Introduction: Beer Flight Glass Carriers for Father's Day

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About: I'm a woodworker who makes fun woodworking projects in my garage and shares them with the world!

These Beer Flight Glass Carriers make great gifts. You could also check with your local brew pub to see if they need to buy 10 or 100! They can be customized with text and logos, and you can also incorporate ways to identify the beers. Build them for small 5oz tasting glasses, full-size pint glasses, or both! Watch my video, then read through this Instructable for ideas to build your own.

Supplies

Wood, glue, screws, cabinet handles, drill, forstner bits, router, CNC machine, jig saw, tape measure, paint or finish.

Step 1: Design

I used the Inventables EASEL online design software to design four different beer flights. Glasses vary in size, so I recommend measuring the glasses that will be used to get some accurate measurements. I bought these 5oz Tasting Glasses from Amazon and they fit nicely in 2.25" pockets. I had some full-size pint glasses on hand and they inserted nicely in 2.75" holes so that they were held securely in place and easy to carry.

Click here to open my EASEL designs for FREE! You can modify the designs with EASEL and export the drawings to use for cutting templates.

  • Design 1 is just a board with recesses for the glasses and bottle caps. It has two cutouts for handles.
  • Design 2 is paddle shaped with a carry handle on one end.
  • Design 3 has pockets for glasses and bottle caps laid out in a square pattern. It also has holes on each side spaced 3" apart on center for mounting standard size cabinet handles.
  • Design 4 is made from 3 pieces that are screwed together. I included a version for tasting glasses and a version for pint glasses. I cut holes all the way through the board for pint glasses to be inserted and held securely. The sides have built-in carty handles.

Step 2: Cut the Beer Flights

I used the Inventables X-Carve CNC Machine to cut mine out because I may check with my local brew pub to see if they need some. If I get a large order, I will be prepared to make a large batch of them with the machine. If you don't have a CNC machine, you can easily make some of these with regular tools. A jig saw, a drill, and a couple of forstner bits will do the job just fine.

Step 3: Adding Text and Graphics

Since I used the Inventables X-Carve CNC Machine to make these, I was able to V-Carve some text and graphic elements into the beer flights. I like to spray a sealer on the board to seal the wood pores, then spray paint the text and sand off the overspray. The sealer keeps the paint from soaking deep into the wood so you don't have to sand as much to get the overspray off.

If you don't have a CNC Machine, below are some other methods of adding text and graphic elements to your beer flights. Remember that these will most likely get wet from condensation or spilled beer, so you will want to use a sealer or some other method to protect your decorations.

  • Wood Burner
  • Laser Engraver
  • Vinyl Cutter
  • Sharpie
  • Paint and Stencils
  • Stamps
  • Stickers

Step 4: Assembly

These require very little assembly, if any, depending on your design. One of my designs was made from 3 pieces that I screwed together. I added cabinet handles and rubber foot pads to another one. The other two were just single boards with no assembly.

Tip: If your design has multiple pieces, it is easier to sand them and use a router to round over edges before assembly.

Step 5: Let the Good Times Roll!

Here are some pictures of my completed Beer Flights. They turned out great and make carrying multiple glasses easy. You can scale up the designs for different size glasses and even more than four glasses if you want.

Tip: These can be used for any drinks, not just beer! Have a wine tasting party Use them to serve lemonade on the patio on a hot Summer's day. Treat your kids to a crazy drink tasting party where they can try all kinds of weird juices and sodas. Serve some delicious shakes, smoothies, or sundae desserts at your next dinner party.

Thanks for checking out my Instructable and enjoy your Beer Flights! Steve...