Send a Pal a Beer Without Stepping Foot In A Bar

Ladies and gentlemen, we now live in a world where you can send someone a beer on Facebook . Yep, starting next Tuesday, beer giant Anheuser-Busch will begin testing promotional programs that allow for Facebook users to send beers to one another simply by clicking a button. The downside? Only folks in Denver and Colorado will be able to participate.

According to USA Today, Anheuser-Busch joined forces with Facebook to try out two new programs that will enable users to either buy or gift Budweiser and Bud Light to their friends via the social media outlet. One, called Buds for Buds, will allow users to simply buy their friend a Budweiser through Facebook. Then there's the Bud Light Birthday promotion. Personal beer preferences aside, the idea seems pretty fantastic, amiright?

However, there's one big issue here: how on earth do you receive the beer through the Internet? Do you have to wait 3-5 business days and pay a shipping charge? Or is the Internet so advanced now that my fantasy of reaching through my MacBook Air screen and magically pulling out a Shiner Bock finally a reality? Unfortunately, it doesn't work through supernatural means — but it's still pretty genius.

This is how it works: when you "send someone a beer," you pay for it on the spot with a credit card, and the lucky recipient will get it in the form of a voucher. They can then take the voucher to a bar or restaurant and redeem it for, ta-dah! a beer (with proof they are of age, of course). The program will use a online gifting service, Gratafy, to make what I'm dubbing "the magic" happen.

Considering you can now find get a date simply by passing them on the street with an app, it only makes sense that we should be able to send each other alcoholic beverages via Facebook. Personally, I hope these programs catch on. I hope other breweries will become inspired to also pair with Facebook, or all social media platforms for that matter, and enable friends to send each other beers via their smartphones. Because who wants an emoji of beers clinking, when you can actually have an actual beer?