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Comment by everdev | Hacker News Reader

In Santa Cruz we have a bar with no bartenders. It's fantastic. Scan your bracelet (linked to your CC), pour yourself whatever beer on tap you want and pay only for the once you pour. Want one once of 16 different beers? No problem. Can't get that experience at a traditional bar.

The seating is more like a restaurant, so no one is sitting by themselves staring at a wall full of hard alcohol, everyone is facing the room and mingling.

And the notion of the wise bartender with an ear to lend from the movies I never saw transpire in real life.

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Given how bad most people are at pouring beers even from a bottle, let alone from tap, I don't know if that's a good idea.

But then again, I've seen plenty of bartenders completely screw up the pouring process. Just the other day I had a German backpacker behind the bar try to pour my Guinness like it was a lager.

> And the notion of the wise bartender with an ear to lend from the movies I never saw transpire in real life.

I'm surprised that you haven't found any wise bartenders yet. That's one of the reasons I enjoy going to good craft beer pubs. When I used to work in a pub I had a good knowledge of every beer on tab, whenever there was a new beer I'd have a half pint of it so that I'd know what it was like.

I was actually familiar enough with the regular beers that we served that I was able to discern the variations between the batches that came in.

I went to a place like that. The nice thing is, if you get a shitty pour, you have no one to blame but yourself!

I actually got to try three different drinks for the price of one, since they have no problem if you give yourself a one ounce pour. In fact, they have a button right on the machine to dispense one ounce. It was great.

> and pay only for the once you pour. Want one once of 16 different beers? No problem.

Once -> Ounce (I was very confused)

Neighborhood bars: get to know folks, and become an unofficial official bartender. I guess tips in this “new” (under/unpaid) economy are “buy low, sell high,” as business owners complain about being “unable” to find workers to underpay with a sub-livable wage.

> "Want one once of 16 different beers? No problem."

If I want one pint of 16 different beers, will it comply or will it cut me off for being visibly intoxicated?

I think you only get 32 or 48oz every two hours. The limit does seem pretty low.

Probably calibrated for smaller framed people, to error on the side of safety/legality.

> Want one once of 16 different beers? No problem.

apart from the lack of decency.

> And the notion of the wise bartender with an ear to lend from the movies I never saw transpire in real life.

maybe not like "in the movies" but did you ever try to at least befriend the bartender ?

> apart from the lack of decency.

I've been to a place like that. They had a button on the dispense for a one ounce pour, so they were actually encouraging us to try many beers.

yes... but not all together at the same time in the same pint, right ?

Of course not. I don't think OP was suggesting it was the same pint either.

No. There's water to wash your glass after each beer

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