When Matt Cutter, founder of Upslope Brewing, jotted the phrase “hop widget” on a whiteboard in 2016, he had no idea it would become the core of a packaging innovation that could shift how consumers experience hop-forward beers. Just this year, that idea evolved into BevBoost — a separate company from the Colorado brewery — and a patented two-chamber widget that delivers hop extracts into beer at the moment of consumption.
“We’re creating a new kind of drinking experience,” Cutter said. “When you crack open the can, it’s interactive… it introduces those peaks — bitterness, citrus, aroma — that hit your tongue like a fresh beer.”
The technology is inspired by the nitrogen widget made famous by Guinness, but differs in structure and function.
“The patent is completely different,” Cutter said. “It’s two-chamber instead of one. It’s a different function, different shape… The road is clear to go forth and innovate.”
The first commercial release using the BevBoost system is Upslope’s Hop Boosted IPA, released in June of 2025.
Designed with this new tech in mind, the beer cuts dry hopping by 25% while introducing hop extract through the widget to maintain — and perhaps enhance — flavor at the moment of cracking the can.
Testing has shown the widget not only revives the sensory qualities of a hop-forward beer but also masks oxidation.
“Not only did it revitalize hop aroma and flavor, it also masked oxidative qualities that occurred over time,” Cutter said.
Beyond just IPAs, the technology could reach far across the beverage package industry.
“It’s endless. It’s pretty much what your imagination can think of,” Cutter said. “Adaptogens, CBD, THC … this solves potency degradation issues over time.
“Nobody’s ever done this for beverages.”
Consumer response has been immediate. During Upslope’s product launch, the first can opening was treated like a countdown event.
“The folks in the UK called it ‘theater,’” Cutter said with a laugh during the interview on The Brewer Magazine Podcast. “People love the theater—the drama of the widget opening inside the can.”
With shelf life extension potentially adding 60 days or more and the prospect of cost neutrality for producers, the business upside is just as compelling.
“It’s a win for the consumer and a win for the producer,” he said.
As BevBoost works on scaling automation from 40 to 200 widgets per minute other breweries are already watching. Cutter sees a future where the widget becomes not just a feature, but a choice: “We believe someday you’ll be standing at the cooler door and your friend will look back at you and ask, ‘Do you want a beverage that’s boosted or not?’”
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