional cost. If it works, the other beer manufacturers (including my favorite - Michelob Light)will quickly jump on the bandwagon.
April 21st, 2006 at 3:55 am
Steve says:
Seems to me that promises, processes and patents for self chilling cans have been popping up for years. I seem to recall a full page ad for one such product showing up in the WSJ a day before the manufacturer filed to go public — and about three months before the executives were indicted for fraud. Invariably the physics or the chemistry or the economics just don’t work out. This one looks like a great way to freeze the bottom exterior of the can — which unfortunately is NOT where the beer is. Uh, by the way, exactly how do they keep from freezing a beer that’s already cool?
April 21st, 2006 at 4:48 am
Stephen says:
Where does the heat go? From the heat sink to where?
April 21st, 2006 at 5:42 am
RecycledElectrons says:
It’s not toxic. They’re probably using the same contents as instant cool packs - Water (several ounces of water) and ammonium nitrate (about as much as there is salt in a packet from a fast food place.)
I’m reserving a special flame for the first person who says tiny amounts of ammonium nitrate mixed with large amounts of water and beer can explode.
I’ve wanted something similar for a long time, but I’m more interested in it for camping / hunting / military uses, where carrying water is tough. I’d love to see something like that that’s fully reusable, and allows me to carry a few ounces of ammonium nitrate crystals with a can ccooler. The can cooler would accept non-potable water (e.g., from a stream) and a small packet of crystals. Wait a few minutes, and you have a cold can. Here, there might actually be some libaility with a moron carrying a few ounces of ammonium nitrate in his pocket.
Andy Out!
April 21st, 2006 at 7:14 am
Mart says:
tiny amounts of ammonium nitrate mixed with large amounts of water and beer can explode
Actually, Im the second person to say it.
April 21st, 2006 at 7:20 am
Beavis says:
If you’re like, out in a desert and it’s all hot and stuff, and you ate ammonium nitrate would you like, cool down and stuff?
Cool.
Yeah. Cool.
April 21st, 2006 at 12:12 pm
Jimbo says:
It can be recycled but will it? The majority of the country still has no active recycling program and most recyclable items end up in the landfill anyway.
It’s nothing more than another way to appeal to the “instant gratification” generation, i.e. 16-28 year old children. We’ve become a throw-away society even more than we were in the 70’s-80’s. Sad…
April 29th, 2006 at 11:10 am
Gadget says:
Aside from the worries about bi-products, the obvious expense, and possible safety issues, I don’t think this amount of effort is required. Seems to me that I remember an episode of MythBusters where they took beer down to 37 degrees or thereabouts in less than five minutes with a cooler full of ice, water, and salt.. Like when you make home-made ice cream. It’s low-tech, it’s gotta be cheaper, it’s never produced any kind of an explosion while making ice cream that I know of.. What am I missing??
May 8th, 2006 at 11:49 am
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June 21st, 2007 at 5:25 am
Ivan says:
What amount of Ammonium nitrate and water would be needed to cool 340ml of water at room temp?
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Ivan says:
What amount of Ammonium nitrate and water would be needed to cool 340ml of water at room temp to say 35 degrees?
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Woody says:
Check out this website if you’re looking for a way to quickly chill your beer. www.coopercooler.com. They sell a rapid beverage chiller called the Cooper Cooler that Chills a 12oz can in 1 minute or bottles in 3.5 minutes. Got one for my b-day works great and doesn’t foam them up:)
August 15th, 2007 at 10:11 am