Tool Shed Brewing | Red Rage | $11.99 for a half sack

[twitter]If wine tasting is bullshit, it would follow that beer tasting is the same. We either like something or we don’t. Few of us came the nuances of flavour in our meals or drinks. It’s either good, or bad.

Tool Shed Brewing‘s Red Rage is good.

The tasting notes on the side of the can say the beer is “dark red, roasty like coffee, toasty like bread.” Okay, I can feel that. It’s medium/dark beer that’s packs a bit of a kick at 5.6% abv. I had it alongside a barbecued porkchop which, according to the can, is exactly what I should have had.

And about those cans and the packaging (because really that’s what attracts people to a product) – they are great. The side of the can shows easy parings for the beer. Sliders show you how hoppy or dark the beer is. Even down to the Facebook and Twitter icons on the bottom, the guys have it right. How many times have you seen an ad with the Facebook logo, but no address? That’s like saying “call us for more information” without ever giving a phone number. The Tool Shed guys get the social stuff, but they don’t get websites. Their website is sadly lacking in product information and a brand backstory.

In fact, after cracking my second can of Red Rage, I fired off a tweet and saw the boys from the brewery were online. I had to ask them about the packaging they use to keep the 6 packs together. Instead of the flimsy rings we’re used to, these solid plastic pieces looked like they were locks to keep other people from stealing your beer. The plastic covers the entire lid, and has tighter holes between cans. I thought it was maybe to keep ducks from getting stuck, but there was another reason.

“keeps lids clean, stackable, easy to carry and recycled/recyclable,” tweeted the Tool Shed team. Oh, my wife loves that. She’s constantly wiping the cans of drinks spooked by the myth they’re covered in mouse droppings and rat urine. And the recyled claim? 96% of the plastic packaging is from recycled materials.

Awesome. You see? Beer tasting is bullshit. I liked the beer because it tasted fine, but I loved the beer because of the packaging, and the social connection they made online.

It’s all about the little things.

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