Liquid Intelligence TAPPING IN TO Self-Pour

BY CALLIE EVERGREEN

Bars and restaurants alike are going all in on self-serve technology.

SELF-SERVICE TECHNOLOGY is nothing new; just look at the widespread popularity of vending machines, ATMs, and frozen yogurt brands. But the adoption rate of self-serve is steadily pouring over into the full-ser- vice restaurant industry, and for good reason. Self-pour beverage walls offer operators labor savings, increased sales and speed of service, inventory control, and also offers customers unique and personalized experiences.

Plus, restaurants can partner with selfserve technology gurus like PourMyBeer and iPourIt to make operations as easy as possible.

There are more than 300 bars, breweries, and eateries using iPourIt technology throughout the U.S., says CEO Chris Braun, and the majority of operators are serving food. iPourIt, based in Lake Forest, California, touts itself as the first self-pour tap wall system to be designed and installed, thus beginning the rise of the self-pour revolution. Though similar in theory to self-serve frozen yogurt since guests can pour as much or as little as they please, iPourIt is more sophisticated and uses RFID technology to limit access to the taps to customers verified to be 21 years or older, plus tracks the ounces poured to create a cumulative bill for each guest throughout the visit.

Operators report an average increase in alcohol sales by 39 percent after installing a self-pour wall, Braun notes. And since every ounce of beer, wine, cider, or any other beverage is tracked and accounted for, waste is greatly reduced; iPourIt operators report an average keg yield of 97 percent, while the average for traditional service in the food and beverage industry hovers around 76 percent, Braun says. “Operators also have access to powerful tools through the operator dashboard like inventory management that shows exactly how much product is in each keg, line-cleaning reports, profit margin by product, automated discounts, and more,” he adds.

An example of one of iPourIt’s operators is Rosie Hanson, co-owner of the recently-opened Garden District Taproom, which is the first self-pour taproom in West Palm Beach, Florida. One of the first places Hanson discovered a self-pour wall was at Oak & Stone in Saint Petersburg, Florida, which is a brewpub serving artisan pizzas, craft beers, and cocktails. “It’s something cool to do while you wait for your food to get out, and you don’t need a server bringing you drinks. I think it’ll do really well in certain concepts,” Hanson says.

With 25 taps, one of Hanson’s favorite parts is the picking process, which began with three wine spots, one nitro, and the remainder of taps featuring all beers. “We’re craft beer lovers, so we know a decent amount and said OK, let’s get a variety of styles so we can see what sells,” she says.

“We try to put things we know to be good on tap. We had a few slow-moving beers, but for the most part, we get a lot of compliments on our selection,” Hanson adds. The number one seller at Garden District Taproom is Yacht Party, a light American Lager style beer brewed by Charles Towne Fermentory in Charleston, South Carolina. Another top-seller is Untitled Art’s Florida Seltzer, which uses real fruit juice like prickly pear and guava. Hazy IPAs and anything fruit-forward is also popular in the craft brew scene, Hanson notes, as well as experimental ones with fun flavors like marshmallow and vanilla. Though wines aren’t as popular—which Hanson chalks up to numerous wine bars within blocks of them in downtown West Palm Beach— having options for non-beer drinkers is still a good play.

“Whenever one keg kicks, you put something different on. Sometimes you have a specific one in mind to put on afterwards, sometimes it’s not concrete. But we’ll try to order our inventory to get us through the next couple weeks in case we’re busier than expected,” she says.

At Can Can Wonderland in St. Paul, Minnesota, a self-pour beer wall with 36 taps complements a full-service bar. The eatertainment mecca offers vintage arcade games, indoor