Chilling out on memorial day
By Colin Burch
For Weekly Surge
There is only one question for Memorial Day Weekend: Do you know how to chill, transport, and maintain a low temperature for your beer?
I'm talking about the proper use of coolers.
I put together a crack research team - not a team researching crack, but a spontaneous, high-level group of instant researchers. I discovered all you need to know about the beer cooler.
Advance prep
I bumped into Lou Jorel, who works at the Tinder Box at Broadway at the Beach. He theorized that the cooler and the beer - if chilled in advance - have a symbiotic relationship, much like the cigars in the Tinder Box humidor.
The humidor releases moisture into the air for the cigars, but the cigars give off moisture into the humidor. So, Jorel reasoned, the cooler keeps the beer cold, and the chilled beer keeps the cooler cold.
The take-away point? Put it in the fridge overnight.
Later, Jorel began polling his costumers for cooler tips, and here's what he was told:
1. Get a cooler with big wheels that allow one-person transportation.
2. Take cold beer.
3. Take good beer, so if you get caught with a cooler full of brews in a place where the law would not like you to have beer, it will have been worthwhile.
4. If you're in a place where the law would not like you to have beer, and you see a cop coming, stash the beer and - here's the most important part - don't look guilty.
5. Bring along a heavy cup.
Quick prep
However, there are those occasional, sudden changes of schedule that require preparation for the boat or the beach on short notice. If the available beer is not properly chilled, there's still hope.
Kjersti Pratt, who works at Big Tuna Raw Bar in Georgetown, caught up with me on MySpace and suggested that direct contact with ice works fairly quickly.
"At the Big Tuna we keep all of our beer in coolers on ice," she said. "We have no refrigerated beer, so it goes from room temp to cold (I am told) in 8 minutes. I prefer to ice it for 15 minutes, just to be sure."
Another approach is the ice-and-water method. Lorrie Lykins, a friend down in Florida, probably the only state with more beer coolers than South Carolina, said she fills her 10-bottle Coleman with a combo of ice and ice water, and the beer chills down to perfection in about 30 minutes.
Choosing a cooler
I saw a Styrofoam cooler at a local grocery store for $5.99. I figured you could pack 18 cans and ice into it - and then pick the beer off the ground when the bottom busts out.
If you're going to buy a cooler, make a little investment. Skip the Styrofoam.
A better idea would be to look for the Thermos collapsible can cooler, which expands from a cloth ring into an insulated cylinder full of brews. It holds 54 cans plus ice, keeps the beer cold for three days, and retails locally for around $20.
Better yet, try the 64-quart Coleman Extreme, a traditional rectangular structure, outfitted with wheels, and enough space inside to pack 85 cans. It can keep the brews cold for five days, and retails locally for around $60.
Just remember - if you're going to invest in a nice cooler, put some decent beer in it. You might run into me on Cooler Patrol this summer.
Contact Colin Burch - the Beerman - at beerpour@yahoo.com or visit his beer blog at http://maltyhops.blogspot.com