Beginning in the mid-1980s, microbreweries started to think of tap handles as promotional tools. Now, numerous beer-focused bars have what amounts to rotating art exhibits thanks to companies such as Taphandles in Seattle.
First Draft, a 40-tap bar in Denver, opened its doors without a single bartender. Instead, patrons pour their own drinks with iPourIt, a self-service system for serving beer (or any line-dispensed beverage) by the ounce.
Long Trail lends a hand to citizens in need; brewers throughout the Northeastern US cope with floods; can extra bubbles give Foster’s a lift?; Yuengling expands distribution to the Buckeye State; and the world’s strongest fermented beer, fresh from a deer.
The premise for Tap Boards is a simple one: Take a regular tap handle and add a tiny chalkboard surface where the brewery and beer names normally would go.
A Georgia man, Jeff Libby, has created The TableTender, a tap system that runs straight to the table and lets patrons pour their own pints and pitchers, thus eliminating the risk of Empty Glass Syndrome.
As beer lovers and fest organizers, we’ve dealt with a slew of contraptions designed to tap and serve kegs of beer—from cheapo hand pumps, to multi-tap jockey boxes and cold plates.
