Pour-your-own beer opens on Gold Coast but it has its limits

A NEW self-service craft beer and cider bar is no free-for-all — drink debit cards automatically cut patrons off after just under a jug of beer.

A new pour-your-own beer bar has opened its doors in Surfers Paradise. Christian Winch battles for a free second burger with owner Rodney Vickers. Photo: Glenn Hampson

A NEW self-service craft beer and cider bar is no free-for-all — drink debit cards automatically cut patrons off after a jug of beer.

But thirsty drinkers keen to carry on can be greenlighted to go again and self-pour another 1135ml after a quick assessment from an on-site ­bartender.

Shannon Davies pours herself an ale. Photo: Glenn Hampson

Taps, which has just opened above the recently shut Shooters bar on Surfers Paradise nightclub strip Orchid Ave, promises to always offer 10 craft beer, cider and ginger beer options for self-service.

Taps founder and brand owner Steven Barber said the self-service system charges per millilitre, so patrons can pour themselves a taste test before committing to a schooner.

“If you like it, obviously, you can pour more,’’ he said.

Christian Winch battles for a burger with owner Rodney Vickers. Photo: Glenn Hampson

“Whatever you don’t spend we refund or you can take your card with you and come back later.”

Mr Barber said customers could load as much money as they wanted on to a Taps debit card and serve themselves up to the 1135ml limit.

“When you hit that you have to go back to the bar,’’ he said.

“The bartender just taps your card and you’re right to go again. It’s an assessment of sobriety.”

Electronically, staff can also see how much each person has consumed.

Mr Barber, 32, who started the brand with his 50-year-old father, said he came up with the idea while travelling through Europe with a bunch of mates.

“It was during a bit of a drunken haze through Europe in 2008,’’ he said.

“We spotted something similar over there and started working on it soon after.”

The first Taps opened in Mooloolaba in 2013 followed by one in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.

Prices average $8 a schooner, with Queensland drops on offer ­including Fortitude, Newstead and Byron Bay’s Stone & Wood flavours.

The Surfers Paradise Taps bar is employing 30 people and opens seven days a week until 1am.