Technology Helps Prevent Tap Waste

The wonders of technology never cease to amaze. First refrigeration allowed even those of us living in Florida to enjoy cold beer at any time, now the installation of flow meters between keg and tap will cut down on wasted beer:

Beer, especially draft (or beer served from kegs), is a leading profit maker for restaurants. While draft beer generates average gross margins of over 85 percent, it is also plagued by huge losses due to wastage and theft. Since draft beer is served directly out of kegs containing nearly 2000 ounces, restaurant operators have no visibility or control over how much beer is being poured. While the lack of visibility allows negligent bartenders to get away with poor pouring techniques, it also enables the cunning ones to make extra cash in tips by giving free beers away. After years of agony, and millions of dollars lost, technology has come to the rescue of restaurant owners.

The system measures the number of ounces of beer flowing through the hose and sends the data to the company's servers.

The system is also tied in with the restaurant's cash register to monitor beer sales. When restaurant operators log in to the bevManager system via a regular internet browser, they can monitor the quantity of beer poured against revenue collected at the cash register in real time. Losses, if any, are identified immediately.

While a few bartenders may be unhappy about the new way of doing things, less waste should mean savings that can be passed onto the consumer, whether in lower prices or better facilities and service.

I wonder if this was inspired by the KegBot project that circulated around a while back, and got some press coverage. Inspiring to see someone taking a great idea made possible by technology and figuring out how to turn it into a business which benefits consumers and businesses.