Be Your Own Bartender at "High-Tech" Stirling & Mull

If "soon to be certified sommelier" Ed McLean and his wife Shana have their way, the self-checkout line for draft beer and wine will be coming to Freeport next year. They are currently in negotiations for a location for a "gastropub and wine bar," Stirling & Mull, which is projected to open July 4, 2015. The in-development website has some distinctly European-focused sample menus, pictures of which can be seen below. The "high-tech drinking experience" the McLeans are looking to fund on IndieGoGo involves something called a PourMyBeer Wall (which uses technology invented by Brett Jones of iPourIt), allowing customers to be their own bartender, pulling samples from any tap or pouring a full glass at will.

The campaign, which seeks to raise $13,250 in its remaining 58 days, has an update wherein McLean speaks to the legality of this pour-your-own practice. He explains that the system carefully tracks the amount of product poured per RFID token and "limits the authorized purchases to 2 beverages" at a time, after which the wait staff or bartender must authorize an additional two beverages "based on the amount of time lapsed since the last authorized beverages." He asserts that "this prevents someone from overindulging and is a lot better than the guesswork of a server relying on whether someone looks inebriated or not."

So apparently there will still be a waitstaff and bartender, and instead of checking in with them for every drink, you'll only have to catch their attention for a re-up every other drink?

Have any readers actually used this kind of system? If so, can you give us a better idea of how it worked, or if it's something we should be excited about? Respond in the comments or anonymously via the tipline.

· Stirling & Mull [Website]
· Stirling & Mull Tech Purchase [IndieGoGo]
· All Kickstartin' Coverage [-EME-]