Thing: Beer crane

>> >> A device for getting booze upstairs quicker and easier

by PHILIP PREVILLE

All Montrealers have enjoyed a beer from a third-storey watering hole at some point in time. But did we ever stop to think of the rough-and-tumble fellas who carry the crates up all those stairs? Have we ever thanked them or raised a glass in their honour?

Well, we need not bother. In most cases, they don't lug the beer up the stairs anymore--not in this town, anyway. Montreal's abundance of second- and third-storey bars has given birth to a new invention: the beer crane.

The contraption: What you're looking at here is the bed of a 16-wheeler equipped with specially-made crates and a crane. No one actually manufactures this machine as a whole: the truck, crates and cranes each come from a different supplier and are then cobbled together. Labatt was the first to come up with the idea; Molson quickly followed suit. "This doesn't exist anywhere else, to my knowledge," says Molson spokesperson Normand Dominique. "We both have enough clients on upper floors in Montreal to make this machine profitable." Molson delivers to 120 different establishments with the help of the beer crane.

The crates: The truck carries a total of eight specially-made crates. Six large crates (like the one suspended here) can hold a total of 84 cases of beer, while two smaller crates can handle 60 cases.

The crane: The crane is manipulated via remote control by an employee inside the crate. Docking the crate is a tricky operation as it tends to rock back and forth. Once docked, the unloading begins. But when the crate has been half-emptied it becomes lighter and tends to fall away from the wall again, requiring more adjustments for positioning. The delivery guys (in this case, 15-year veteran Jean Laurendeau) are protected from falling by a bungee harness. Both Laurendeau and Dominique insist the beer crane is far safer than carrying beer up the stairs, which produces no end of back injuries and hernias.

The docking station: Yes, they're delivering the beer right through a hole in the wall. For some bars, they lift the crates to an upstairs terrasse and carry it from there, but in many cases they've encouraged the bars to knock a hole through the bricks and build a docking station. In this case, the bar went one step beyond the call of duty by building a docking station that leads right into their beer fridge.

Final factoid: This particular delivery was to Carlos & Pepe's on Peel, where each week the beer crane delivers two crates filled with 16 kegs and numerous cases. But one of the beer crane's biggest clients is none other than Les Foufounes Électriques: they fill all eight crates on the truck for the Fouf's weekly supply of suds. :