Brewery tests beer delivery by drone

Surely you've read about Amazon hoping to begin delivery of some of their products by drones sometime in the next four or five years, right?  Well this is even better.  Lakemaid Brewery in Wisconsin is currently testing out drones to deliver beer to ice fishermen! Yup, the brewers in Steven's Point Wisconsin have already videotaped themselves testing out drone technology on icy Lake Wacona.  Customers will be able to call in orders with their specific GPS coordinates, and then a clerk will take the order and ship the box of 12 brews to the exact location.

The idea hit Jack Supple, President of Lakemaid Beer, when he realized that frozen lakes are the perfect place to test out beer drones because there are no power lines, buildings trees, or anything else that may pose a safety issue.  At the moment however, Lakemaid is merely testing the idea as several issues still need to be worked out. For instance, there would need to be a way to check buyers' ids to ensure that they are of age, and unfortunately for Lakemaid fans and anyone else dreading a walk to the corner store, it's currently against the law to fly drones for commercial purposes or above 400 feet in the United States. The FAA is working on a comprehensive set of rules and regulations that will pave the way for commercial drone flight, but the legislation won't be ready until at least 2015 and drones might not be in the skies until 2017. Until then, thirsty fishermen must obtain their beverages through old-fashioned terrestrial delivery methods.