Self-service beer taps coming your way

Haha yeah but as this thread proves, people are gonna need some help in the beginning to figure it out..

 

Thanks dude! It's going to be in RiNo, 26th & Larimer.

 

Couple bars in Chicago (Public House and Bull & Bear) have self service table taps for a few years now.

 

Curious if they use the beer walls described in the original post.

 

Great spot! Looking forward to that

 

I see this as a really mixed bag. Self-service is great if your whole crew wants to enjoy the same 2-4 brews. I found a self-service tavern in Baltimore and there selection was always iffy, you got excited to try their self-tap tables and then came to find out only one selection was available. And, system maintenance was a pain in the butt for their bartenders. (That bar/kitchen did eventually go out of business overnight).

I don't know about you but when I have a group going out we seldom all want to drink the same beer and we certainly don't want to drink the same beers all night.

I could see the pluses for a sports bar where bud light is the major sell. It would also be cool to have a bar themed with each table hosting a specific brewery but only if the barcrew are keeping up when things tap out.

 

Have you seen it in operation? Does it seem like it works smoothly? I think Bartenders would get angry about this and possibly waiters/waitresses because the people wouldn't have to tip.

 

We will technically not have bartenders or servers as it is completely self-serve. There will be a manager around the taps when we initially open just to troubleshoot should the need arise. Our food ordering will be from a counter so again no servers. When closing your bill we'll have floaters who can close people out on a tablet or a kiosk for people who want a printed receipt. It will print out all of the beers by name that you poured and their ounces/cost. Just like a coffeeshop or somewhere that uses a tablet there will be tipping options but we know most people will tip very low or not at all due to our set-up. We're paying our staff hourly and not relying on tips.

 

On Long Island we have http://www.lipourhouse.com pretty cool system

 

"How much do you hate waiting for another beer in a crowded bar?"
If it so crowded that service is unacceptable I leave or don't go in, problem solved.

 

does anyone know of a place in the boston area with one of these? i would definitely like to check it out.

Definitely a good business item. I could easily see myself spending double the money on beer not having to wait in lines at a bar lol

 

I'm pretty sure that the place that has this in Asheville charges by the 0.1 ounce and you are capped on how many ounces you can serve yourself. You have to get your limit renewed so you can be checked to see how drunk you are.

 

We've got this place called Barrel Republic by me. All self serve and some really amazing stuff on tap.

 

meh, bulls and bears in chicago has had taps at the table for probably 4 or 5 years now, no limit pouring

 

Wouldn't it be easier to have a vending machine sell cold cans or plastic bottles of beer?

 

Those look to be bud light and bass; the need to bump it up a notch.

 

This takes away so many job opportunities. I think it's a terrible idea. Many people live off of tips, just as many people enjoy the back and forth between customer and server/bartender. I will not be a supporter of this, nor would I like having to pour my own beer when I go to unwind at a bar.

 

People seem perfectly capable of serving themselves fountain sodas, coffee, slushies, frozen yogurt, condiments, salads, etc... heck, we even have these crazy "buffet" restaurants... It seems odd that it took so long to realize it's possible for beer too.

 

Are lines even alleviated? What happens when there's a line for say a HopSlam? Wouldn't this be the same sort of bottleneck that bartenders deal with? Instead it's the paying customer who has to wait, and then serve themselves. Or if someone has an issue, you have to wait it out. One could go to another beer tap I presume.

I want to see a system where one tap on a table is computerized, and like those newish touch screen coca cola machines, one tap can dispense more than a handful of beers.

I'm seeing other systems. Check in with the staff. Get a braclet. Learn how to use it. And then finally pour yourself a beer. What happened to verbal communication?

I've been flustered at breweries and bars before. But I do not see tap stations of the traditional kind working (ie beer walls). I feel it needs to go full on computerized to make it worth anything.

 

I tried the self service taps at Z Pizza in Sacramento. My God! I spent over $25 on sampling beers fast! Within an hour I was very drunk and very happy On the way home - post drinking bill - I thought, "I can't do this again for awhile. Haven't been back since the World Series and won't be back within a foreseeable future. Truth is, that although the nice young lady who was assisting people with pours was very generous and kind when I would complain that my six ounce pour looked more like a three or four ounce pour (then she'd swipe her card to add to the pour - giving me the beer I had visualized), a self pouring wall just wasn't the bar, tap room, or tavern environment that I've always loved and hope to always enjoy. I don't go out to drink excessively. I like to have a beer or sample a couple things that're new, then still be capable of getting myself home. And who the hell and what the hell is anyone who is drinking in a hurry for anyways? I don't know that I'm old but really beginning to fear technology. I kinda hope this is more of a modern fad than something normalized.