Beverages

It was just a couple of years ago that we heard how scientists had used soybean waste to produce a healthy (and supposedly tasty) probiotic drink. Now, they've done the same thing with unsold bread that would otherwise be discarded.

Although it may be hard to believe, ice fishermen do enjoy a cold drink or two while sitting outside in the winter. The DipStick was designed for such anglers, as it keeps those beverages chilled – but not frozen – in the lake water under the ice.

Nothing ruins a session like stale beer, but it’s a common problem. Now researchers from Jiangnan University have found a way to keep beer fresher for longer, by genetically engineering lager yeast to produce certain compounds that slow staleness.

Nitro-infusion cold-brew is a big thing among coffee aficionados, but most of us need to go to a specialist coffee shop to get our fix – and it's not a cheap fix. Portland's GrowlerWerks has come up with an alternative for us. Nitro cold-brewing (and storing, and pouring) in our own homes.

​Although it may not be way up there on your list of problems to address, scalding your mouth on too-hot tea or coffee can be a hassle. A German startup is out to do something about it, with the iLIQ temperature-sensing drink-cooling device.

Keurig is best known for popularizing the coffee pod machine, but realizing it’s always five o’clock somewhere, the company is now taking the concept out on the town with the Drinkworks Home Bar, which cooks up cocktails (or beer and cider, for some reason) from the same kind of premixed pods.

​Imagine if it's a chilly day and you're heading out to a gathering, but the only beverages you have on hand are room-temperature. Well, that's where Blitzen would come in. It lets you chill bottled drinks on top of your car, while you drive.

Making coffee may seem simple enough, but the art of a perfect brew is serious business for many. The French Press, a classic brewing device developed nearly 100 years ago, has been given a 21st century facelift with the Rite Press, which offers subtle improvements to help give you the perfect brew.

The excess liquid that's generated during tofu production takes the form of whey, and it's often just discarded. Now, however, scientists from the National University of Singapore have developed a technique for turning the whey into a tasty antioxidant-rich alcoholic beverage.​

​Why isn't beer served with ice? Well, the main reason is, the beer will get watered down as the ice melts – the problem also extends to drinks that are served on the rocks. That's where the Beyond Zero system comes in. Instead of making ice cubes out of water, it makes them out of booze.

​Perhaps you once got on a smoothie-making kick, but fell out of it because you didn't like washing the blender. If so, then you might like Millo. It's a smoothie-specific blender that's less of a hassle to wash, plus it's reportedly only a quarter as loud as a regular blender.

Before we drink cow's milk, it is routinely pasteurized and homogenized to make it safe and consistent. Australian outfit Made by Cow says that this eliminates much of its goodness and flavor, so has created a new cold press method that makes it safe to drink much closer to its fresh state.