Beck's Edison Bottle: the first playable beer

The world’s first playable beer bottle was created for the Beck’s Record Label project by creative agency Shine Limited.  The Edison Bottle is inscribed with the single "Here She Comes" by New Zealand band Ghost Wave from their album Ages (Arch Hill Recordings) and can be "played on a specially-built device based on Thomas Edison’s original cylindrical phonograph."

As Shine Limited explains, "Making the world’s first playable beer bottle was a formidable technical challenge.  The clever people at Auckland firm Gyro Constructivists first had to design and build a record-cutting lathe, driven by a hard drive recording head.  Then they reinvented Edison’s original cylinder player, using modern materials and electronics and built to very fine tolerances.  The Edison Bottle made its public debut at SemiPermanent in Auckland in May to a standing ovation from the assembled media and design community."

As Shine Limited concludes the description of the project on Vimeo, "Considering how beer has influenced recorded music since then, this physical collaboration was very appropriate and long overdue."

Beck's Edison Bottle

A History of the Phonograph by British Pathé, c. 1930.

Watch Thomas Edison's Incredible Talking Machine, Time Magazine, June 23, 2010.