Self-serve beer stations draft customers to pour their own
Pub owners say technology cuts labour costs, encourages patrons to try more brews
LOS ANGELES— Your next draft may be pulled not by a bartender, but by you.
Asmall but growing number of gastropubs and fast-casual restaurants are going self-serve, installing systems that enable drinkers to draw their own taps, similar to the soda fountain at McDonald’s but far more sophisticated.
Establishments in the notoriously low-margin restaurant industry say the technology not only cuts labour costs but also boosts revenue by encouraging customers to sample what can be a bewildering array of Belgian quads, India pale ales or oatmeal stouts on a menu.
The technology has another attraction: it can measure and charge by the sip — something not lost on Barrel Republic, a craft beer bar in Oceanside, Calif., and San Diego’s Pacific Beach where there are dozens of beers on tap and no bartender.
Sean Hale, general manager of the recently opened Oceanside pub, said customers pay for what would be free samples at traditional pubs while making it simpler to try exotic brews.
“They love it,” he said. “It’s about tasting all these different beers and the fun of exploring.”
Fast-casual sausage joint Dog Haus is on board too. Quasim Riaz, the chain’s co-founder, said that with customers charged by the 10th of an ounce, there is less waste.
Customers tend to be more careful than a bartender who might be prone to spill, over-pour or give away a beer “on the house,” he said.
“In theory you get a 100-per-cent yield on a keg,” he said.
Both establishments installed systems from iPourIt, a Santa Ana, Calif., company that is one of the leading providers of the technology.
Its system, like others, requires drinkers to provide an ID to receive a wireless bracelet or card that enables them to operate the tap.
Providers sell table- and wallmounted systems, along with mobile units for fairs and sporting events.
But some labour is required to ensure that establishments are not selling beer to inebriated customers, which can pose a legal liability. After a customer drinks a certain amount — usually two full beers — an employee has to determine whether they are sober enough for more.
The technology runs about $25,000 (U.S.) for a wall-mounted, 20-tap system, plus an additional monthly maintenance fee.
But if they prove profitable, the systems could become ubiquitous across an industry in which online ordering and reservations already are popular, said Brandon Gerson of restaurant data firm CHD Expert.
“A system like this didn’t even exist 10 years ago,” he said. “I don’t see why they wouldn’t have the potential to become just as standard as a booth.”
It’s unclear how many self-serve beer locations there are nationwide, but iPourIt co-founder Joseph McCarthy said his company is in 42 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Fourteen of those are exclusively self-serve, with no bartender.
Josh Goodman of rival PourMyBeer in Wheeling, Ill., which previously sold and installed iPourIt taps, said his company has sold its own self-pour systems to about 80 locations since 2013.
“In a location with 50 taps, you typically have to have around 20 to 30 employees,” Goodman said. “With us, you can easily have 10 and not really be stretched.”