Heineken Serves Up Star-Shaped Beer Ice Cubes That Melt Twice As Slow

Ever wanted a cold lager but refused the idea of ice cubes diluting the beverage? Well, Heineken Laos may have overcome that problem by creating its own beer ice cubes that melt twice as slowly as regular ice.

The innovation, which was created in partnership with creative agency Wunderman Thompson Thailand, makes use of a new technology that produces yellow, star-shaped ice cubes that are 20% colder than the usual water cubes.

Intriguingly, transforming beer into ice isn’t as simple a process as it is with water. The company developed a blast-freezing technique to achieve this, allowing the drink to immediately freeze at -35°C (-31°F) without compromising its flavor.

According to Silverking Brewing, there are several factors to consider when freezing beer—including its alcohol content, how it’s stored, and the temperature at which it’s kept.

Typically, brews with a higher alcohol content will take a longer time to freeze, whereas those stored in glass bottles could be turned into blocks of ice more quickly.

Park Wannasiri, chief creative officer at Wunderman Thompson Thailand, told The Drinks Business that the idea behind the creative Heineken Star Ice was to embrace and reimagine the region’s “beer with ice” culture.

[via The Drinks Business and Ad Age, images via Wunderman Thompson]