Lambic Beer Cradle

Several weeks ago, a former boss of mine asked me if I could make a cradle for Lambic beer bottles. Lambic beer is presented and served while the bottle is in an angled holder. A lot of times a woven basket is used but he wanted a wooden cradle and provided me a picture of one that had been cobbled together using simple butt joints. I knew I could do much better.

After researching bottle size I spent a little time in Sketchup designing what I knew would be a great look. I chose to use box joints for the corners. The handle is set at 75 degrees, glued, screwed (for strength) and plugged to conceal the screws. The bottom is free floating in a 1/4” groove. Wood is jatoba (Brazilian cherry) and the finish is several coats of tung oil varnish.

A couple weeks after I delivered it he contacted me again asking if I could make another (a gift) for a friend of his who recently quit his IT job to manage a new craft beer bar called The Barrel Room in Norfolk VA. But he wanted to include the bar’s logo on the sides. Laser engraving is amazing.

The first 3 pictures are of the original while the last 2 are the gift for the friend.