Most readers have heard the words “party foul,” or “alcohol abuse,” when a beer is spilled. Like milk, no one likes spilled beer, and when it affects the bottom line of a business, some hospitality operators are literarily crying over it. With craft brewing on the rise, entrepreneurs are becoming all too aware of wasted beer.

According to the Brewers Association, 14.3 billion dollars in craft beer sold in 2013, equating for 15.6 million barrels. However, in the hospitality industry, 20 percent of draft poured beer is wasted due to sloppy pouring, giveaways and technical malfunction.

Luckily beer abuse is something a Ballard based company will not stand for, and because of that they are drawing attention for a software/hardware system they developed that is changing the way beer is poured and the way business “on draft” is measured and conducted.

Gabe Ingram is CEO and co-founder of the Ballard based technology company, MetaCraft Inc. Ingram lives in Ballard and has been home-brewing for the last 10 years. He has a background in software engineering and is beer fanatic. Ingram works with a team that has a history in electrical engineering and hospitality. With their dynamic experience and passion for beer, they have created BeerDNA®: a software/hardware system that measures, optimizes and automates draft-pouring in the hospitality industry.

MetaCraft Inc. is mainly concerned with making sure the beer is consistent in quality. After that they want to save beer from being wasted and streamline the ordering process for operators.

Their system is in its early pilot phase at Brave Horse Tavern in South Lake Union. Back in August a few taps were outfitted with the system and they have been updating the software ever since while collecting data.

So how does it work?

Sensors are spliced into the tap lines and as the beer moves through the line the sensors gauge the volume of beer being poured. The information is sent to the cloud where it is compared to other variables such as cost, velocity and ordering parameters. If the system reports that more beer is going out compared to what is being sold, managers know there is a problem either with improper pouring by staff or mechanical issues.

In the future, Ingram plans to implement temperature monitoring software and hardware to ensure the beer has an optimal temperature and not foamy.

“It all factors into the aggregated cost. To be able to anticipate which keg is going to blow is extremely valuable,” said Ingram.

All these elements come together in a simple, automated app that allows managers to evaluate cost/loss ratios, staff performance and predict ordering. In fact, operators can literally see the volume in each keg and determine how soon they will need to replace it.

“Everyone is going to benefit by having this system. For a larger operations that are doing more volume, they will notice the affect on profitability more drastically. But the little guys are just as sensitive to inefficiency whether they know it or not.”

The system has far reaching affects for distributors as well as the brewers. Ingram explained that if hospitality operators have the ability to predict how much beer they are selling, on a wide scale that information would be very valuable to a brewer and how much of a particular beer they decide to brew.

By automating procedures like ordering and waste mitigation, efficiency improves across the board from customers finding what they want, to waste mitigation, all the way to distributors being able to set safety levels on inventory.

But the information provided by BeerDNA® is not just for hospitality operations; consumers also get to keep tabs on the taps using their mobile devices. The system is paired with an app for consumers. The app allows them to directly search for their favorite kegs at places using the system and determine where it is and how much is left.

Display of BeerDNA® app. Courtesy of MetaCraft Inc.

Ingram said that the app would use location to determine which beers will be offered to users. Updates revealing beer availability and volume would be sent to users as well. The app will also recommend beers that the user might like based on their profile, which keeps record of what they have imbibed and their opinion of it. The aggregated information collected from the social aspect of the app would also provide feedback from the customer to be evaluated by operators and brewers.

Ingram said they there are more pilot studies to be done and one is already lined up for a client in Ballard. MetaCraft Inc. anticipates their new system will be ready to launch in mid 2015 and the app at the end of 2015.

For more information visit http://www.metacraftcorp.com/