This week sees Turkish-US company Pubinno win the Best Beverage Technology Award at the World Beverage Innovation Awards 2023.
The company, founded in 2017, is a pioneer in the Internet of Beer, and the award recognises its innovative Smart Tap.
Powered by AI and robotics, it improves keg efficiency by up to 20 per cent, controls the flow rate of beer and tracks all the parameters for the draft beer system, such as pressure, line cleaning, temperature, keg freshness, to maintain the highest beer quality and deliver perfect beer regardless of type, infrastructure, time and location.
One hundred million pints of perfect beer have been served, and more than 1 billion litres of water have been saved via Pubinno's smart technologies in 60 cities, and over 2000 bars across three continents.
The company has also integrated payment platforms such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Bitcoin into its products to enhance the operational efficiency of organisers and save time for the end consumer, particularly in events with high beer consumption, like festivals.
Other startups transforming the beer industry include:
Minibrew (The Netherlands)
Brew your own beer at home! Image supplied by Minibrew.
Founded in 2015 in Utrecht, Minibrew has developed a fully automated beer-brewing appliance that combines all the processes including fermentation.
The machine is controlled by an app and is said to be able to maintain the perfect conditions. The device uses a “smart keg” to brew, store, and serve the beer.
Oculyze (Germany)
Oculyze is a German startup making modular microscopes that can be connected to smartphones. They empower users to interpret images at microscopic level without the need for microscopy skills or expensive hardware. The results are saved and can be viewed online.
One of the most interesting use cases for their product is in beer making by assisting brewers in measuring the health and activity of their brewing yeast.
The Smart Container Company (UK)
Beer kegs often go missing between the factory and the customer. Further, a lack of visibility into kegs leads to slow replenishment, lost inventory, suboptimal logistics, and retail wastage.
The Smart Container Company has developed KegTracker, an IoT device that instantly connects circular packaging options, such as kegs, to the internet. Using data science and modern machine learning, it provides transparency, market intelligence, and a reduced carbon footprint.
The company is currently crowdfunding for customer trials and product advancement.
BeerMate (The Netherlands)
BeerMate wants to make beer queues and surly staff a thing of the past. Its developed self-serving machines that can tap and sell 4000 beers in an hour at a festival without needing staff, tents, or cash.
Macco Robotics (Spain)
Slightly weirder, Spain-based Macco Robotics, has developed a humanoid bar-tending robot called Kime.
It features a robotic head, torso, digital tablet, and two octopus-like arms (tell me you didn't get comic book vibes) the robot can make and serve drinks.
Lead image via Pubinno. Photo: Uncredited.
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