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SteadyServ Helps Keep the Draft Beer Flowing (Video)
"With iKeg's Technology We Guarantee You Will Never Run Out of Beer," boasts the SteadyServ website. As you listen to interviewee Mike Flockenhaus, though, you'll realize almost immediately that SteadyServ isn't making equipment for home use, but for bars and taverns that serve draft beer. Here's another good line from their site: "With the new iKeg® system, we aim to ensure that you get your beer, in the right place, at the right time. We also want to simplify the lives of all the hard-working people in the beer industry. After all, wanting and having your beer are not the same thing." Even better, it looks like they're hiring. Wouldn't it be wonderful to help keep America from running out of draft beer? (Alternate Video Link)
Then I saw it was a roblimo video, and I realized that was a redudant statement.
Seriously guy, can you stop with videos loaded with effusive praise for uninteresting products?
or disclaimer on these things.
I wonder how much SteadyServ had to pay for this. Put the keg on a scale, truly a technological marvel.
The only reason this is on-topic for Slashdot
I dunno.
As a teetotaler, I simply don't give a damn.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Clearly not an ad because /. doesn't hold a target market, and the production is terrible.
While technology related, I wouldn't call putting a scale under a keg to be earth shattering.
Additionally, given how many buzzwords the guy uses it's really lite on content (every time he says Cloud take a drink!)
Makes me wonder what the editors are drinking...
One 5-gallon batch at a time. And so far, I too have never run out.
The lawsuit from Apple for selling anything as "i-anything"
iKeg system, huh? Apple trademark suit starting in 3......2.......1....
You're messin' with my Zen Thing, man.....
Oh disable advertising checkbox! I trusted you! You were the chosen one!
It's not even free, as in beer.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
What the fuck is this story? Why is it here?
What a fucking joke of a SLASHVERTISMENT!!!! The editors have reached a fucking new low in the "give a fuck" department. and FUCK BETA!!!!
Another Slashvertisement brought to you by Dice.
I was skeptical at first but now I am quite interested. It is much more than an inventory system. The information that comes from the sensor is the weight/remaining volume of the keg and the name of the beer in the keg. One of the trends in pubs is to have different beers on any any one time. Here are a few things that the sensor and associated infrastructure can facilitate.
1. Up to the minute beer menu for the pub.
2. Notification when a new beer comes on line.
3. Able to search pubs for specific beer on tap.
4. Ability to link keg contents with more information about the beer so I can better decide what to drink.
I live in Victoria BC and there are four pubs within blocks of each other that have an average of about 30 taps each. Most of them are different. Between them I would say there are probably 60 different beers and changing all the time. If these pubs subscribed to this service it would be quite helpful to me. People should get out and drink better beer.
"you'll realize almost immediately that SteadyServ isn't making equipment for home use"
Speak for yourself lightweight.
It's a nice idea for a product, but there's the usual marketing fluff covering what it really is: Bathroom scales hooked up to the internet to weigh kegs.
I'm not entirely sure what the point is. If you buy a keg, it's in your inventory (hopefully) and you know how many pints are in it. Surely you set up your system so that once you've sold X pints of Y beer, the POS system says "Hey buddy, we're about to run out!" and can either order a new keg for you or indicate that you should get a new one. You replace the keg and hit a button that says 'new keg', enter the capacity and you start again. All of this data can be logged to an internal database.
For a start a POS system is cheaper, it can be done offline and the data is quite literally down to the second because you can log when someone buys it. You don't need to record how heavy the keg is at 5 minute intervals when you have ~500ml precision down to the second.
Now if you're a brewery then point is that this updates to the cloud and you can see when your beer is being sold - cool - but why can't this be done with a simple 'smart POS' system? And again, you'd have exact sales figures down to the minute or daily (really, do you care about figures that fine grained? on the time scale of brewing that's nothing). The big bummer I see here is that you're relying on the establishment to do the leg work for you. They have to install this system so you get your data.
"Especially with the microbrewer, they need to make checks to measure frequently because they canÃ(TM)t rely on how many millions of units they are shipping.''
Was that sarcasm? Surely you know that you sold X kegs to Y town and they're chomping at the bit for more...
This looks like a great product. Desgined to hold a keg over a drain, wirelessly sends weight to the desk of the person who orders refills. Would work great in a hotel, where the server never touches the keg, the restaurant manager never has to go to the kegs to see if they need replacing, and the delivery guy knows the keg he is to replace is empty or empty enough. Have it timestamp its messages and you can also display how long ago the keg was installed (when the measurement when back up to 45 lbs)
If I ran a restaurant or hotel I would use these.
Too obvious.
With the new iKeg system, ...
Seriously not to be confused with the iKegel system.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
I'm a brewer. I go to lots of bars, speak to lots of bar managers and owners, and poke around lots of beer fridges.
First, high volume bars, if they want metrics, install flow meters on draft lines. The sophisticated ones communicate with the PoS and report when the beer is flowing and how much. If the server's pouring freebies, the system will know and rat on the bartender. The system also knows if a brewer is shorting their kegs or is making foamy (over-carbonated) kegs that lead to spillage. Managers love that. Second, the meters are integrated into the lines so there's no ****ing around with flying saucers; you will always get the right data for your taps. Always. Third, most beer fridges are wet, dank pits. No one likes spending time in them. Telling bar staff to pick up a keg that weighs upwards of 150lbs and place it on a disk is ... hopeful. Telling bar staff to perform the same maneuver on a disk stuck in a keg fridge? That's borderline stupid. Those saucers are going to get punished.
Also, it's not rocket science to keep a few extra kegs around if you're managing 30 taps; you, by definition, have lots of storage. And if 4 or 5 lines blow without replacement? That is not a big deal. In fact, some bars won't replace blown kegs after dark because it makes them look busier (no, seriously, I've seen this in action) and helps to push people to less popular brands.
Seriously? Has this guy worked in a brewery ... or a bar ... recently?
It's draught beer, you fucking spelling reformists!!
This is a product that solves a problem that isn't there. When you are drafting, you will imediatly notice when the keg is almost empty. You then either have a second keg already available or just switch the keg.
This is done even in high-volume places like music festivals all over Europe.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.