Are Self-Serve Bars a Good Thing?
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Self-serve tables with their own draft taps (and metered displays) have begun popping up in European bars — Pilsen, Czechoslovakia’s new Pilsner Unique Bar and Dublin, Ireland’s 300-year old Baggot Inn, for instance — and they seem like a pretty cool idea. With them you’ll be able to sample a number of different brews, and be able to top off your glass without ordering an entire pint.
They do remove one of the best parts of your local tap house, however: the barkeep or barmaid. Even in lederhosen, a self-serve draft tap can’t look very sexy. They’re also less personable and will never be able to have a pint waiting there for you the minute you walk through the door.
The biggest upside, as I see it, is the chance to pull your own Guiness (or similar nitro stout), as explained in this video from the Baggot Inn. What do you think?
source: Cool Town Studios
Technorati Tags: beer, draft beer, beer gadgets, pub
Popularity: 11% [?]
The idea of trusting your customers to pour their own beers will probably not last long. I can think of a lot of reasons why this won’t work:
1) The people at the table are responsible for paying for the beer they drink. If they don’t keep a close eye on the tap - who’s to prevent someone from walking up and pouring themselves a drink?
2) Someone is getting drunk and forgets to shut off the tap and beer pours all over the tables and floor. Someone who’s a bit disgruntled may intentionally leave these taps on.
3) Somebody will eventually get clever enough to hack the beer meter and get a free beer out of this. While you may save money on not having to hire a bartender, you’ll end up paying more for spilt beer, clean-up and arguements about how much beer was actually poured.
While automation can sometimes be a good thing, I’d say keep the control of the beer where it belongs - with a bartender and wait-people.