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What types of beer candles are out there?

So many to choose from, but what makes them different?

1. 

   Beer Bottle Candles.
   

   The beer bottle candle has been crowd pleaser for a few years. Etsy hosts many varieties of these beer candles. Beer bottle candles are constructed from recycled craft beer bottles. The top of the bottle is cut off, leaving a nice cylindrical vessel to pour the wax into. The label of the beer remains, making these candles unique in that they look pretty cool. You might think that these “beer candles” are scented to smell like the beer on the label, but they are not. You can choose from a variety of scents, but beer is not one of the choices.

2. Beer Mug Candles.
   

   Beer mug candles, also a favorite on Etsy, uses an actual glass beer mug. Usually, a light yellow colored gel wax is used to emulate “beer,” and a paraffin wax is used on top fashioned to look like the frothy head of the beer. Many of these beer mug candles are scented to smell like a basic beer scent. The beer mug candles is really more of a “novelty” gift, often referred to as a funny or gag gift. Most are very realistic looking and fun!

3. Beer CAN-dles.

   Etsy seems to be the place to find most of these beer candle varieties. The beer CAN-dle is very similar to the beer bottle candle but poured into a beer can.

4. Beer Candle 3-Pack.

   Out of the 3 beer candle types mentioned so far, the “3-Packs” are by far better quality. To us, they transcend the “crafting” category. These candles actually smell like beer. The scent choices are limited to the beloved IPA, Stout, and Pale Ale craft beer. The presentation and material quality of these beer candles are also by far superior to the above 3.

5. Barley & Hops Craft Candles.
   

   Of course, we are bias being beer candle crafters ourselves. When Marsha and I had the idea to create our own brand of craft beer candles, we had no idea anyone else was doing it. When we set the wheels in motion and had decided we would be moving forward with the idea, I started doing some research. much to my surprise, very few crafters and candlemakers were making beer candles that actually SMELLED like a craft beer!This was the entire premise of our idea. If you have never stepped foot in a microbrewery or sampled a local craft beer, you might not understand how important it was for us to make an authentic beer candle. We also took the time to read the reviews made by craft brew drinkers that had purchased a “3-pack.” Many reviews were very good, but many spoke to the fact that they didn’t quite smell like an actual craft brew. This is something that is very important to us, making a beer candle that smells like a high-quality craft beer. To be fair, some of our beer candles smell more authentic than others but overall, we are more than pleased with the results!

 

What’s on tap for Father’s Day?

Father’s Day shopping is always easier if the father figure in your life is a collector. My father (in the picture to the right)  is a doctor that loves doctor figurines, or so I thought. After years of opening doctor figurines every Christmas, Father’s Day and birthday – he finally had HAD enough. This display case that he had to buy to hold these figurines was spilling over. My father waited until I was 16 years old before he asked me to please NOT buy anymore figurines. Instead of feeling  discouraged, I breathed a sigh of relief. I truly believed that the world had completely run out of doctor figurines.

What came next hit me like a ton of rocks. That is, scotch on the rocks. My father was also a HUGE scotch drinker. Finally, something the world would NEVER run out of! Even if that did happen, there was an endless selection of Scotch paraphernalia to buy! Scotch glasses, Single Malt, Blended Malt, repeat.

So what does any of this have to do with “Father’s Day Beer Gifts?”

The Perfect Father’s Day Beer Gifts

Barley & Hops Craft Candles

If your Father, brother or husband is a craft beer lover, you have come to the right place. A craft beer lover is very much a “collector.” A collector of empty growlers, 22 oz bottle, beer caps and most importantly – craft beer.

If your craft beer lover is anything like my husband, he would prefer you first ask before buying just ANY brand or style of craft beer. I have tried choosing craft beers that I think my husband might like. My chances of success usually weigh in at the 50 / 50 mark.

One half of the time I am totally right-on with my craft brew choice, the other one half sounds something like, “Next time, please call me.”

If any of this sounds familiar, you will not go wrong with one of our craft brew candles. Think about it, 120 hours + of delectable, fine craft beer aroma. Please don’t confuse any of our brew scents with the interesting smells that come from the home brew lab (man-cave) after a long day of your beer lover brewing with his buddies. Barley & Hops Craft Candles candle-maker Marsha Flowers, will spend hours upon hours scent-matching some of the best smelling craft brews from around the world.

Husband Tested, Father Approved

Even though I know my husband and my children’s father would love it if I hooked him up with a few 22 ounces and a growler or three, he knows this is not quite an appropriate gift from his children. He does very much welcome Barley & Hops Craft Candles to scent decorate his office, man-cave and bedside table. So do his friends. As do my friend’s wives.

We promise our craft brew candles will render him drunk with happiness.

The good news? We have a variety of brew candles to choose from. Check them out here!  Dad will welcome his new craft brew candle collection!

Father’s Day Beer Gifts delivered to your front door. Bam! 

Local Craft Brew Love = Birth of KC Microbrew Craft Candle

Big Rip made it easy.

To start, I have a soft spot for North Kansas City, and the small businesses in it. My first home purchase was made in North Kansas City. I had a very happy life in NKC with my daughter. We spent many a weekend exploring the quaint small town, roaming in and out of the little shops, visiting with the owners and making frivolous purchases.

North Kansas City Hot Spots

North Kansas City is also the home of  Chappell’s Sports Museum and Restaurant. Chappell’s is a local favorite of North Kansas Citians and beyond. It’s cozy decor and sports memorabilia lining every square inch of the walls and ceiling made it the perfect spot for me and my little girl to enjoy an amazing burger.

The Big Rip Brewing Company

Chappell’s isn’t the only treasure to be found in NKC. If you head down the street a couple of blocks and made a few turns, you will run into Big Rip Brewing Company. This brewery is very hard to miss. The front door exterior side of the building is painted an industrial slate grey. The Big Rip Brewing Company hanging sign is located just above on the west side corner of the building. Just around the corner is a spacious outdoor tasting pavilion. The exterior walls are red and distinctive. A great spot to enjoy some local KC craft brew.

The brewery was closed that day for brewing so I was instructed to enter through the side door located at the outside pavillion. Upon entry, I spied a couple of high-top bar tables, a foosball table and several large, silver brewing tanks. A voice beckoned me to the area beside the brewing tanks. I was pretty excited because the whole brewing process is very fascinating to me.

Around the corner were a couple of dudes that appeared to be stirring a huge pot of something very steamy.

“I bet we look like we’re stirring a huge witches brew!” said one of the guys. I chuckled and said, “You look more like a couple of Frat boys preparing for a hazing, hovering over a huge boiling pot of beer with your aerodynamic beer paddles.”

I don’t think they liked that comparison. I changed the subject by asking if they minded if I snapped a few pictures. I tried not to bother them too much as I could tell, by the looks on their faces, that this was a very important step in the craft brew making process. When they finished, they both introduced themselves to me. I had been talking to brewer and owner, Josh Collins for a few days, so I knew one of them. I was introduced to Kyle, the brew assistant, or the other dude stirring the pot. They were both extremely friendly and eager to answer all of my questions about the brewing process.

See more images from Big Rip Brewing Company in our gallery or below this article.

Sampling the Barley & Hops Craft Brew Candles

I was excited to share our brew candles with they guys. They took turns sniffing and offering up opinions and guesses as to what brew we might have been trying to emulate. Just like a brewer, our scentmaster and candlemaker has always been careful not to share too many Barley & Hops Craft Candle trade secrets when we were on our KC Brewery field trips. I did though share a few itty-bitty secrets as our scentmaster Marsha Flowers was unable to make the meeting!

Shhhhhhhh….

Sampling a few Big Rip Craft Brews

Josh poured me 3 of his favorite brews that were currently on tap. I took great measures to really get a good and seemingly awkward sniff from each of the flight glasses. In my head, I was really missing the presence of Marsha but it ended up being somewhat easier than I thought to decipher differences in the 3 different brew aromas.

My selection:

• Raspberry Gluten Free
• Zelda’s Vanilla Cream Ale
• Something Else

As much as I’d really like to tell you what the 3rd brew was, I am going to hold off. I will tell you though – I can confidently say that this final craft brew knocked my mismatched zebra printed socks completely off. I knew IMMEDIATELY this was the one. The last time I was that confident with my choice was when I was picking out my wedding dress. This choice was definitely not as stressful.

The Big Rip Brewing Company brew that we chose is one of their seasonal brews. It is also an award winner. Josh had a little bit left to share with me to use for the scent matching. I couldn’t wait to get this beauty back to Marsha.

Late-June Big Rip Brewing Company craft brew candle launch party

Josh said they wouldn’t be brewing this beer until late-June. We thought it would be the perfect time to introduce this amazing KC local brew candle. Stay tuned for more product party launch information. We do know it will be held at Big Rip Brewing Company located in North Kansas City.

Pick up a 32-ounce Growler for $11. I promise you, it’s worth it.

Read more about Big Rip Brewing Company at their website.

Don’t have any plans for the weekend, do yourself a favor and visit Josh Collins and his team at Big Rip. We might even see you there!

Cheers!

Beer Candles – Smells Like a Winner!

If you are anything like us, there is nothing better than chilling out with a new brew, conversating with some good friends and enjoying the amazingness of spring from one of our favorite local spots.

This is exactly how and where the idea of brew candles was born. Luckily, one of MY good friends is not only a craft beer drinker but also one of the most amazing candle makers in the midwest. When the idea hit us, it was almost like we had been hit in the face with a “duh” stick. But as they say, things happen for a reason and timing is everything.

Ever since that magical “duh” night, our heads have been spinning like a Kansas tornado. So many ideas and opportunities have been presented to us that we didn’t even plan, imagine or anticipate happening!

A Marriage of Great Taste & Scent

Craft Beer + Beer Candles

In the last week, the idea of hooking up with local Kansas City breweries was born. It is such a wonderful opportunity for us to team-up with other like minded KC small business owners and entrepreneurs and share our love for local craft brew and microbreweries.

Meeting with local brewmasters and learning more about the brewing process is helping us better understand the science and art of producing a great craft beer. In turn, we can take this knowledge and apply it to the science and art of producing a more accurately craft brew scented candle.

The Beer Candle Journey Continues

….with a little help from our Kansas City brewmaster friends.

We invite you to tag along with us on this journey. We promise you will NOT be disappointed. I mean, come on – beer candle product launches at local Kansas City breweries and “to-die-for” beer candle sniffs?

Yeah, thought so!

Cheers!

Amazing Craft Brew Selection, Super Nice Guys

We had the opportunity to meet-up with Rafi and Travis at Torn Label Brewing Company . Our Mission: Find the PERFECT brew for our first KC local beer candle! We felt especially privileged to be invited in on an off day. Basically, we had the bar and the beer to ourselves!

Torn Label Taproom

Walking into the Torn Label Taproom almost felt like we were entering through a secret passageway as the main entrance was off to the side of the building. We walked up a wooden staircase to a nice and airy outdoor tasting pavilion. When we opened the door we immediately noticed all of the wood: wooden display cases for merch, wooden tables, wooden placard with brews on tap, wooden walls and last but not least, brew taps that were constructed of old wooden chair legs! The feel was cozy and warm.

The main bar was centrally located with tons of seating. Additional seating was available around the bar area as well. Yep, you guessed it – all hand-crafted out of various colors and forms of wood. One of the coolest decor decisions was leaving the production area visible through an indoor glass window panel, leaving the brewing process open for beer enthusiasts to experience.

Torn Label Beer Selection

After checking the place out, it was time to get down to business…craft beer tasting. (How sad for us, huh?) Rafi presented us with a gorgeous flight of their current brew selection.

This is what we were there to do. Sip and sniff. Sniff and Sip. Find the craft brew for our Torn Label beer candle.

Rafi walked us through each brew, explaining the brew process and ingredients of each brew. He was the perfect host!

Our Torn Label Craft Beer Flight:

Alpha Pale – A sessionable beer for hop-heads, this lower ABV pale is hopped to the max with juicy Pacific Northwest hops.

House Brew – A coffee wheat stout brewed with Sumatran Toddy from our friends at Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters.

Monk & Honey – This Belgian inspired ale features local honey, a soft sweetness, and just the right touch of spice from the yeast.

Hang ‘Em High IPA – Our rotating IPA with an ever-changing hop assortment, this batch features Centennial and Falconer’s Flight hops for a floral, citrus-y finish.

Craft Brew Candle Choosing – Not An Easy Task

After tasting and sniffing each of the brews, we realized this local brewery scent matching project was going to be harder than we thought. Each brew was delectable and carried a unique scent of it’s own. Whenever I had thought I found “the perfect brew” to scent match, I tried another.

Narrowing it down to our  two favorites was quite a task but we think we found a (as Marsha so eloquently put it) winner-winner chicken-dinner!

The guys were excited about our Kansas City Brewery scent matching series but are taking a little time to really hash out the details AND choose which brew they want to use! We plan on catching up with them later this week. Until then, you will just have to wait! OK, just kidding – we aren’t telling a single soul which Torn Label brew we decided on scent matching until our launch party to be hosted by us at Torn Label Brewing Company.

If you haven’t had a chance to sniff our beer candles, this is your chance! Also, if you haven’t yet tried Torn Label, BONUS! We promise you will love the new brew candle and love these super cool guys as well!

This is SO on!

Cheers!

The Torn Label Brewery, Kansas City, MO