We always love to see how versatile our flight case components can be and this month, we’re shining the spotlight on a very unique build indeed!
Meet “Alfred” - the mobile Guinness Bar in a flight case! This handsome chap was created by the touring band Cypher16 to ensure on-demand access to their beloved drink. It was through the magic of social media that we discovered their ingenious contraption. We talked to Vocalist / Guitarist Jack Doolan who originally sent us the picture on Instagram to learn more about Alfred.
Hi Jack! When we saw Alfred, we just had to ask - what’s his story?
Well, Alfred was born back in 2013 as a unique mobile flight-cased Guinness bar. We were fed up with being served bad Guinness and liked the idea of having our own bar on tour with us! It travels around with Cypher16 usually in the band's dressing room, but occasionally makes an appearance up on stage too.
So Alfred is a true rock star?
Yes! We originally intended to keep it just as a private bar, but the attention it receives wherever we go pushed us to start up a separate business so in 2019 Flightcase Bars was created. We take them around festivals and food shows and it all took off so quickly that we’re in the process of having a second bar built. It’s called Henry the Hophouse bar and will serve Guinness lager beer called HopHouse 13. Since Alfred’s colour scheme is black (like Guinness), we decided to make Henry yellow to match the new beer’s colour a little more closely.
And who builds these unique cases?
The guys over at Castle Cases, Adam and Marc. They’re really good at getting it all up and running quickly with a lead time of around a week. They use Penn Elcom for the aluminium extrusions and all the fixtures and fittings: wheels, catches, handles, ball corners and brackets. Once we take delivery of the case, we get a Guinness engineer round to have a look at and install the equipment needed to make it into a mobile bar.
Does it require any special components?
The main issue with a case of this type is the weight. With a full barrel of beer and a water cooler inside, it weighs in at just under the 200kg mark. To stop the case from splitting in half, we give it extra support with a third set of wheels in the middle of the unit and two sets of handles at each end.
Sounds like Alfred’s a great case for great beer!
Well, one of the unexpected results of Alfred the Guinness Bar is just how good the Guinness really is! The build’s compact nature means the beer lines are extremely short - less than one metre - so there’s rarely any beer sitting around in the line going off. You will find this in pubs that have barrel rooms some distance away from their actual bar area. We have therefore coined the phrase that Alfred the Guinness Bar serves 'the best pint this side of Dublin' and this has been attested to time and again while out on the road or at shows - in particular by Irish patrons! If it can pass their test, then we're happy!
We’ll definitely have to experience Alfred’s Guinness first-hand! Thanks to Jack, Cypher16, Castle Cases and of course, Alfred for a great story! Check out Flightcase Bars to see more over at www.flightcasebars.com.
