New and fun way to drink beer! The Fun Keg

[Mojn]

Hi all,

Just wanted to make you aware of this new and fun way to drink beer. It's been a huge success in Asia and the FunKeg beer dispenser is now being launched in the US.
Bars and restaurants see it as the pitcher's big brother and have never sold that much beer before. It can turn your place into a happy "beer garden" (see pictures on the website).
It's a fun way to serve the beer for your garden bbq parties. Your guests will love it!
Microbreweries add their own beer logo on the Fun Keg dispenser and managed to create their own cool, unique style. Check out the FunKeg beer dispenser here:

http://www.funkeg.com

From a true beer lover who just wants to enjoy good beer with good friends - So why not do it the fun way?

Cheers,

Mojn

[brewmonkey]

These types of items have been around here in the states for some time. They are worthless IMHO.

Damn I just saw that your are a minimum of $70 and on up to $99 a piece? The cost alone is a killer, no way to recoup that kind of money for each one before they either get broken or stolen. Even with a large volume discount this is cost prohibitive. Especially when there are companies putting them out for half that price.

I am also curious. Your site says "We estimate, that beer drinkers drink 20 - 30 % more beer when exposed to the FunKeg."

You estimate? Did you do any studies on this or is this a guess? I would like to think that if you are trying to market something you commissioned a study of some sort.

Edit: It only holds 100oz of beer? That is only 6.25 beers of 2.25 more then a standard pitcher which can be bought for about $2.25 a piece for the plastic types and under $15 for good glass one without a volume discount. Doesn't seem like much of a deal for an extra 1/2 a pitcher worth of beer...

[Mojn]

Hi BrewMonkey,

I know how these table dispensers have been around in various shapes for a while and never really broke through. But look at the designs; often cheaply made, some have built-in light and some can even “talk” to you…. and no doubt that replacing batteries and broken light bulbs is more a hassle than anything for bar owners, etc. It needs to be of lasting quality and simple, just like a pitcher. So that you can use it again and again.

I attached a picture that will give you an idea how the beer dispenser has caught on in SE Asia (hope it attached right - sorry about the poor picture quality). In Asia it is common to sell such merchandise directly to breweries which then use the Fun Kegs to promote their brand at the bar sites. And it’s the regional breweries reporting how their sales significantly have increased when using the table dispensers. Try one – you are sitting right by the tap, so it is so easy just to fill up the glass. (IMHO)I’ve noticed that “moderate” drinkers tend to drink more for that same reason (I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether that is good or not).

By the way, I’ve never heard of anyone having problems with stolen table dispensers. It’s kind of big to put under the shirt for the drunken souvenir collectors.

Cheers for your input!

Mojn

Fun Keg (http://www.funkeg.com)

[HogieWan]

thanks for stopping by. I don't think anyone here will be purchasing any of these from you, but it's nice to hear from beer drinkers the world over.

What beer[s] do you like to drink? Any Favorites?

[brewmonkey]

Having worked as a brewer and having seen these type of gimmicks at all the trade shows I am not sold in the least.

As for theft? You would be surprised at what peolpe will steal from restaurants, especially if you are a busy restaurant/pub. Deposits?

Just as with any item I look at for purchase I always check references, care to provide some for your product? You say regional brewers are using them, which ones? Where can we find your product in pubs/restaurants?

[Otis_The_Drunk]

As said by Monty Python:
Wonderful spam, lovely spam....

[fretlessman71]

To his credit, though, he posted it in the right place. Amazing - someone actually took the time to read the rules first!

Seems to me that this would be much more fashionable in SE Asia where they like to do gimmiciky things like this. But hey - whatever turns your crank.

[Mojn]

Hey HogeyWan,

Beer taste is not that different around the world. I'm from Carlsberg and Tuborg-Country, but lived in California and Hawaii the past 10 years, so I'm hooked on beers like Samuel Adams, Full Sail, Anchor Steam, Sierra Nevada, Gordon Biersch...
Hat-off to Cal and Oregon breweries, but "hey" the Germans and Czechs did not only immigrate to the US, they went all over, so you can get great German-style brewed beer in SE Asia as well. But otherwise we drink a lot of Singha beer(thai), Chang Beer(which is planning to take over the world: Everton-sponsor), Tiger Beer (Singapore). Those beers are all decent.

BrewMonkey,

Regional breweries: I mean "regional" in my part of the world (Asia). Anyhow, Heineken is now making their own table dispensers (unique style), so my guess would be that you soon will see them in the USA also. So just wait and see, the Americans and their likes and dislikes are probably very similar to the rest of the world. So...the so-called Fun Keg beer dispenser 'gimmicks' may just be a hit. Pitcher's are also "gimmicks"????

Just curious, are most of you guys homebrewers, microbrewers, or? How do you use this website? Sharing brew ideas? Just trying to figure out how to get the most out of the site?

Cheers,

Mojn

"The Fun Keg" - The new and fun way to drink beer (http://www.funkeg.com)

[wortchillergoal]

I do tip my hat to you for not making a mess of our board.

Most of us are hombrewers, a few pro brewers from brewpubs, and some just enjoy good beer but do not brew. We use the site for brewing information exchange and tasting note for the most part. A few other uses creep in, nevermind.

I would like to see the answer to brewmonkey's question about your reasearch. How do you know people will drink that much more from you table top unit?

One thing I will point out before you cross that line, though it appears you may not, is this community frowns on abusing alcohol and binge drinking. We consider beer to be of noble pursuit and tasted not poured down the throat for little reason.

[YamahaXS]

the older i get the less inclined I am to order anything larger than 22 ounces of beer. I would much prefer to decide as I go about what to drink next.

I have seen several of these types of dispensers in the brew pubs around here.

I dunno, if I was really going to order a lot of beer at one time i would go to the Essen Haus and order a boot!

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by Mojn

BrewMonkey,

Regional breweries: I mean "regional" in my part of the world (Asia). Anyhow, Heineken is now making their own table dispensers (unique style), so my guess would be that you soon will see them in the USA also. So just wait and see, the Americans and their likes and dislikes are probably very similar to the rest of the world. So...the so-called Fun Keg beer dispenser 'gimmicks' may just be a hit. Pitcher's are also "gimmicks"????

Just curious, are most of you guys homebrewers, microbrewers, or? How do you use this website? Sharing brew ideas? Just trying to figure out how to get the most out of the site?

Cheers,

Mojn

"The Fun Keg" - The new and fun way to drink beer (http://www.funkeg.com)

Having been in the food and beverage for the last decade, most of that time as a brewer, I have done more then a few studies of what drives customers and what they will and will not respond too. Items like this were at the top of the list.

If Heineken wants to fund a project like this they can knock themselves out. Whether or not their distro folks are willing to fork over the coin to buy them and then GIVE them to the pubs and restaurant with their beer on tap remains to be seen. Remember, the distributors foot the bill for those things not the restaurant, all POS from the big guys you see in restaurants is 100% FREE to them. All the giveaways, picthers, coasters and even the neons you see hanging around the bar, FREE.

When you are brewing your own beer however NOTHING is free. You want POS? You need to spend the money for it and frankly their is much better POS then a tabletop dispenser. You have draft accounts then you have to provide them with POS. Sorry but I do not see these things being a hit like you would hope here in the US.

As for the makeup of this site, mostly homebrewers but there are a few current/former/soon to be probrewers. Perhaps you would do better to hock your wares over at probrewer.com. It would be interesting to see what they have to say.

[P-Train]

I say whatever floats your boat.

There's a restaurant here called Quaker Stake and Lube that has those.

I've never drank out of one but if it were sitting on a table full of Sierra Nevada and I had a few friends with me I think I would like it more after each beer.

[chazwicke]

I'm not sure I would like to patronize a bar or restaurant that had those. Looks like the opposite of what I enjoy.

[danno]

Rock Bottom in Mpls (used?) to have these, it's what we drank out of last time we did a pub crawl... (no ice, though...)

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by chazwicke
I'm not sure I would like to patronize a bar or restaurant that had those. Looks like the opposite of what I enjoy.

I'm with chaz on that. I don't know what I'm going to order next until just after I've ordered it.

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by chazwicke
I'm not sure I would like to patronize a bar or restaurant that had those. Looks like the opposite of what I enjoy.

Which is exactly what we found when we started asking questions about these. We looked at them back in 2001 or so after seeing them at the CBC. I was not keen on them then either but the owner was with me and wanted to know more. The vast majority of the answers we got from people were that they go to brewpubs to drink a variety, ordering one of those even with a small party limits you in selection. Even with only 3 people you each need to drink at least 2 from one of those before the next round. That means maybe 2 types of beers in a night where ordering by the pint means 3-4.

You might also find that in some states, especially those neo-prohibitionist ones, devices like these might not fly with the ABC. It would be seen as promoting over consumption. the same reason some states, like KS, have no happy hour and other types of specials are illegal (buy one get one, can't have 2 drinks at one time, 1 person cannot order a pitcher by themself and so on...)

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by HogieWan
I'm with chaz on that. I'd don't know what I', going to order next until just after I've ordered it.

And I concur with you on this. And Brew Monkey too. If I'm in a brewpub, I want variety or a sampler.

[kinjar]

I agree with you all as well.

When I go to a brewpub/microbrewery, I always order "the sampler". Then, if I like one in particular, I'll enjoy that one the rest of the night, if not, I'll order another set of samples.

I'd have no desire to drink out of one of those items. Although there was probably a time when I would have.

[wortchillergoal]

I am on this train too. I want to be able to try variety and not be stuck to one beer. i believe these might have their place but not with the creatures of this community.

[Mojn]

Hey - I'm definitely a big fan of the "sampler". Truly enjoy to visit a new brewpub and see what they have to offer.

For me there are times where I like to sit and enjoy and chat about the different taste of the various beers (although I'm not a brewer myself) - but they say that the best description of the culture in Denmark is a "beer culture".

Well, there are other times when the mood is for the "big sample", like my friends in the picture attached, enjoying a great Hefeweizen in a FunKeg (of course). HaHa - sorry guys - not trying to mess up the brew-community in any way....it's fun/interesting to get your input/opinions!

But I'm sure even the "brew-community" would be in the mood for more than a sampler once in a while.

It's Friday here, so "Aloha Friday" to all of you (sorry, it may only be Thursday where you are because of the time-difference)

Aloha,

Mojn

"FunKeg - The fun way to drink a beer" (http://www.funkeg.com)

[chazwicke]

The Hefe looks good.

[corkybstewart]

The closest brewpub to me is 45 miles away. With our area's DUI crackdowns I couldn't afford to drink that much beer at one time, even if I had several friends with me. I feel like I'm living dangerous just to sip 2 or 3 pints in an evening. I damn sure wouldn't want to be stuck with one beer style, no matter how good it is. Give me a tray of 6 0z samples.

[wortchillergoal]

My LHBS has one on display. I forget why he got it, but he wishes he didn't. he told me he would advise against buying one.

[Insidious Rex]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Seems to me that this would be much more fashionable in SE Asia where they like to do gimmiciky things like this. But hey - whatever turns your crank.

I dont know I think many americans can be gimmick slaves and pop culture zombies too. Look how well beer helmets sell after all... Im sure the college crowd would get a kick out of these.

EDIT: Although my advice would be change the name if you market it over here. Table Keg or something. Fun Keg would put too many people off or seem insipid.