I am making a pint of beer standing up and wondering how to do the support. I was thinking of drilling a hole in the board, securing a thick dowel into the board and then putting the cake on by sliding it down the dowel.
Just wondering if this would work and how they would then cut the cake?
I've seen that done on larger cakes, and am curious myself about at what point that technique becomes necessary (as opposed to just stacking normally, then driving a long dowel down through all the tiers once assembled.)
How many layers/tiers will your pint of beer be? I used 5 2" layers for my Yoda cake, doweled every 2 layers (actually straws), then drove a sharpened dowel through all of them (and then down into my cake drum) once stacked. He was quite sturdy - much sturdier than an apple I did which was only 4 layers high that I doweled but didn't drive a center support into. Being only 4 layers high, a center support just didn't seem necessary to me. But after seeing the difference in stability between the two, I'm all for the center support!
Regarding cutting a cake with a center dowel... I'm curious about the "proper" procedure. I didn't remove my dowel, and I didn't downstack first. 
I tried halfheartedly to remove the center dowel before I began cutting in order to downstack, but it didn't move. So instead I just started cutting away. I located each of the cardboard rounds and sliced the fondant all the way around the cake and went layer by layer from there. Being that my cakes were only 8" rounds, I just cut them in wedges. So for that reason, the dowel was useful for keeping the center marked. I found that dealing with the straws I had used was more irritating.
However... I make a lot of things up as I go along, so my experience is probably an illustration of all the things *not* to do! Nothing collapsed and no disasters befell me while cutting, but I did end up covered in ganache. All the while I kept thinking, "There HAS to be a better way!" 
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However... I make a lot of things up as I go along, so my experience is probably an illustration of all the things *not* to do! Nothing collapsed and no disasters befell me while cutting, but I did end up covered in ganache. All the while I kept thinking, "There HAS to be a better way!"
Hey that's my method - I call it "The flying by the seat of my pants" way!!!
I read a post the other day that some really smart person, puts a piece of wax or parchment paper in-between the 4" - after the straws - before the the cake board. Then when you are cutting and you remove that cake board the frosting underneath is perfect. I haven't done that it the past, but I will in the future! (I hope that was clear)
Sugarfiend your Yoda is brilliant!!!
It wont be a very large cake. It is going to be nearly lifesize so just the size of a glass of beer as its only for 20 people. I am planning to bake and then cut circles out of the cake, stack and slide onto centre dowel and then hope for the best I guess!!!
I read a post the other day that some really smart person, puts a piece of wax or parchment paper in-between the 4" - after the straws - before the the cake board. Then when you are cutting and you remove that cake board the frosting underneath is perfect. I haven't done that it the past, but I will in the future! (I hope that was clear)
I've read about doing this before. But then I have to wonder: What's the point of putting a smear of buttercream on the board so the cake sticks to it, then? Wouldn't the wax or parchment make it more likely to slide off? 
Although I suppose if there was a center dowel, that wouldn't be quite so likely.
Aw, thanks Jayne1873! Thanks to one of my 2-year-olds, I still have a bit of a complex about it. Jake (age 2): "Froggy!" Mommy: "No, Yoda." Jake: "No, FROGGY!" Mommy: "No, Jake - It's YODA." Jake: "NO Mommy. It's FROGGYYYY!" And so it went... (I personally thought he looked like E.T. with big ears. But a FROG?)
Good luck!
You would still want to do the smear of buttercream between the cake and the board, the wax paper or parchment paper would go on the other side of the cake board between the layers. So if you removed the cake (with the board) the frosting on the top of the next part would be perfect. I don't think I am explaining it very well, I'm sorry!
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