Swill: Problem Solver IPA Claims to Boost your Creativity With Booze

By Drew Prindle February 20, 2015

Swill is our bi-monthly column dedicated to liquor, wine, beer, and every other delicious dram that falls under the broader umbrella of booze. But it’s more than just tasting notes scribbled on a cocktail napkin — swill is about getting outside of your comfort zone, trying new things, and exploring the big, wide world of libations. One week you might catch us halfway through a bottle of single-malt scotch, and the week after that we might be buzzing on some Ugandan moonshine made from bananas. This column is just one big boozy adventure, so grab yourself a glass and join us for another round.

You’ve probably heard about people knocking back a few drinks to forget about their problems, but what about using alcohol to help you solve problems? Sounds counterintuitive, but a recently-published study gives credence to the idea, and suggests that the right amount of booze can actually boost your creativity.

Scientists found that men who either drank two pints of beer or two glasses of wine before solving brain teasers not only got more questions right, but also were quicker in delivering correct answers, compared to men who answered the questions sober.

Don’t get up and guzzle all the beers in your fridge, though. Apparently the key to this trick is moderation. Scientists found that the goldilocks level of intoxication was a BAC of about 0.075 percent. That’s where you creative potential peaks — go too much higher, and you’re too drunk to concentrate and can’t put all those creative juices to good use.

Reaching that ideal buzz is easier said than done, though, so the fine folks at Rocket Brewing in Copenhagen Denmark have devised a solution. The company’s latest beer, The Problem Solver, contains just the right amount of alcohol for you to hit the sweet spot.

It doesn’t have any secret ingredients– just 750 milliliters of IPA with an ABV of about 7.1. On the side of the bottle, there’s a scale that lets you know roughly how much you should drink based on your body weight. Drink it at a reasonable pace until you hit the line, and you’ll supposedly get a creativity boost.

Maybe now you can finally convince your boss that drinking on the job is a good idea!

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