Beer Protection

[86Scotty]

I go with cans. Unfortunately on summer trips I really enjoy visiting breweries and getting a growler full now and then. Yes, they make fancy metal vacuum type growlers nowadays but I'd rather buy more beer than buy a $100 growler. Also, you have to plan your time wisely. A growler can't be opened and not finished before you hit the next trail or washboard or it is a flat waste of time.....no pun intended. I wrap my growler(s) in a towel in a cabinet and keep cans in the cooler.

I'll have to say that your cooler picture looks like a good time was had whether the beer was ruined or not.

[BroncoHauler]

There are easier ways to get a Black and Tan.




Herb

[mikracer]

Save some bubble wrap from amazon shipments. But seriously, what roads are you taking that's causing so much turbulence? I'm pretty sure you have an Agile 4x4 setup so at least you are starting with a legit suspension setup.

[gahamby]

Put the empty cans back in the cooler as spacers.

[rltilley]

The picture of the cooler in the OP was after we came down off of Schnebley Hill Road in Sedona after the Overland Expo. I didn't air down since the last time I drove that road it was graded. It was much worse this time around. But I've also had this issue when aired down as well. I have the stock SMB suspension but will likely have Agile do some work down the road a bit.

I did have bottles crack but all cans failed as well. Some must have over-pressurized since the pop tops failed while others failed on the sides of the cans. The aluminum used in cans nowadays is pretty bad and I've had multiple cans of coke fail just sitting in a cupboard at home.

I think in the future I'll drain the cooler and pack it with towels to keep the residual beers in drinkable condition.

[Twoxentrix]

Title alone sucks you in! - suspect this one will continue to be resurrected for quite some time.
Difficult to imagine that you've been at this for some time and haven't discovered the right "balance"...encouraging part is that you actually have a dedicated cooler for adult beverages, so you're not beyond repair
Solution is simple; Bring more Beer, bring more Friends, or meet more People...i don't subscribe to putting foreign objects in that cooler, it pollutes its purpose - Pretty soon you'll justify the need to put food in the snack drawer

[Drizzt]

This may be the most important discussion I've ever seen on the forum. Perhaps the problem is that you are taking beers. A couple of whisky bottles stuffed in tight with clothes don't break and you don't have to drink as much of it for the same effect. And you can take a flask to fill for Summit Celebration on hikes whereas beers get warm.



When I have taken beers I've never had them self destruct like that! Are you trying to win Baja when this happens?

[Jeffrey]

Dump the water and stuff the cooler full of the dirty clothes you worn for the previous few days.

[Orv]

Originally Posted by rltilley

The aluminum used in cans nowadays is pretty bad and I've had multiple cans of coke fail just sitting in a cupboard at home.

They've made the aluminum in carbonated beverage cans extremely thin to save on material costs. That's also why the lid is a smaller diameter than the body of the can -- the lid has to be thicker, so they make the thick part as small as possible.

It's not much of an exaggeration to think of these cans as aluminum balloons. Juice cans are significantly thicker and heavier because they don't have gas pressure supporting them from the inside.

I'd be tempted to fill the space between the cans and the lid with a folded towel or something, on the theory that the cans are getting lofted into the air inside the cooler and getting damaged when they land.

[Annie O]

Oh I love this thread- so full of practical pointers!!

Originally Posted by carringb

...Yes, I've had some pressurized beers afterwards, but my only casualties have been from beers rolling out the door, not inside a cooler!.

Well that’s easy carringb: Put the doors back on your van!

Here’s my new fav wine for traveling. And NO I don’t walk around chugging the whole can. Lasts me two evenings since I’m A lightweight