Nestlé’s Nespresso system is a simple, at-home system that lets you make espresso at home using prepackaged pods to simplify the process and save you a trip to your local high-end coffee store. Hopsy is a craft beer service for the Bay Area that offers quick and easy delivery of growlettes (32-ounce, half-size growlers) from local breweries.

On the divide between Keurig and kegerator

Now, Hopsy wants to combine those two business models, with the announcement of the Hometap, a device that sits somewhere on the divide between Keurig and kegerator. Similar to Hopsy’s original service, you order beer from a variety of nearby breweries, which are delivered to your door in special 2-liter bottles (which works out to around 67 ounces — a little more than a full growler, a little less than a standard six-pack, and around four pint glasses of beer). And to further build on this analogy, Hometap device itself is actually produced by KRUPS, one of Nestle’s Nespresso hardware partners.

Making it as easy as possible for you to get beer

There have been at-home, on-demand beer systems before, like the Synek and Pico. But while the Synek required hunting down a bar that supported their proprietary plastic bags, and the Pico used a much more complicated home brewing process, Hopsy hopes to leverage their existing delivery infrastructure to make it as easy as possible for you to get beer. Additionally, the Hometap claims to offer added benefits in storage and freshness over Hopsy's usual growlette deliveries.

Once your beer delivery has arrived, Hopsy offers a fairly simple setup: open the bottle, slot it in to the Hometap, connect a tube from the bottle to the tap, and let it refrigerate your beer. The Hometap will keep a tapped bottle cold and fresh for up to two weeks, ready to dispense from the tap.

The Hometap is available for $149.99, with individual 2-liter Hometap bottles starting at $19.99 each. Hopsy also has a Beer Club monthly program, offering a Hometap rental and two bottles every four weeks for $59.99 a month (with a six-month minimum commitment). Like the regular Hopsy service, Hometap delivery is currently only available in the East Bay and San Francisco areas.