Networked draft beverage system

Abstract

Certain aspects relate to systems and techniques for smart draft beer taps that can dynamically vary flow rate and control the amount of dispensed head based on one or more of sensed parameters of the beer, the draft beer environment, characteristics of the beer, and on brewery specified pouring standards. The disclosed systems provide networked data communication relating to bar draft beer pouring conditions.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A networked draft beverage system comprising:
 a fluid dispensing tap configured for pouring a beverage, the fluid dispensing tap including a housing having a fluid path extending therethrough from an input aperture to an output aperture in a spout of the tap;   at least one sensor positioned along the fluid path and configured to generate parameter data representing a parameter of fluid flowing along the fluid path and/or at least one sensor positioned along a beverage delivery fluid path of a fluid delivery system providing beverage to the tap and configured to generate parameter data representing a parameter of the fluid flowing along the beverage delivery fluid path; and   a network connectivity module configured to transmit the parameter data over a network;   a server remote from the fluid dispensing tap and including:
 a module configured to connect the server to the network to receive the parameter data; 
 a data repository configured to store the parameter data; 
 an analytics engine configured to analyze the parameter data; and 
 a recommendations engine configured to:
 generate a recommendation or report based on the analytics engine analyzing the data. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The networked draft beverage system of  claim 1 , wherein the data repository is further configured to store data representing draft beverage pouring quality standards associated with the beverage. 
     
     
         3 . The networked draft beverage system of  claim 1 , wherein the analytics engine is further configured to analyze the parameter data to determine compliance with draft beverage pouring quality standards. 
     
     
         4 . The networked draft beverage system of  claim 1 , wherein the recommendation or report represents whether a venue of the fluid dispensing tap complied with draft beverage pouring quality standards. 
     
     
         5 . The networked draft beverage system of  claim 1 , wherein the recommendations engine is configured to cause output of the recommendation or report to a producer that produces the beverage or a distributor of the beverage. 
     
     
         6 . The networked draft beverage system of  claim 1 , wherein the recommendations engine is configured to cause output of the recommendation or report to a designated venue of the fluid dispensing tap. 
     
     
         7 . The networked draft beverage system of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of fluid dispensing taps configured to pour the beverage and located at different venues, wherein the data repository is configured to receive and store parameter data from each of the plurality of fluid dispensing taps, and wherein the recommendation or report represents whether each of the different venues has complied with draft beverage pouring standards. 
     
     
         8 . The networked draft beer system of  claim 2 , wherein the draft beverage pouring standards are configurable by the producer that produces the beverage or a distributor of the beverage. 
     
     
         9 . The networked draft beer system of  claim 8 , wherein the draft beverage pouring standards include a specified temperature for serving the beverage, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a thermistor configured to sense temperatures of the beverage flowing through the housing and/or fluid delivery system providing the fluid to the tap, and wherein the analytics engine is configured to determine whether the sensed temperatures correspond to the specified temperature. 
     
     
         10 . The networked draft beer system of  claim 9 , wherein the draft beer pouring standards include a specified temperature specific to a particular beer or style of beer brewed by a brewery, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a color sensor configured to sense color of the beer flowing through the housing and/or fluid delivery system providing the beverage to the tap. 
     
     
         11 . The networked draft beverage system of  claim 8 , wherein the draft beverage pouring standards include a specified pressure for serving the beverage, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a pressure sensor configured to sense pressures of the beverage flowing through the housing and/or fluid delivery system providing the beverage to the tap, and wherein the analytics engine is configured to determine whether the sensed pressures correspond to the specified pressure. 
     
     
         12 . The networked draft beverage system of  claim 8 , wherein the draft beverage pouring standards include a specified quantity of head per glass of the beverage, and wherein the analytics engine is configured to determine whether, for each glass of the beverage poured through the fluid dispensing tap, that the glass was provided with the specified quantity of head. 
     
     
         13 . The networked draft beverage system of  claim 12 , wherein the analytics engine is configured to determine whether the glass was provided with the specified quantity of head based on the parameter data. 
     
     
         14 . The networked draft beverage system of  claim 8 , wherein the draft beverage pouring standards include freshness of the beverage, wherein the analytics engine is configured to determine whether the fluid flowing through the housing and/or fluid delivery system providing the beverage to the tap is fresh based on the parameter data. 
     
     
         15 . The networked draft beverage system of  claim 8 , wherein the analytics engine is configured to determine whether maintenance is needed regarding cleaning the tap and the fluid delivery system providing the beverage to the tap based on the parameter data. 
     
     
         16 . The networked draft beer system of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid dispensing tap comprises a display positioned on a user-facing surface of the housing, wherein the display is configured to display the recommendation or report. 
     
     
         17 . The networked draft beer system of  claim 1 , comprising a plurality of fluid dispensing taps,
 wherein the analytics engine for each fluid dispensing tap is further configured to analyze the parameter data to identify trends in the parameter data; and   wherein the recommendations engine for each fluid dispensing tap is further configured to generate a recommendation or report based on the analytics engine analyzing the data.   
     
     
         18 . The networked draft beer system of  claim 17 , wherein the recommendations engine is configured to cause output of a user interface to a designated user of the recommendation or report based on the trends in the parameter data. 
     
     
         19 . The networked draft beer system of  claim 17 , wherein the recommendations engine is configured to:
 generate the recommendation or report, the recommendation or report including a beverage trending in a particular demographic; and   cause output of a user interface to a designated user associated with a venue of the fluid dispensing tap.   
     
     
         20 . The networked draft beer system of  claim 18 , wherein the user interface includes the recommendation or report and a user-selectable element configured to enable the designated user to place an order for the beverage. 
     
     
         21 . The networked draft beer system of  claim 17 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a flow meter, wherein the parameter data comprises volume of beverage flowing through the plurality of fluid dispensing taps, and wherein the analytics engine is configured to identify that the beverage has been poured above a threshold volume or at volumes exceeding a predetermined rate of change over a window of time. 
     
     
         22 . The networked draft beer system of  claim 17 , wherein the analytics engine is configured to:
 analyze aggregate subsets of the parameter data; and   identify sales performance of various beverages and producers that produce the beverage.   
     
     
         23 . The networked draft beverage system of  claim 22 , wherein the recommendations engine is configured to generate a recommendation or report indicating the sales performance of at least one beverage of the beverages produced by a producer compared to other beverages, sales of the at least one beverage in other regions, or sales of the at least one beverage at different venues. 
     
     
         24 . The networked draft beer system of  claim 23 , wherein the recommendations engine is configured to cause output of a user interface to a designated user associated with one of the various producers or a designated user associated with a venue of the fluid dispensing tap, the user interface including the recommendation or report.