The best accessories for beer drinkers

The best way to keep beer cold

Why you’ll love it: Yeti’s Colster keeps beer cold for hours on end, it also cuts down on waste, and is dishwasher safe.

Beer coozies are everywhere these days. You probably have at least a dozen stuffed into drawers, hanging out in backpacks and lingering in the space under the back seat of your car where you dare not go. So why would you buy a new one? Because it’s better, that’s why.

Yeti’s colster keeps beer cooler way longer than any foam or plastic coozie, and unlike those disposable beer jackets, this one will last far longer than one afternoon by the pool. We loved how long it kept beer cool on hot days, and the added width of the colster also prevented beer loss to spillage.

As one Amazon shopper put it, “If you own a boat, you need this dude. With its wide base and low center of gravity, your chances of sitting in a puddle of pilsner are greatly decreased. Also, stainless steel is great in direct sun as it reflects the rays.” Through months of testing the Colster, we didn’t lose a single drop.

If you happen to prefer drinking beer from bottles, Yeti has you covered, the innovative rubber gasket holds your bottle in place below the neck. Now your beer is colder, your bottle balances on the ground more easily, and you’re less likely to break it. Perhaps that is why one reviewer described the Colster as “fully sick” and added “this is going to be a prezzy for all beverage loving folk in my life.”

In all seriousness, this is the best coozie I’ve ever used. It takes a lot of design flair to innovate something better and worth buying from a product which has existed for decades and is generally given away for free. Yes, this is a twenty five dollar coozie, and yes that seems expensive, but I have purchased these for my father, father-in-law, and friends, and they never fail to show me they’re still using them years later every time we get together to drink outdoors.

Pros: Keeps beer cold for hours, holds bottles and cans

Cons: Cost

The best growler

Why you’ll love it: Otterbox’s stainless steel growler keeps your beer cold wherever you want to take it.

Sometimes you’re enjoying a brew so much that you don’t want to leave it at the bar. But with a lot of craft beer that's only offered on tap, you can’t just pick up a six pack. Growlers are a great way to take a few pints home or to a party, but many of them are made of glass and tend to be fragile. Otterbox’s Elevation 64 Growler is not only made from virtually unbreakable stainless steel, it also insulates your beer to keep it colder for longer.

I found the Elevation’s 64-ounce capacity just right. It’s enough for four 16-ounce pours, which makes a nice amount for sharing an interesting beer with a couple of friends. The large volume also makes it a great choice for people who work outside and want to bring cold water along with them on hot days. The secure lid keeps your beer cold and prevents your precious beer from spilling on the way to your party.

The Elevation is more expensive than glass growlers, but for the money, you get a growler which won’t shatter and leave your car full of glass or hold onto residual flavors. It also does double duty as a great insulated water bottle as buyers noted. And, being brand neutral means most bars should fill it and you’ll have plenty of space for stickers from your favorite breweries.

Pros: Indestructible, insulated

Cons: Cost

The best pint glass

Why you’ll love it: Hydro Flask’s 16-ounce glass combines the feel of glass with insulation and indestructibility, so it’ll be your beer buddy for life.

We don’t really put enough thought into what we drink our beer from. Often it’s a standard shaker pint glass, a mason jar, or even a red plastic cup. But glassware can impact flavor and it certainly influences temperature. Whenever I pour myself a cold one at home, or out on the trail, I like to keep it cold by drinking from a Hydro Flask True Pint.

The True Pint isn’t just your run of the mill stainless steel pint glass. It uses double wall vacuum insulation to keep your drink cold, which has the added benefit of preventing condensation or temperature transfer, so you won’t need to use a coaster.

Rather than a bulbous lip, the True Pint’s rim is gently contoured and feels just like a quality pint glass. Amazon shoppers also liked the textured exterior, which is grippy and never feels too cold to the touch.

The True Pint has a ridge about two inches from the bottom to allow it to be stacked and stored. This, combined with its virtually indestructible construction, means that you can store and take your True Pint glasses anywhere without worrying about them breaking, meaning you can enjoy a beer at the pool or beach (if it’s legal) where glass vessels are not allowed.

Pros: Indestructible and stackable, keeps your beer cold

Cons: Some people still prefer glass to metal containers

The best picnic set

Why you’ll love it: With Opinel’s picnic set, you can guarantee that you’ll be the one classing up the joint with your knives and chopping board.

Do you know who the most popular person at the beer festival is? It’s not the person with the beer, everyone has beer, it’s the person with the foresight to have arrived prepared for the occasion with a selection of meats and cheeses. If you want to have the kind of friend who makes friends through charcuterie, you’ll want to buy your drinking buddies this Opinel Nomad picnic set.

Opinel is one of France’s most loved companies, and its knives have probably sliced more Brie than any other brand. With this set, which includes a serrated blade, a smaller non-serrated blade, a wine bottle opener, and a peeler, you can expand your range way past soft cheese.

Buyers love the quality of the knives and I found that, despite extensive testing, I could not out snack the sharpness of these blades. The serrated knife made short work of bread, the non-serrated blade took care of everything from cheese to chorizo, and the wine bottle opener made short work of fancy beer bottles with corks. The cutting board worked well to stop slightly inebriated testers resorting to using their thighs as an alternative.

There’s also a peeler and, if I’m honest, I didn’t use that very much, but maybe this will make your day if you don’t like apple skins or enjoy cooking potatoes while camping.

My wife and I have picnics pretty regularly, about once a week in the summer. They’re a great way to go on a cheap date in a special place and not have to share that space with other diners. There’s nothing more romantic than a drink and a well thought out meal on top of a hill as the sun sets. Do you need a special kit to do that? No. But is it a thoughtful gift for someone you want to spend more time with? Yes.

If you’re looking for the gift to get someone who has everything, this could be the perfect option. Not only do they almost certainly not have a folding peeler, they also don’t have an excuse to bring a picnic everywhere they go.

The Nomad set is contained in a folding microfiber towel, which means it’s easily thrown into a bag and is ready to deploy when the opportunity to make friends with a stranger through the offering of snacks presents itself. Perhaps you’ll even meet someone who knows what to do with that peeler.

Pros: Well constructed, makes it easier to bring a picnic

Cons: Seemingly random inclusion of a peeler

The best soft-sided cooler for beer enthusiasts

Why you’ll love it: The Filson soft-sided cooler looks like you inherited it from your grandfather, but the classic design uses modern technology to create a practical cooler.

Soft-sided coolers are really popular these days, but 10 years ago, they didn’t exist. This tends to mean they all look the same, with most of them attempting to replicate the original Yeti design. Next time you’re tailgating or at a popular fishing spot, look around and you’ll see what I mean.

Filson isn’t a company to chase trends, but it is a company that makes excellent outdoor and fishing gear. The cooler uses a heavy-duty twill fabric and high-quality leather and brass zippers to give a really classy feel. Looking at this cooler, you’d think it was a well-loved duffel or boot bag. But inside, you’ll find a pleasant surprise.

Instead of old boots, there’s an insulated waterproof lining with enough space for a couple of six-packs, and a structured base to keep it from falling over. The Filson cooler will be a great companion for days down by the river or afternoon barbecues. Because of the quality of the construction and rugged materials, this cooler will probably be keeping your beers cold for decades.

Insider Picks guides reporter Owen Burke is a fan of this cooler, and Travel and Leisure reviewed the Filson cooler and said it was “all about subtlety, without giving up quality.” Sometimes it pays to be subtle when carrying your beer around and sometimes you just don’t want gear that screams, “I am new and highly advanced” everywhere you go.

Filson has done a great job of taking a modern product and giving a hardy and classic look that should be at home in any outdoor setting. I get the feeling that this cooler could live in the back of my truck for years and hold plenty of good memories along with those beers, and that’s worth paying for.

Pros: Classic looks, keeps beer cold

Cons: Cost

The best beer bottle opener

Why you'll love it: Sitting lightly and comfortably in the palm, Thirsty Rhino's Rubber-Coated Suma Bottle Opener is all you need and nothing you don't.

Where ergonomics are concerned, I challenge you to find a better bottle opener than Thirsty Rhino’s rubber-coated Suma. Long, wide, and vinyl-wrapped, it’s easy to handle, and if you’re playing bartender, your hand will open many a case of brew before carpal tunnel takes hold.

Thirsty Rhino’s Suma bottle opener is made of 18/8 stainless steel, which is more or less rust-free. In other words: It’s safe on the beach.

While it’s not magnetic, it will cling to your magnetic knife strip, which is probably where you want to keep it anyway if it’s not going into a drawer. The beauty is that either way, it’s not taking up much space.

If you're looking for something to try and class-up the joint, have a look at Laguiole. — Owen Burke

Pros: Works, stain-resistant

Cons: Not magnetic

The best way to keep your beer carbonated

Why you'll love it: What good is a beer if it's warm and flat? The Bottle Keeper will keep your beer cold for much of the day and carbonated even longer.

Bottle Keeper's simple yet effective bottle holder works like a water canteen, only it twists open at the base so that you can slide a longneck beer bottle into it. Inside the chamber is a coozie that helps with insulation.

What really thrills me, though, is the lid, which screws back over the barely protruding mouth of the bottle to create a solid, though not perfect, seal. Shake the thing up a bit, and you'll see some foam when you reopen it, but even still, your beer will remain in pretty good shape for hours.

During testing, I reopened it after eight hours and was still pleased enough with its performance to drink the less-than-cold lager I'd left inside. That, for me, is a win, and it certainly outdoes the age-old silver spoon in the fridge trick. — Owen Burke

Pros: Lightweight, keeps carbonation all day

Cons: The coozie lining could extend the whole bottle and create better insulation