Whatever Happened To Beer Blizzard From Shark Tank?

Beer Blizzard was born from heat, sweat, and frustration — the kind that settles into the bones when the day is long and the beer is warm. It was 2013, and two beer aficionados from Pittsburgh, Tom "Ozzy" Osborne and Mike Robb, sat together after a Memorial Day get together, trying to keep their beers from getting warm too fast. That's where the idea struck that maybe they could finagle something and fix their problem. They flipped a beer can over, noticed the cavity in the bottom, and engineered a widget to freeze and chill their brew. The result was a puck-sized plastic mold filled with coolant gel they called the Beer Blizzard.

They weren't engineers, nor were they beverage scientists. They were just two guys with a gripe and enough annoyance to figure it out. After a few prototypes and some garage testing, they launched a Kickstarter in 2014 with a modest $5,000 goal. The internet crushed that in days. They ended up with over $43,000 from nearly 2,000 backers, which gave them the momentum to file for a patent and crank out their first run.

The Beer Blizzard isn't a gimmick, but it is fairly simple. Cold drink, hot day, primal satisfaction for the win. It slots neatly into the bottom of a can, hugs the curve, and holds the frost. It's the kind of product that hits you out of nowhere when you say to yourself, "Why didn't I think of that?" That instinctive simplicity would carry them all the way to a spot on ABC's "Shark Tank" in 2016.

When Mike and Ozzy walked onto the "Shark Tank" stage in Season 7, they didn't come polished or corporate. They came exactly as they were, dressed down with a bunch of beers in tow and an immense amount of hope. Their ask was $100,000 for 20% equity but from what I remember, it wasn't the numbers that made the pitch stand out, it was the down-to-earth, genuine energy. They cracked jokes, they made the Sharks laugh, and they seemed to be their authentic selves.

The product itself was quick to understand and immediately demonstrable. The puck, frozen solid, snapped into the concave bottom of a standard beer can. Used with a koozie (insulator), it extended a beer's coldness from roughly 6 minutes to 21 minutes. They came with strong sales: $156,000 in just 13 months with no outside investment, only hustle.

They were challenged by Lori on the fact the product was called "Beer Blizzard" but could also be used for soft drinks. They maintained they wanted to have a specialized product that catered to a certain group. Many people don't stump Lori, so what was her response to them standing their ground in the face of her obvious criticism? A smile and a smooth "good point." 

The ambiance was set and two Sharks bit: Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban. Lori matched their ask, offering $100K for 20% — but she wanted them to focus on direct-to-consumer sales. Mark, a fellow Pennsylvanian, offered $100K for 25% with a plan to go wide through licensing. Ozzy and Mike felt the hometown loyalty and sealed the deal with Cuban.

Unfortunately, "Shark Tank" deals don't always close after the cameras cut. Apparently, the Cuban deal quietly fell apart. Still, the exposure launched Beer Blizzard into an entirely new stratosphere. Once the episode aired, Beer Blizzard caught fire and sales exploded. Their website, went from a modest stream of orders to a surge. Orders were shipping out as fast as the pucks could be made. People wanted the novelty, but more than that, they wanted a drink that stayed cold to cool them down on the hottest days.

Retailers took notice; Bed Bath & Beyond picked it up, as did Ace Hardware. They even got into Walmart for a brief stint. People were tossing them into Father's Day gift bags, bachelor party kits, tailgate coolers, and camping gear. It was a hit, not because it solved some complex problem, but because it scratched a basic itch; nobody likes warm beer. (Granted, it's a lie you can't re-chill beer after it goes warm, but that's a discussion for another day.)

Behind the scenes, the founders were chasing bigger wins. They tried to land partnerships with NASCAR figures like Dale Earnhardt Jr., hoping to tap into the sport's beer-loving fan base. They also hinted at new products like branded koozies and Beer Blizzard pucks for different can sizes.

The boost from "Shark Tank" was massive, but ultimately temporary. The momentum quickly leveled off. They had no deal with Mark Cuban to back them up and no infrastructure to manage the surge in demand. They were two guys trying to run a national brand out of Pittsburgh garages. Eventually, the seams started to show.

At a certain point, seemingly even from the Kickstarter days, there appears to have been problems with slow shipping, miscommunication, and orders that never arrived. Some Kickstarter backers claimed they never got their perks while others received faulty products. There was also some skepticism about its effectiveness on forums like Reddit. Maybe just don't store your beer in a warm place to begin with and let the chips fall where they may.

The guys were passionate, but they weren't seasoned operators. They tried to scale without the kind of operational support that bigger brands have baked in. Licensing deals they thought were coming never really materialized. Their shot at an Anheuser-Busch partnership went quiet and the NASCAR interest fizzled.

They leaned heavily on the original product but didn't evolve it. In an era where brands move fast and consumers expect innovation, Beer Blizzard stayed static. No redesigns, no meaningful brand expansion; just the same puck in the same packaging. It didn't take long for the market to catch up as knock-offs popped up online. Some were cheaper, some were thicker, some were sleeker; but the idea was out there and some businesses were thriving off of it.

By 2018, Beer Blizzard's site had gone dark and the social media posts stopped. Their Amazon listings vanished and you couldn't find the product in stores any longer. There was no formal announcement, the founders just faded away with Beer Blizzard into complete digital silence.

Honestly, who knows what's next for the Beer Blizzard founders? The fact they don't have any active socials means we're all just kind of guessing while still hoping for the best, as they seemed like a couple of good dudes. After Beer Blizzard operations ceased, we suspect that Tom "Ozzy" Osborne and Mike Robb stepped out of the spotlight and quietly returned to their former lives. But they didn't disappear entirely.

Ozzy, the louder of the two on "Shark Tank," returned to his career in the food and beverage manufacturing industry. His background in quality assurance and operations management likely gave him a stable landing zone. 

Mike Robb, the quieter but equally driven co-founder, went back to practicing law. Before Beer Blizzard, he was already a practicing attorney focused on asbestos litigation. Today, that's still his arena. He hasn't spoken publicly about the company's fate.

Maybe that's the most honest kind of "Shark Tank" story. Not every product becomes a household name. For a few years, two guys from Pittsburgh made millions of people believe that colder beer was worth chasing, and they made it happen on their own terms.