Do It Yourself: Citronella Howler Torch

By Kati Spayde

It's summer in Michigan and that means I want nothing more than to spend an evening relaxing on the deck with a cold beer. But it's also summer in Michigan, which means the mosquitos are crazy! Instead of some questionable looking tiki torches, why not make some fashionable citronella howlers. The process is fairly easy and relatively cheap.

Equipment needed for two lanterns:

• 2 Howlers
• 2 Metal Howler Caps
• 1 Package of Wicks
• 1 Jug of Citronella Torch Fuel
• Screwdriver
• Hammer

With the cap on the howler, gently tap the screwdriver through the cap with the hammer*. I like to make three holes and then connect them into one larger hole. Then use the screwdriver to bend back the lid material until it's flush with the inside of the cap. Fill the howler with fuel and insert the wick through the hole in the cap, easy as that.

Light and enjoy!

*Loosen the cap first to make sure there is no excess pressure in the howler. Or remove the cap entirely and place it on a work bench before gently tapping the hole.

The materials

Gently tap a hole in the cap

With the wick

Enjoy!

Can You See the Difference? (Bad Pun Intended)

By Kati Spayde

If you have been in the store recently you may have noticed the influx of canned beer. Siciliano's, along with the beer industry as a whole, is moving beer to cans whenever available. Cans are better for many reasons:

• They are better at keeping light and oxygen away from the beer, both of which harm beer's flavor
• They weigh less, meaning a smaller carbon footprint resulting from shipping beer from the brewery
• Cans are 100% recyclable, you can make new cans from all those old cans
• Beer cans are more beach, river and festival friendly

For Siciliano's, it's all about the real estate. Every year more breweries start packaging and distributing beer, but sadly our store is not getting any bigger. Cans can be stacked, which allows us to fit two cases of cans in the space taken up by one case of bottles.

So please, give cans a chance. They're just little, tiny kegs!

The selection of canned beer grows everyday at Siciliano's