Some beer drinkers prefer the straightforward taste of a lager or pale ale. But others question what a little hint of chocolate, citrus or herb might taste like in their barley bubbly. The Dogfish Head Randall Jr. empowers them to find out.
Like a martini shaker for beer, the Randall Jr. is a 16-ounce bottle that lets you dump whatever ingredients you want into your beer. Simply allow the concoction to chill for about 10 minutes; pour the beer through the integrated strainer; and enjoy a flavored beer of your own invention.
The Randall Jr. is a cheaper, easier alternative to Dogfishead's Randall Enamel Animal, an "organoleptic hop transducer module" that attaches to a beer tap for the same purpose of infusing flavors from whole ingredients. The Randall is a more complex device that requires a tap, and while Dogfish Head encourages (and supplies a manual for) beer lovers to hack their own version, it doesn't currently offer the model for sale. The Randall Jr. provides a simple, inexpensive "every man" version that anyone can experiment with at home.
The Randall Jr. costs US$19.99, which is far less than you'll spend experimenting with exotic fruity beers from Europe to find out what flavors stimulate your taste buds the most.
Of course, the Randall Jr. is so simple that you could save even more money by just making your own version, now that you have the idea. Heck, you probably already have something in your kitchen that could serve this very purpose.
Get the background in the rather overdone video below and decide if it's worth your money.
Source: Dogfish Head
