Really, it’s more of a self-service tap system with its own debit card, but it’s kind of like an ATM. The process is simple: give the bartender your debit or credit card, and you get a special beer card in return. You can take that to the self-service wall which has 24 beers on tap, over half of them from the New York area. The brewer, ABV, IBU, and other information is given to you on a screen above each tap, and you can insert your card and draw out between 1 and 12 ounces of beer.

 

It’s a fun way to skip lines and help yourself to some beer, but the question is: what’s next? With the rising popularity of cocktails on tap, will we see self-service cocktails soon? Maybe. Automation continues ever onward. Until then, most of us will still be getting our beers and cocktails the old fashioned way: from a surly, tattooed bartender who likely has a beard.