My wonderful wife gave me this for Valentine’s Day.
Cute, right?
She’s very sweet to indulge my little hobby. She’s not into beer at all, but she humors me when I want to stop at a brewery or taproom during our travels, she nods politely and feigns interest when I excitedly pass along some cool (to me) beer news, and she’s always willing to give me a ride to and from the occasional festival.
And she gives me cool stuff like this.
I know what you’re thinking. “Quaint, kind of kitchy, has its charm…
But why are you writing about it?”
Glad you asked.
Announcing — The Bottle Cap Project: a Celebration of American Beer.
The first thing I thought when I got this beautiful piece of Americana was, “It would be really cool if I could fill it with bottle caps from breweries that actually represent the entire country.”
As you can see, the project’s already underway. Of course, the breweries represented so far are easily found in my local stores in the Bay Area. Filling out the spots elsewhere, especially in the East and South, is going to be a bit more difficult as most small breweries don’t distribute here.
That’s where you guys come in.
Brewers, wouldn’t you love the prestige of having one of your bottle caps prominently displayed in my dining room? Of course you would! Quite the feather in your cap, I would say. Think of the stories I can tell both my friends when I finally nag them enough to actually come over!
To that end, feel free to ship me an assortment (or even just one, I’m not greedy) of some of your finest offerings. Not only will you have the honor of being represented in my lovely home, but if it’s an especially tasty brew I’ll even post about it here, where it will be seen by an audience of tens!
I ask you, how could you possibly turn down an opportunity like this?
Now, if you want to cheap out and only send me the caps, it is of course your right to do so. I should advise you, though, that the chances of your brewery being featured in these pages will be greatly enhanced if there’s some product underneath those caps, if you get what I’m saying.
I’m sure some people will say this is just an obvious ploy to get free beer, especially things I can’t find on my local store shelves.
To that I answer — yes. Yes it is. Great work, Columbo.
But, I still think it’s a win-win. Brewers, you get (a little) more exposure for your brand, I get to try some great stuff I couldn’t otherwise get my hands on, and everyone gets the thrill of tracking the project’s progress as I post about it here on this very site!
[An aside — California, you are already well represented, and there are no spots on the “map” for Alaska and Hawaii (and as cool as my wife is, she wouldn’t dig me nailing bottle caps to the wall). So I’m afraid all of you guys are out. But, in the interest of fairness, if you want to send me entries anyway, I’ll find some way to fit you in here. Maybe I can find a “not pictured” category for you, or something.]
“Okay, you’ve convinced me, I’m in! How can I submit my entries?”
Another great question! To become part of this historic event, fill out the contact form or simply email me at dean[at]thebeerverse[dot]com. Once we arrange shipment, I’ll be proudly displaying your bottle cap and waxing poetic about your fine product in no time!
[Another aside — Nebraska brewers, my wife’s a Husker, and I’ve visited your beautiful state many times. I’m sure she would be extremely pleased if you were well represented in our home. Not that I’m playing favorites, but she might be able to influence me to maybe give you an extra spot or two. Just sayin’.]
[A third aside, last one I promise — states that border Nebraska, if you don’t want them to ace you out of spots, I suggest you get your stuff to me ASAP. Also just sayin’.]
Get your entries in quickly! At press time there are only 72 spots remaining, and with more than 5200 breweries in the U.S. now, they’re gonna fill up fast!
C’mon, it’ll be fun! Whaddya say? U-S-A! U-S-A!