Tony Kiss

ASH

WEST ASHEVILLE – A new high-tech self-serve beer and wine taproom opening this weekend promises to be "a beer festival every day," the owner says.

Pour Taproom, 800 Haywood Road, will have 40 upstairs beer taps and another six downstairs plus eight wine taps and two non-alcoholic taps, all of them self-serve. After showing identification, customers will open bar tabs with cash or credit/debit cards and receive a wristwatch-like device that's a bit like a hotel room key card, taproom owner Nate Tomforde said.

Each beverage tap has a tablet like monitor showing the product being served. The wrist device is tapped on the monitor, which records how much drink is poured into a glass. After purchasing 32 ounces, customers must be re-authorized at the front counter, "to be sure that no one is over drinking," he said.

Experienced staff will assist customers with their purchases. "I want to employ people," he said. "The idea is not to get rid of people, but to transition bartenders from hustling drinks to interacting with the customers."

The system lets customers try a wide variety of beers and wines, with purchases starting at as little as a tenth of an ounce, Tomforde said.

It's the first system of its kind in Asheville, and one of just a few in operation nationally, Tomforde said. He described his layout as "the world's largest self-serve, pay-by-the-ounce beer and wine bar."

The cozy downstairs space includes an antique shuffleboard, plus cornhole and a small beer garden area. There may also be live music. Customers can also order food from the next-door Asheville Sandwich Company.

Pour Taproom will be open 1 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday, 1-9 p.m. Sunday and 4-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Parking is on the street, and after 5 p.m., customers can use the lot next door to the Hops & Vines beer and wine store.