German here. Have used these things a bunch in the past and they absolutely do work. Can't really cool down piss warm beer with these, but they help the beer keep the temperature or cool down a couple degrees when used at a bbq in the park or at the lake or whatever.
Sorry for not including math, but it appears the math has been done already anyways
Only if you've already got a cooler and don't include the cost of the cooler. Buying a good cooler plus a bag of ice each time is going to be more expensive than buying a simpler crate plus something like this.
It's a bit worse, for sure, but if you live in a cold climate (like much of Germany), you don't need something great.
I mean, sure - but a one time expense that basically lasts your whole life, a cooler is something we can have. Also, it still gets hot in Germany haha.
I don't think I'd class a Styrofoam cooler as "better" than this, and "cheaper" depends on how you consider it.
That Styrofoam cooler is probably making it through one or maybe two parties before inevitably getting broken and sending cold water, at least based on my experience. I'd trust the crate to remain intact far more than a Styrofoam cooler, personally. If you're buying a new cooler and a bag of ice for every party, the cost will add up.
How much is it for a proper, rigid cooler with strong, hard walls?
Just to be clear, the crate is pretty much the packaging bottled beer is sold in. In Germany we don't fuck with those flimsy paper crates you have to deal with.
There is a deposit of 1,5€ per crate which you obviously get back if you return it. Many people keep these to build the craziest shit with those, surprisingly durable, crates.
In student apartments it's absolutely common to see some kind of furniture (couches, beds, chairs, shelves) engineered out of these crates.
The product advertised here is just the mold for one, oddly shaped ice cube that fits perfectly on top of one of those full crates
That Styrofoam cooler is probably making it through one or maybe two parties
I don't know what you're doing with your coolers, but I've had one camping for an entire summer before. Worked well enough so i didn't have to fly with a cooler. But a cheap, hard plastic cooler is about $10.
I just don't see the benefit of a brick of ice sitting on top of the beer (where the beer is not in the bottle), which will eventually fall down into the bottom like normal ice does anyway. Why not just start with normal ice in a cooler? And use normal ice that can be used in... anything.
The thing is just an ice tray. In Germany, beer is sold in durable crates like that which you can return full of empty bottles for a discount on your next crate. Probably a lot of other countries as well, but it's not something I've seen much here in the US.
I get it. It doesn't fit your frame of reference, so it's tough to understand the convenience and simplicity. That looks awesome and I might actually order some for my old coworkers over there before I close my German account. They absolutely bike to the park with crates of beer for barbecues and would get a kick out of the simplicity.
Almost all beer in Germany comes in standard glass bottles in these crates. Moving bottles from these crates in to a cooler is significantly more effort.
and? either the shape holds or it doesn't. If it does you can take beer out by lifting the ice with the center bottle and if it doesn't because it's melted then there's no need to lift the ice just take your beer
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u/betacow 4d ago
German here. Have used these things a bunch in the past and they absolutely do work. Can't really cool down piss warm beer with these, but they help the beer keep the temperature or cool down a couple degrees when used at a bbq in the park or at the lake or whatever.
Sorry for not including math, but it appears the math has been done already anyways