[August 10, 2011] Trib tested: Rapid Ice Tweet Aug 08, 2011 (The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- I don't really like to keep a lot of beverages in my refrigerator. I like to cook, and with a smaller refrigerator, drinks take up space that's better used by food. Cans and bottles of pop, juice or beer get stored in the basement. If I forget to restock the fridge, sometimes, beverages aren't served at their optimum temperature. Cork Pops' Rapid Ice coolers would seem to be a perfect fit for me, and, with reservations, I liked how it worked. The package says you take a chiller out of your freezer, put in on your bottle, and in 5 minutes, it's cold. But even for basement-temperature bottles of beverage, beer or soda, it took longer. For a control, I tried a can of fruit-and-vegetable blend juice that chilled to perfection in 5. The next evening, I took a fridge-cold bottle out on my 80-degree deck wrapped in the Rapid Ice and let it sit for a while. The bottle stayed cold for a long time, although not the hours it claims on the package. But who really wants to let an open beverage sit for hours before finishing it? It could lose as much taste from being flat as being warm. -- Vaunda Bonnett Make no mistake, we like out craft beer cold. C-O-L-D. So, we welcomed the chance to see whether the Rapid Ice bottle/glass wraparound could live up to its promise to properly chill a lukewarm bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in 5 minutes. Although it did chill the amber ale somewhat, suffice it to say, the neat little device did not live up to our standard for cold malt beverages. It was neither rapid, nor icy, even though we waited for another 5 minutes when the initial 5-minute wait did not produce the anticipated result. This might work better for something like an Old Vine zinfandel, which need not be cold, but merely chilled, but there's little chance it will make the grade with beer drinkers. I'll confess we never got as far as leaving a bottle in the Rapid Ice wrap for the full 3 hours the maker claims it will keep a bottle cold. For now, we'll stick with a cooler full of ice. It might melt, but it does the job. -- Debra Erdley No man should ever have to drink warm beer -- why do you think the 13 original colonies fought for independence from England? And whether you're a microbrew beer snob or an indiscriminate guzzler of the cheap stuff, you've doubtless cursed your forgetfulness when you've settled down to watch the big game or C-Span and discovered you forgot to put some fresh beers in the refrigerator the night before. The Rapid Ice cooler goes a long way toward solving this problem. I tried it on a bottle of my favorite Victory Hop Devil Pale Ale. I took the Rapid Ice cooler out of the refrigerator and slipped it over the bottle, and dang if it didn't render the beer cold in 5 minutes as advertised. However, the beer wasn't as cold as a beer that's been in the refrigerator for an extended time. And, because you have to refrigerate it in order for it to work, wouldn't it make sense simply to remember to put more beer in the fridge? -- William Loeffler To see more of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/. Copyright (c) 2011, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]