Self-Service Beer Taps

Anyone on Veeky Forums run into these? Pic related is a bar with this setup by my old apartent and the whole idea seemed pretty neat. Start a tab at the bar or a table, receive a bracelet tied to the card, then go up to the taps and be charged by the ounce.

I have never seen this idea used anywhere else before. NC fag by the way.

good way to get the hep c

It's a novelty, no more no less.

Craft beer faces a problem bigger than many realize: The sample. The sample is for people who can't commit to a full pour of a beer unless they know for sure they'll like it. I generally like all beer so I can't particularly empathize, but I do believe people should get samples if they ask.

But it poses so many problems. A bartender spends time and energy giving someone 2 ounces (17% of a normal beer) entirely free of charge, when the bartender could spend marginally more time and energy pouring a full priced beer. A small difference to win a customer over, right? But at breweries and craft beer bars that shit adds up quick, and many bartenders would testify to that.

Self-service Beer taps solve this issue, but won't last forever in this industry. The tried and true method of drinking a beer outside of your house is the longest standing one: the bar where you ask for a beer and someone gives it to you, and you sit down with your shoulders relaxed and stare at your phone while you catch a buzz before you drive home.

People won't want to pour their own beer forever.

I never thought about that with samples.
Usually I know what I like and what I like to order at breweries and places that have lots of different beers so I don't get samples too often. Usually when I go somewhere new I'll get a flight to try more without getting dickered on 9 and 10 percent imperial stouts and whatnot.

I have buds on the other hand who are so fucking indecisive, it drives me mad to the point where I sometimes don't go out if I feel like i'm not going to be able to stand the 15 minute deliberation on what beer to get and the 4 or 5 samples they ask for.

I know places that charge maybe 25 or 50 cents for a sample as a deterrent to this sort of behavior.

I've probably tried hundreds of different beers since I turned 21, but could count on one hand and name the beers that I refused to finish or poured down the drain.

The craft beer collective has yet to come up with a successful, universally practiced method for giving samples. Right now, if you went to a bar and asked to sample a beer, they will give you a sample, but only disdainfully. I've consulted bartenders about this and most will agree they are paid to dispense beer, not help you decide what you want.

Charging 25 or 50 cents for sample is one I haven't heard of. It might work, but the only drawbacks is that it obligates you to commit to both buying a beer and opening a tab since most people don't keep coins with them.

The self-serve taps was a fun experience for sure, but it's not the kind of bar you'd frequently visit. I had one when I lived in Asheville and I remember going twice and opted for a brewery or bar most other nights. The hugest selling point for these kinds of bars is that there are so many great beers that almost nobody wants a full glass of (triple IPAs, imperial stouts that pour like motor oil, etc.) Pretty much any beer that is great to try but not enjoy a full glass of is a great candidate for self-serve.

Oh and sorry about your painfully indecisive friends. I feel for you. Next time, tell them to nut up and order a beer. Nobody has ever refined their beer palate on samples alone. Besides, it's 5 bucks, and plenty of beers can grow on you. You never have that chance with a sample.

>Right now, if you went to a bar and asked to sample a beer, they will give you a sample, but only disdainfully.

I ask for samples to make sure the lines are up to my QC standard. If they refuse or give me any shade about it then I don't order beer. They are hiding something.

you mean hep b, you get hep c from blood contact.

Norcal, Humboldt County poster here

There's a godly microbrew culture up here, and everybody uses pretty much the same system.

First, the beers usually have a decent description, so if you know a little about beer you can see what you would like.
Second, the bartenders/waitstaff know what's on tap that are enjoyable for pretty much anyone, so getting their recommendations usually works.

Finally, you can just buy a group of 10 samples of different beers. This is best for groups, especially when they aren't regular beer drinkers.

I do this when I take family out to dinner at a brewery. Just order a decent spread, pass around the samples, and then all the noobs can at least point at a glass they like and pick that one.

>implying your bartender has any clue about the quality of the beer lines

They literally don't know shit about the quality of the beer lines, just fyi. If the lines have been cleaned, chances are it happened before the bartender even walked in the door. Not to mention that at any given bar, the QC of the lines is a toss up. Very few bars will clean their own lines, most rely on the distributors and their draft techs to clean them, but they do a shitty job since it's a shitty way to make a living.

I work for a local brewery that has their own draft tech who cleans lines at bars that have our beer on tap, so you could guarantee that our beer at any bar is going to be the same. Not many breweries do that.

tl;dr it's a toss up and you'll never now just how clean or filthy the lines are unless you taste off flavors in your beer, and if your beer tastes bad you can likely get another beer on the house.