The cornerstone of any worthy gathering of friends, or uniting of the clans involves good food and ice cold brews. To ensure your brews retain their frosty goodness during your gathering, our editors set out in search of the Holy Grail of insulated pints and tumblers.
About the Test…
Man has been crafting vessels for their beer as long as beer has existed. The difference between now and then was that the Vikings, Warriors and Kings of yore could rely upon inhospitable climates to keep their mead icy cold. As king of your castle, you deserve better than a beautifully crafted micro-brew that hits lukewarm status in T minus 2 minutes.
The reality is that great beer deserves a good home and sadly, you’re still pouring golden goodness into plastic red cups – a darn near criminal action. So as a follow up to our recent Growler Showdown, we set out to find the best insulated vessels for micro-brew enthusiasts.
Each of the insulated vessels reviewed features food-grade stainless steel that won’t break like glass or end up in a landfill like single-use plastic cups. So you not only get a vessel that keeps your brews as cold as a mountain stream, but also keeps mother nature clean as well.
We judged each tumbler on an array of criteria including aesthetics, design, durability and of course insulating properties. For our durability test, we conducted a series of drop tests from 36 inches (the height of your average pub table) and six feet. Then we tossed the insulated tumblers down a shale scree slope over, and over, and over again. But enough of the details… let’s get into the results.
STANLEY-PMI Classic Vacuum Pint
From the vintage utilitarian hammertone finish, the STANLEY badge and of course, the legendary performance, the Classic Vacuum Pint brings top shelf style to the spirits category. Naturally 100% BPA-Free, taste-free stainless steel not only ensures your brew always tastes tap fresh, but won’t rust over time – which is good because this pint intends on coddling your craft brewed goodness year after year, generation after generation.
Vacuum-sealed, double-wall construction provides excellent insulation and locks in a steady temperature. Even the press-fit lid respects the micro-distilled goodness inside your pint with an opening that allows you to experience the aroma and body of your drink of choice. Pint inspired lip makes for easy drinking and when you add in the integrated bottle opener, it’s no wonder the Classic Vacuum Pint earned our Editor’s Choice award.
Yeti Rambler
Yeti intentionally over engineered their Ramblers to bring you a tumbler that keeps your beverage of choice “As Cold As Science Allows”. Turns out all that over engineering paid off. Throughout our testing, the Yeti Rambler (available in 20oz and 30oz size) was our undisputed ‘KING OF COLD’ keeping our Blue Moon fresh, cold and ready to drink even four hours after the initial pour. As an added bonus, the Ramblers include a crystal clear lid, so you can gauge the level of your frosty beverage as it slides down the pipe.
The Yeti Rambler also earned bonus points for being the best utility player in the field in addition to being the most durable option by far. However, the flipside of that versatile design was a bulky in-hand feel and a narrow opening on the lid which detracted from it’s value as a beer-first choice for our connoisseurs.
Innate Gear Saison Beer Sleeve
In designing the Saison Beer Sleeve, Innate asked one simple question: If you’re drinking a good beer, why not enjoy it? So every detail put into this insulated tumbler is designed to enhance the drinking experience. An ergonomic lower area offers a fit that virtually melts away in the palm of your hand, making it the best in-hand experience of the group. The upper section of the tumbler is a modified tulip shape which accentuates a veritable cornucopia of beer types.
Innate worked hard to duplicate the same mouth feel that you get from a pint glass while avoiding the chunky lip all too common with double walled stainless construction. It may sound like a small detail, but it all pays off when you shout “PROST!” and bring that tumbler (also available in 22oz Imperial size) to your lips. All the while, Innate’s unique double-wall vacuum construction keeps your golden goodness crisp and cold – just as it was intended to be.
Klean Kanteen Insulated Tumbler
As the original innovators in the insulated tumbler space, Klean Kanteen’s experience paid dividends for their Insulated Pint. Even without a lid, the brands vacuum insulation and electropolished stainless steel combined to protect the taste and temperature of our Belgian-style witbier for hours. Its classic silhouette attracted plenty of attention while the wide (2.9 inch) mouth made for smooth and easy drinking.
Like the Rambler, the Klean Kanteen wasn’t designed specifically with craft beer in mind. As such it has a slightly chunkier lip and lacks a design that purposefully accentuates the aromas and flavors naturally found in many of today’s craft beers.
Hydro Flask True Pint
The new True Pint stands ready to deliver you from a purgatory of sipping lukewarm beer. A slightly steeped interior wall allows beer aficionados to enjoy the full aroma of your well-hopped heaven. The signature Hydro Flask powder coating not only feels at home in your hand, but comes in an array of colors so you never suffer the indignity of drinking from your brother-in-laws cup.
Unlike any other vessel we tested, the True Pint is the only option that offers a stacking step inside the pint. This clever design enables your True Pint to be nestled and then easily separated which means you save room in your kitchen cupboard. And despite being the lightest option in our stable of tumblers, it readily withstood the beating we dished out. From in-hand feel to drinkable lip, the True Pint offers the closest experience to drinking from a true pint glass – minus the heft of your local watering hole’s glassware.
Making the Right Choice…
Much like any product, choosing the right pint or tumbler is a process of personal matchmaking. The option you choose will depend upon anticipated use, price and the style that suits your fancy.
For it’s impressive blend of durability, modern performance and iconic styling, the Stanley Classic Vacuum Pint earned our Editors’ Choice Award. And while Stanley takes home our top honors, the good news is that whichever of these insulated options you choose, you’ll never have to settle for drinking from a poor man’s pint again. Moreover, you’ll have a quality partner for your beloved brew for years to come.
*Gumption Gear Review received the product samples featured from the participating brands at no cost, and receives no monetary compensation for this or any related review. The items featured were provided solely in return for our honest views and opinions.
*Exit Notes: Each of the insulated vessels featured are versatile enough house your morning coffee or afternoon smoothie. However, for the purposes of this review, each vessel was tested and evaluated based solely upon it’s usage as a pint or tumbler for beer.
On Insulation: Our editor’s replicated the insulation test multiple times to ensure accuracy. For each test, our ‘constants’ were the location, type of beer (Blue Moon) and the temperature at which it was poured (a frosty 45 degrees). The only variable that changed was the temperature of the room. While the room temperature slightly altered the final temps, it did not alter the end results.
On Durability: It is worth noting that each vessel exceeded our expectations during the initial series of drops from both 36 inches and six feet heights. While some minor damage was incurred during the first round, more significant structural damage did not occur until the later rounds of testing in the outdoor environment.