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Self-serve tables with their own draft taps (and metered displays) have begun popping up in European bars — Pilsen, Czechoslovakia’s new Pilsner Unique Bar and Dublin, Ireland’s 300-year old Baggot Inn, for instance — and they seem like a pretty cool idea. With them you’ll be able to sample a number of different brews, and be able to top off your glass without ordering an entire pint.

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They do remove one of the best parts of your local tap house, however: the barkeep or barmaid. Even in lederhosen, a self-serve draft tap can’t look very sexy. They’re also less personable and will never be able to have a pint waiting there for you the minute you walk through the door.

The biggest upside, as I see it, is the chance to pull your own Guiness (or similar nitro stout), as explained in this video from the Baggot Inn. What do you think?

source: Cool Town Studios
[tags]beer, draft beer, beer gadgets, pub[/tags]