Welcome to IT Dept., where we demystify the tech that makes bars and clubs tick
The brainchild of Josh Springer, a former sign-maker from Montesano, Washington, the Bottoms Up Beer Dispenser is a deceptively simple device that pours from the bottom up in record time. After debuting last year, the dispenser, which can pour 56 pints in 60 seconds, quickly found national attention in magazines and blogs, even spawning viral videos of its amazingly efficient pours. (This clip, in particular, has wracked up over 4 million YouTube views.) Since then, the race has been on to feature Bottoms Up in sports venues nationally, and after landing in a few NFL stadiums, Washington D.C.'s Verizon Center became one of the first indoor arenas to score one for itself.
Here, Aramark's Nick Elgin takes The Feast into Section 118 of the stadium to show us how the Bottoms Up works and offer up a couple frosty cold samples — for research purposes only, of course. The key, he explains, is a magnet located at the bottom of the cup, which opens to let the beer flow in and then seals itself as soon as the cup is lifted. In addition to pouring quickly and cleanly (and with little human effort), the process also eliminates an excessively foamy head, meaning you won't have to wait a few minutes to get sipping. Miraculous? Quite possibly.
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