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Free Beer That's Free as in Speech 379

Posted by Zonk from the best-of-both-worlds dept.
darkonc writes "The CBC has notes and an interview with Dane Rasmus Nielsen who decided to reduce the confusion between 'free as in speech' and 'free as in beer' by making a beer free -- in speech. The result is Vores Oel, an open source beer. The CBC site includes the recipe for the beer which is made with Guarana beans, and gives it a bit of a caffeine-like hit. The danish site downloads include the label for the beer (which is also Open Source)."
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Free Beer That's Free as in Speech More

Free Beer That's Free as in Speech

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  • Wait... (Score:5, Funny)

    by DanielNS84 ( 847393 ) <DanielNS84@NOspAM.gmail.com> on Monday July 25, 2005 @02:36AM (#13154307) Homepage
    But will he send it to me free like a Ubuntu CD?

  • reduce the confusion? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by xlyz ( 695304 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @02:36AM (#13154308) Journal
    ... or increase it???
    • There's no way he was being sarcastic!

    • Re:reduce the confusion? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by hobbit ( 5915 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @04:38AM (#13154673)

      Yup. Not that it isn't already confusing enough:

      Me to friend not well-versed in libre: "No, that's free as in beer."
      Friend: "Beer isn't free."
      Me: "Well, no. But when it is, it's free-as-in-beer."
      Friend: "Er, right. Suddenly everything becomes clear-as-in-mud."
      Me: "Actually it recently got a bit more complicated..."

      Free-as-in-speech beer is all well and good, but I'd really like to see some of this free-as-in-beer beer that everyone talks about.

      • Friend: "Er, right. Suddenly everything becomes clear-as-in-mud." Me: "Actually it recently got a bit more complicated..."

        No, that usually happens by about Beer 9.0.

      • I realize you're (attempting to :-) be funny, but it really is not very complicated. Unless you've got really braindead friends it should be possible to get the idea across to them that the main idea is freedom, as in the oposite of slavery, the oposite of imprisonment, the oposite of being restrained. And not "free" as in "at no monetary cost".

  • It can't be open source (Score:5, Funny)

    by WillerZ ( 814133 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @02:36AM (#13154310) Homepage
    It's already version 1.0.

    If this were in the true open-source spirit it'd be 0.99_rc3_beta1.1 at most.

  • Free beer is one thing (Score:5, Funny)

    by hobotron ( 891379 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @02:37AM (#13154311)

    Trusting the Danish for your free beer is quite another.

    *ducks*

  • Open Source Beer? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by silvertear72 ( 899704 )
    So...is there some kind of General Public License for beer similar to the GNU?
  • As everyone knows free beer will make you drink more and get drunk. When you get drunk you will speak more freely. So it will be free speach by free beer. How does this help anyone?

    Except that it helps us get drunk, and that's not a bad thing, is it? ;D

  • The label... (Score:5, Funny)

    by aaza ( 635147 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @02:39AM (#13154321)
    But is the label free as in beer, or free as in speech?

    • (shouldn't reply to own post blah, blah)

      And now that beer is free as in speech, what can we use to mean free as in beer?

      • Re:The label... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by miyako ( 632510 ) <miyako.gmail@com> on Monday July 25, 2005 @02:56AM (#13154390) Homepage Journal
        I suggest "free as in lunch", I think it might really be better than "free as in beer" ever was anyway, because it relates back to "there's no such thing as a free lunch" and basically re-enforces the idea that "free as in speech" = good, "free as in lunch" = be cautious.

        • Re:The label... (Score:3, Insightful)

          by patio11 ( 857072 )
          In the real world, one of the selling points of OSS is that its free-as-in-beer. The whole "You get a software system to do what you mean for NO MONEY" thing is a major driver to adopter (particularly in my own workplace, where we're frequently advising third world governments which don't exactly have large technology budgets). Why would you want to tell people "Hah, the number one reason you want to use OSS is a mirage! Its too good to be true! Sucker! You can't actually download Linux off of the Inte

  • Freedom (Score:2, Redundant)

    by KrisCowboy ( 776288 )
    Freedom - free as in free beer and free as in free speech. I bet RMS is happy.

  • Wired (Score:3, Informative)

    by moyet ( 148706 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @02:45AM (#13154344) Homepage
    Wired had the same story a couple of days ago. Their article is a bit longer and with a bit more background.
  • Now, I have to admit that this is a really cool idea! Free as in speech-beer.

    But, did anyone else notice that the recipe provided on the CBC website was somewhat lacking? I mean: How much 55-60 degree water? What kind of filter? How much yeast?

    I'd love to try this, but I can't seem to find a complete version of the recipe. Can anyone who speaks Danish tell me if a more complete recipe is availble on the site? Cheers!

    • DO NOT follow their directions (Score:5, Informative)

      by IvyMike ( 178408 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @02:56AM (#13154389)
      The process of brewing beer is easy, but not quite THAT easy.

      A good introduction to brewing is How To Brew [howtobrew.com] by John Palmer. The entire 1st edition of the book is available on the web for free at the URL above. (Perhaps predictably, it's free as in beer, not as in speech :)

    • Re:Somewhat Lacking? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Gantoris ( 442791 )
      Unless you are already a homebrewer, don't try this recipe - it's a difficult grain recipe, and looking at the recipe, will not will not be a fantastic beer.

      If you are interested in starting with the hobby (and I recommend you do, you'll never look back), go to your local home brew shop and grab a starter kit, you will make some pretty good beer - certianly better than that recipe will get you.

      Once you have made up a few batches, add some Gurana to a recipe you like and you will have a cafinated beer

      • Re:Somewhat Lacking? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by grozzie2 ( 698656 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @03:44AM (#13154531)
        Unless you are already a homebrewer, don't try this recipe - it's a difficult grain recipe, and looking at the recipe, will not will not be a fantastic beer.

        A fantastic beer is all a matter of personal preference. The history of beer in north america was changed dramatically by prohibition. During that period, they were brewing awful stuff, and serving it very very green. What was discovered, if you chill the beer till it's 'cold', folks liked it better. If you look into the specific reason why, it's kind of hillarious. A liquid chilled the way north americans prefer beer (ice cold), will numb many of the tastebuds when it flows over the tongue. Those are specifically the buds that react to the flavour of yeast. When prohibition ended, the brewing industry held onto this concept, because it allows one to serve a green beer, and nobody will taste the yeast. Ever notice how much the industry spends promoting 'cold beer'? That simply because they know, if folks are drinking it chilled, they can sell a beer that's got a horrible yeast flavour, and nobody will notice.

        The recipe in question as given on the website will produce a very interesting beer, but, its definitely a european beer. That means it should be served just below room temp, not well chilled, and, it does need to be fully and properly cured, to get rid of the yeast flavours. the majority of the flavour from this particular beer will be lost if served chilled the north american way.

        If you are doing your own brews, it's a very interesting experiment. Make up a traditional european beer, then try 2 bottles side by side. Chill one 'the north american way', and treat the other exactly the way you would treat a good red wine (8 to 12 degrees below room temp). The chilled variant will taste awful, the room temp bottle will have a host of interesting flavours. Repeat the process with an american beer, and you'll find the room temp bottle will have a horrible yeasty aftertaste, which you dont notice when trying the chilled bottle.

        But, that's the beauty of open source beer :) for our north american folks that prefer ice cold beer, they can fork the recipe, and refine it for one that has acceptable flavours when served chilled, and disregard the yeast artifacts, the the chilled serving will hide them.

        • Re:Somewhat Lacking? (Score:3, Informative)

          by CagedBear ( 902435 )

          "The history of beer in north america was changed dramatically by prohibition. During that period, they were brewing awful stuff, and serving it very very green. What was discovered, if you chill the beer till it's 'cold', folks liked it better. ...beer (ice cold), will numb many of the tastebuds..."

          Ah Bologna. Cold beer in the US dates back at least to the mid 1800's where they used ice houses, especially in the hot west to keep beer cold through the summer. It was hot and it was dusty. And the townsfo

      • Sounds like it's already the Linux of beers, then.

        Hard to set up, isn't that good, and you can add something to something more mainstream to make it do the same thing!

        (just kidding!)

    • GPLed Mead (Score:5, Interesting)

      by jd ( 1658 ) <imipakNO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Monday July 25, 2005 @04:00AM (#13154575) Homepage Journal
      The following recipe is mine (mine! mine!) and I am releasing it under the GPL. For those unfamiliar with Mead, it is a honey-wine that dates back something like 6,000 years to either Greece or Cyprus. It has been blamed on various Gods over time and is even in the English language (honeymoon refers to the practice of getting sloshed on Mead for one lunar month after a marriage.)


      Ingredients per gallon of water (scale as appropriate):

      • 4 lbs. of any light-color honey
      • 3 acorns (crushed)
      • 1/4 pint of extra-strong tea
      • Juice of two medium-sized lemons
      • 3-4 tbsp malt extract
      • 1 sachet of Mead or Champagne Yeast
      • 2 x 1 gallon brewing jar
      • One airlock
      • Pint jug
      • Wine siphoning kit


      Method:


      Boil the acorns in a 1/4 pint of water, until the water turns yellow. Strain out the acorns. Boil the gallon of water separately, then let it cool slightly. Add the honey, tea, the water from the acorns and the lemon juice. Stir gently. It is recommended to remove the scum off the top, but I never do. Allow the water to cool to just above blood-warm and pour all but 1/4 pint into a brewing jar.


      Heat 1/2 pint of water in a jug until blood-warm and dissolve into it the maltose. Add the yeast and stir. Let to sit until the yeast is active and a good froth has formed.


      Pour the yeast mix into the brewing jar, then rinse the jug with the remaining 1/4 pint to get the remaining yeast. Also pour into the brewing jar. Shake the brewing jar to ensure a good mix, but not so much as to lose any of the mixture out of the top.


      Fill the air-lock with water (assuming it is a type that uses water) and stopper the brewing jar. Place somewhere warm (most yeasts do best around 78'F). Regardless of what anyone else says, I do recommend direct sunlight.


      Wait until fully fermented, then use the wine siphoning kit to siphon the mead into the empty brewing jar, minus the sludge. Stopper it again and let it settle for a day. Clean the original brewing jar carefully. Place the full brewing jar in a cool, dark location.


      After six months, siphon back to the original brewing jar, stopper it up, and place it back in the dark. After another six months, bottle into dark glass bottles.


      Mead is "best" after being left for 4-5 years, but is extremely drinkable within a day or two of being bottled.


      I use just about any old mead or champagne yeast, but the one that seems to be the most popular is Wyeast's #3632 Dry Mead yeast. If you want something that'll give you an extra kick, START with that until it finishes, then pour out 1/4 pint to make a fresh starter kit. This time, use a high-tolerence yeast (champagne will go to 17 or 18%, but there are yeasts now that'll go to 25%). Once started, pour back into the main brewing jar and let it finish.


      If you want a slightly fruitier flavor, add 1 lb. of blueberries or some other soft fruit, when making the original mix.


      If you want a "cleaner", softer flavor, don't use the acorns.

  • You can talk about free beer all you want. (Score:5, Funny)

    by mikeophile ( 647318 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @02:47AM (#13154355)
    Until I'm drinking it, there is no buzz.

  • More Free (as in speach) beer (Score:3, Informative)

    by Zachary Kessin ( 1372 ) <zkessin@gmail.com> on Monday July 25, 2005 @02:53AM (#13154379) Homepage Journal
    And other drinks over at the Cat's Meow 3 [brewery.org] lots of beer related stuff. Of course it will cost you some money to brew a batch, but hey it could be worth it.

    I do not vouch for specific recipies there, as I haven't done any brewing in years.
  • The minute folks have got their heads around free beer , they are drunk and stand little chance of grasping the differences between Libra and gratis .

  • Confused? (Score:3, Informative)

    by the_unknown_soldier ( 675161 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @02:54AM (#13154385)
    Here is the GNU definition:

    ``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of ``free'' as in ``free speech,'' not as in ``free beer.'' Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:


    * The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
    * The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
    * The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
    * The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
    http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html [gnu.org]

  • Uh-oh ... whose beer now? (Score:3, Informative)

    by KlaymenDK ( 713149 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @02:57AM (#13154392) Journal
    Uh-oh ... I hope "Vores øl" doesn't get in trouble for this (but then again, it's not like this is the US, so there is hope).

    The thing is, a few years ago one of the two major Danish beer labels had a series of commercials in which "Vores øl" was the signature. They might not see this site as such a "free speech" win, though I hope they'll let it pass without raising a fuss.

  • Article Text, in case of /.ing (Score:3)

    by hobotron ( 891379 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @03:00AM (#13154400)

    Now ... when you here the words "open source" most people think of computer software programs like Linux ...It is a model where the original "source code" can be modified and improved at little cost...and it's shared among users for free.

    Well now ... thanks to Rasmus Nielsen, beer is free too. At least the recipe is ... in an industry where ingredients and processes are typically kept under constant poliece surveilance. Rasmus Nielsen is one of the creators of the Vores OI beer recipe. We were able to trace the subject to his secluded home in Copehagen, Denmark.

    Recipe for approx. 85 ltr. Vores Øl (Our Beer) (approx. 6% alchohol by volume).

    Malt extract
    For Vores Øl we use four types malted barley:

    6 kg pilsner malt
    4 kg münsner malt
    1 kg caramel malt
    1 kg lager malt
    The malt is crushed and put in 55-60C hot water for 1-2 hours.

    The mixture is filtered and the liquid now contains about 10 kg malt extract.

    Taste and sugar Besides malt we use:

    60 g Tetnang bitter hops

    50 g Hallertaver aroma hops
    300 g Guarana beans
    4 kg sugar
    (Guarana beans can typically be bought at health food stores).

    The malt extact is brought to a boil in a large pot with the hops and approx. 70 ltr. of water.

    After half an hour, the Guarana beans and sugar are added.

    The mixture simmers for about an hour, and is then filtered and cooled in a sealed container.

    Fermentation

    Yeast is added and the beer is fermented at room temperature for approx. 2 weeks.

    When the beer is fully fermented it is transferred to bottles. First 4 g sugar is added per liter and some yeast from the bottom of the fermentation tanks for priming.

    Vores Øl is then left in the bottles at room temperature for 8-10 days for carbonation. Then the beer is ready to enjoy; cold and refreshing.

  • Little Known Fact About Free Beer/Free Speech (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Did you know that it is legal to beat the crap of anyone who tries to explain something to you with free as in beer/free as in speech?

    Hopefully someday the ass kicking won't just be legal, but compulsory.

  • As a Heineken representative, I'd just like to remind you all that THERE ARE NO ADVANTAGES to open source beer.

    See our website for zillions of usless statistics and reports (compiled by and independent organisation (funded by us)), that disprove the so called benefits of open source beer.

    As well as conveniently digging up all those old patents we also plan to file numourous lawsuits against the open source beer community - if you are a user of open source beer, watch out - you may be prosecuted.

  • Coming from an ameteur brewer.. (Score:5, Informative)

    by Vellmont ( 569020 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @03:05AM (#13154412) Homepage
    This recipe is terrible. The most glaring error is they don't specify the type of yeast. Is this an Ale or a Lager? There's a big difference beween the two. Given the room temperature fermenting, you'd assume an Ale, but some Lager yeasts can ferment at room temperature too. Among those two major yeast types there's a huge difference among the various strains that produces very different end products.

    The recipe calls for armoma hops and bitter hops. The only difference between the two is the length of the boil. Bitter hops are boiled on the order of 30 minutes, Aroma hops are boiled on the order of 5 minutes. But no boil times are specified at all. The boiling time of hops impacts the hop level of the beer, which has a major impacts on the flavor of the beer.

    If this recipe were code, it wouldn't compile. You'd have to guess at the yeast type and boil times for the hops. The massive 85 liter batch size isn't terribly usefull either. Most homebrewers do 5-6 gallon batches.

    • Re:Coming from an ameteur brewer.. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by datafr0g ( 831498 ) <[datafrog] [at] [gmail.com]> on Monday July 25, 2005 @03:14AM (#13154440) Homepage
      Whenever I complained about some open source app not doing what I wanted it to, some dude would always come along and whine something like, "it's free, it's open source - fix it yerself"....

      Ahem... (clears throat)

      "Quit complaining! it's free, it's open source! Fix it yerself"

      But seriously, I agree - it definitly doesn't look ready for a version 1.0 release right now.

      :-)
    • I don't really mind that half the world is using backwards units (which half might depend on your viewpoint) but please don't mix gallons and liters when comparing measurements....
      5-6 gallon batches would mean something around 20 liters btw.

      Jeroen

    • Re:Coming from an ameteur brewer.. (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @03:53AM (#13154556) Homepage
      exactly, and as a home brewer I took offense at the title "worlds first open source beer" which it is not. Myself and several other home-brewers share recipies and techniques all the time.

      Open source beer has been around ever cince home brewing has been around. (like forever)

      I strongly suggest to people wanting to get into home brewing to get some books on the subject, and make a couple of throw away batches (my first 4 batches were HORRIBLE! praanoid sterelization is key to making beer!)

      I would put the recipie as not even a no compiling project but as a project that requires some dependancies but they only tell you generally..

      Oh to compile you need a graphics library. and the lack of details on the rest of it is like not telling you what programming language it is.

      This is not at all like that open source cola recipie that was on the net a few years ago. that one was complete and easy to make (if you can get your hands on the ingredients)

      in fact that open source cola launched me into beer making. I bought several postmix pop canisters for making the pop.... found they are wonderful for fermenting my beer into larger than bottle sized batches. my "mini-keg" so to speak of lumpyale.

      • exactly, and as a home brewer I took offense at the title "worlds first open source beer" which it is not. Myself and several other home-brewers share recipies and techniques all the time.

        While you're busy taking offense, how about taking a break and realise it's a joke?

        Either way, people were sharing code and programs long before 'open source' got around. What makes open source is the licence (and preferably some idiot standing on a virtual box shouting, 'this is open source'), and this is the first I'

      • Myself and several other home-brewers share recipies and techniques all the time.
        That is "shared source", not "open source".

    • Re:Coming from an ameteur brewer.. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Mr2001 ( 90979 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @04:51AM (#13154705) Homepage Journal
      Is this an Ale or a Lager?

      Since it's named "Vores Oel", I'd guess it's an ale.
      • Be carefull. Though ale is derived from the danish word Øl, the distinction between ale and lager was introduced after both words was already found in the English language. There no such distinction in Danish, which is probably why they don't specify it.

        However most danes consider pilsner a normal beer. So you should use Carlsbergensis yeast.

      • Re:Coming from an ameteur brewer.. (Score:4, Informative)

        by Sax Maniac ( 88550 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @10:27AM (#13156559) Homepage Journal
        Not necessarily. What's printed on the label as an ale or lager does not mean what yeast is used. Some states have weird laws determining what you are allowed to call an "ale" which are not the technically correct definitions. (Ale yeast ferement at room temps, 60-70F. Lager yeasts ferment at refrigerated temperatures - 35F.)

        Basically, the ingredients listed here are useless. Brewing is all about technique, not ingredients. In order to realistically clone a beer, you need to know:

        • The yeast strain to produce the correct flavor profile. Even specifying "ale yeast" is not enough. There are dozens and dozens of strains with very different flavors.
        • What kind/brand of grain used and its color. Caramel malt comes in a wide spectrum of colors and varieties.
        • The expected alpha acid % in the hops to normalize for natural differences. One day your Hallertauer might be 2% and the next 4%. If you don't normalize, the second will be roughly twice as bitter.
        • What temperataure it's fermented and conditioned at, and for how long. Some beers have complex fermentation schedules with many changes.
        • Mineral profile of the water they use. You can't substitute hard water for soft and expect it to be the same.
        • How it's mashed. Single infusion? Double? Protein rest? Mash out? Maybe it's a (single/double triple) decoction?

        Without all that, you are not cloning a beer, but merely making something vaguely similar. This level of detail is what brewmasters need to do to make a zillion gallons that all tastes the same, regardless of region. That's why when you buy Sam Adams in Arizona, made with different ingredients, it still tastes like Sam Adams.

        Basically, this recipe is a marketing ploy and not useful in the least.


    • If this recipe were code, it wouldn't compile.

      Don't whine. Just fix the bugs in the recipe & check
      in the fix. That's what open source beer is all about.
  • The beer is currently sold by the art performing group SuperFlex's(http://www.superflex.net/ [superflex.net]) shop. The shop is called COPYSHOP. Press info:

    "COPYSHOP CHALLENGES INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
    COPYSHOP is a place where you can photocopy everything from text to images. We use this name for a shop and information forum which will investigate the phenomena of copying. In COPYSHOP you will find products that challenges intellectual property. It can be modified originals, improved copies, political anti-brands. - or a SU

  • Beer is already free (as in speech) (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Trurl's Machine ( 651488 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @03:23AM (#13154470) Journal
    Sorry folks, but that's just plainly stupid. All IP issues with recipe for beer should be settled with Hildegard of Bingen [fordham.edu]. This German Benedictine nun was the first author to suggest that adding hops to the disgusting fluid hitherto known as beer will be generally a good idea. Since the age of Hildegard (12 century), no significant progress has been made in this topic - she has described the beer as we know it today. And as it was with many medieval philospophers, Hildegard created her "intellectual property" just "ad maiorem Dei gloriam", feel free to copy for the greater God's glory. So there is no need to make "open source beer" today - it was open source since last eight centuries.

    Personally, I think the idea of adding guarana to beer is just plainly insane. Beer is meant to relax people. If I want to stay alert and awake I can drink coffee or energy drinks. Beer is something to drink when the work is over and you can relax. Guarana beer is like coffee with sleeping pills.

  • Out of morbid curiosity..... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Volvogga ( 867092 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @03:26AM (#13154479)
    can a person under the legal drinking age purchase these ingrediants without anyone asking for ID?

    I know that malt can be used for other things (although I doubt lager malt has other uses), and hops have properties that stop bacterial reaction (although I have never heard of their use for anything else). Yeast, of course, is used for bread. So for thoes with experience in home bewing, what's the verdict?
    • I can't see why not. I have it on good authority that you can purchase all these ingredients legally in Saudi Arabia, where alcohol of any sort is completely illegal (no matter what your age). Apparently the Saudi cops used to turn a blind eye to expats home-brewing.

      So ... Volvogga ... you wouldn't happen to be under age by any chance, would you?

    • can a person under the legal drinking age purchase these ingrediants without anyone asking for ID?

      Yes. It doesn't matter what the malt, hops, yeast, airlocks, fermenting bins, bottle cappers, etc can be used for, it matters what they contain, which is not alcohol.

      It's illegal for a person under 21 to buy alcohol, not barley malt or live yeast. It's also illegal for a minor to consume alcohol, but that's a different matter, since you're not going to have any alcohol for at least a couple weeks.

      I

  • A typical pest in those hot sunny long afternoons!

    I am eagerly awaiting Beerzilla.

    Seriously, this completely confuses the whole issue:

    Someone: Its free folks!
    Folks: Free as in Free Rights or free beer?
    Someone: Erm, Free Beer?
    Folks: Is that free beer or Free Beer?
    Someone: erm, well...

  • ALERT!!! DO NOT DRINK IT! (Score:3, Funny)

    by aysa ( 452184 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @03:46AM (#13154535)
    This beer has a viral license.
    After you drink it you are running embedded beer and you will have to open all your internals for free
    (small fee for sending your intestines is acceptable)

  • Truly free beer -- as in no $, and no design secrets -- is about 10 to 20 years away.

    This "molecular manufacturing device on every desktop" will eventually enable anyone to reproduce any desired object using a combination of free stored solar energy, recycled, abundant component molecules, and open (or closed) source "3D blueprints".

    Also, a nice side effect of a "make anything replicator" will be to reduce the incentive to want to make source artificially scarce in the first place, since there's no mor

    • Your comment must have prompted a million geeks to think "tea. earl grey. hot." :)
  • I do not need to drink coffee afterwards to get a bit more sober again? Hum, just as with other "free" stuff, the fun is taken out of it by integrating the product just a bit too much.
  • The name "Vores Øl"/"Our Beer" is a slogan used by a major danish brewery (Tuborg I think). So the beer may be very nice and the recipe free but expect a name change if it becomes popular.

    • The name "Vores Øl"/"Our Beer" is a slogan used by a major danish brewery (Tuborg I think).

      Yup! That's Carlsberg's slogan, in fact. Though, we like Tuborg better. ;-)

      z

  • Recipes are already free (Score:5, Informative)

    by aridg ( 441976 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @05:20AM (#13154770)
    In the US anyway, and probably in other countries with similar intellectual property laws, recipes are not covered by copyright [copyright.gov].

    Why do you think Coca-Cola keeps their recipes under strict secrecy?

    So brew away -- and feel free to ignore the licensing restrictions of the CC license, at least for the recipe.

  • Freedom Needs To Proliferate In Other Products... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by FosterSJC ( 466265 ) on Monday July 25, 2005 @06:40AM (#13154933)
    "Creating a free beer sounds fun but frivolous - one may ask what meaning this really has concerning food, or other physical products. I believe it is quite the opposite; that is, that Vores Øl has given us the freedom to protect our ideas and promote innovation. Already many recipes, cooking methods, ingredients, even entire species of plants and animals are patented and copyrighted. Vores Øl aims to publicize the fact that there is an alternative to the monopolistic act of traditional copyright law - and a simple alternative at that. Share and share alike is the mantra here. So how about you share some of your beer with me?"

    -I wrote this on my food blog last week about the Free beer. Too many real world physical things are becoming patented. Innovation is being stifled and aggressive capitalism is preventing creativity. I think the best part of this project is that it simply raises awareness of the fact that copyright, trademark, int. property law, etc. don't have to continue going the way they are going.

    -Aaron

    http://aliment.blogspot.com/ [blogspot.com]

  • Bug report (Score:3, Funny)

    by Stormwatch ( 703920 ) <(rodrigogirao) (at) (hotmail.com)> on Monday July 25, 2005 @09:08AM (#13155838) Homepage
    BEER 1.0
    If you run this app for too long, it causes system glitches (hangover) a while after quitting it.

    (ok, I know, that's not a bug, that's a feature. workaround: non-alcoholic hack)

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