A beer tower is a portable device that is used to dispense beer. It is also referred to as a portable beer tap, triton dispenser, tabletop beer dispenser, or giraffe.
Beer towers are very popular in restaurants, bars, and pubs with the aim of allowing more than one person to serve themselves beer at the same time. Each person’s order is independent of the others.
Earlier designs of the beer tower featured a cylindrical tank, standing at about four feet tall with a single dispensing tap. However, modern beer tower designs are fitted with more than one dispensing tap to facilitate simultaneous orders.
The beer in the beer tower is kept cold with ice packs that can either be placed inside or outside the tower. But for hygiene purposes, it is better placed outside the tower.
The idea for the beer tower was drawn from ancient times’ portable keg taps, which are also called picnic taps. The picnic taps were used for drinking during picnics or outdoor gatherings. Picnic taps were larger than the beer towers we have today.
The picnic taps were operated by manually pumping air into the kegs, which in turn pushes the liquid out. Some models of the picnic taps involved upright beer barrels that dispensed liquid by the force of gravity.
Popular places where beer towers are used
The use of beer towers has spread across several countries, let’s take a look at some of them:
The United States of America
Beer towers are widely used in the United States of America. However, businesses licensed to sell alcohol can only use beer towers if granted permission by the licensing body.
Australia
Australian bars have adopted the use of beer towers after it was first used in Queensland in 2012.
India
Beer towers were probably introduced to India years ago but their use became popular in 2017.
Some parts of Asia
Some countries in Asia, especially the southern part of Asia such as Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore have wide use of beer towers in their bars, pubs, and clubs.
Types of beer towers
Beer towers can be classified into three, based on their cooling mechanism. The three types of beer towers are:
Air-Cooled beer towers
Air-cooled beer towers are built with a fan that blows cold air on the interior of the tower to keep it chilled and maintain the temperature.
Glycol-cooled beer towers
Glycol-cooled beer towers use food-grade glycol that passes through the copper lines in the beer tower to keep the tower cool. Glycol is an antifreeze agent, so it regulates the temperature of the tower to keep the beer chilled without freezing it.
Wall-mounted tower
The wall-mounted beer tower is made out of stainless steel and is mounted on a wall with beer taps hanging out. Wall-mounted beer towers are more popular in our modern bars
Conclusion
Beer towers will make drink service both easier and more efficient as everybody can help themselves to what they want, whenever they want, and to how much they want. It is perfect for both commercial use, as well as personal use for parties, picnics, or other outdoor events and gatherings.
