Czech Pubs Turn to Technology to Save Energy Costs on Beer

Czech pubs are turning to technology to reduce the cost of putting glasses of beer on the bar for thirsty locals.

With Czechs among the biggest beer drinkers in the world, brewer Plzensky Prazdroj plans to install sensors which will collect data on beer flow, as well as tube and tap temperatures.

This will be sent to a cloud database and analysed to make recommendations on improving a pub’s systems, said Jakub Zaoral who is leading the Asahi-owned brewery’s Smart Taproom project.

Plzensky Prazdroj hopes that by making adjustments its pubs will save up to 30 per cent of the energy needed for cooling and tapping their beer, a goal made more pressing by rising energy costs.

“We will ‘x-ray’ and observe 45 pubs using 1,200 sensors which gives us the exact numbers, how our tapping system consumes electric energy and we will relate this with the beer flow and its consumption in the pub,” said Zaoral.

The system uses Internet of Drinks solutions by start-up firm Smart Technology, which uses ultrasound metering and provides information on the amount of beer tapped, sanitation intervals and the state of the cooling system.

At Prague’s Katr pub, where the system is already in use, manager Michal Reznicek is hoping for an impact on rising costs, which are impacting beer, food and staff.

“Our goal and wish is that this project helps us to exist further,” Reznicek said.

Price per pint will exceed 70 CZK

November brought another increase in the price of beer. Budějovický Budvar joined the producers who increased the price for a pint, it can mean two crowns more.

“The main reason for this is energy prices and prices of packaging material, prices of hops and prices of malt in particular, we expect them to go up again by tens of percent,” described the director of Budějovický Budvar Petr Dvořák.

The price of a pint has risen by about two crowns, but in some pubs the increase may be even higher. They also plan to increase the price by other costs.