Would a beer jacket actually work?

Simon Balissat

11.11.2025

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Pictures: Simon Balissat

Jackets filled with beer instead of down feathers are currently trending on social media. All the videos are AI generated, but I’m still wondering: would it actually work?

Apparently, both my Instagram algorithm and my friends think I’m a simple guy. Me man, me like beer. It’s the only way I can explain why I’ve seen several videos like this one cross my social and news feed over the last few days:

The beer jacket’s making waves, so much that even my partner Judith on our German-language podcast «Uftischt» has seen the videos. Even though she doesn’t drink beer, we discussed the AI hop juice jackets starting at minute 12:30:

Still, I can’t get over the idea of a liquid down jacket… Is it even possible to make something like this, or would you collapse under the weight?

Time for some maths!

Height times Pi squared… or wait, how did that go again?

How much volume would such a jacket hold? And I don’t mean alcohol content, but the actual amount of beer in litres.

For my calculations, I’m assuming an average man’s height of 1.80 metres and a body circumference of 90 centimetres. The jacket padding will be about three centimetres thick and filled up to the chest, i.e. about 40 centimetres high.

I simplify the body into a cylinder, allowing me to calculate the volume of the two cylinders, then subtracting the smaller value from the larger one.

I used the following formula to calculate the volume:

Cylinder volume = π × cylinder radius² × cylinder height

Since I only knew the circumference (90 cm) and height, I first had to calculate the radius.

Radius = circumference / (2·π)
Radius = 90 cm / (2·π)
Radius = 14.325 cm

This results in an approximate 14.325 cm radius for the inner cylinder. The outer cylinder has a corresponding radius of 17.335 cm, since it’ll be filled with 3 cm of beer.

This resulted in the following volumes:

Outer cylinder - inner cylinder = volume of beer inside the jacket
37.7 l - 25.8 l = 11.9 l

Purely against the body, a real beer jacket would be able to hold 11.9 litres of beer. For the arms, I got to another 4.24 litres of beer per arm using the same calculation. Here, I assumed a conservative arm radius of 3 centimetres on average and an arm length of about 50 centimetres.

2 × V sleeves + V body = V jacket
2 × 4.24 l + 11.9 l = 20.38

So, it appears the jacket would be able to store over 20 litres of beer, weighing over 20 kilograms. This corresponds to around a normal beer keg.

Heavy, but not too cumbersome. In the fitness sector, you’ll even find vests designed to increase effective training weight up to an extra 30 kilos.

You may be familiar with the beer keg rucksack, which also weighs more than 20 kilogrammes, from mobile sellers at open-air gigs and concerts.

So, looks like the AI-generated beer jacket isn’t entirely far-fetched. I think the problem’s more that you’d have beer flowing out of the jacket without carbonation and at body temperature.

Either way, one highly dubious site, which I won’t link here, is already taking pre-orders. Who says AI’s useless?

Simon Balissat

Teamleader Editorial

Simon.Balissat@digitecgalaxus.ch

When I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast. more

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