The country’s attention may have turned to packaged beer sold at grocery stores over the last year, but Neil Witte is one of the loudest voices still singing the praises of a perfectly poured draft pint. Witte launched TapStar, a draft beer quality certification program, while the pandemic was forcing many bars and taprooms across the U.S. to close.
He knows the timing seems counterintuitive, but he doesn’t see it that way: For Witte, the pandemic makes every bar or taproom customer more important than they’ve ever been. Drinkers might be watching their budgets, going out less, and feeling nervous about drinking at bars and breweries again. If a bartender doesn’t serve them the best glass of beer possible, that drinker might never come back.
“You can’t afford to screw this up,” Witte summarizes.
TapStar was set to launch in April as a paid program certifying draft systems at bars, restaurants, and taprooms. The premise was straightforward: If a drinker sees the TapStar sticker on a bar’s door or menu, they know the establishment has passed a comprehensive draft system audit—no gunky lines, cruddy glassware, or expired kegs, for starters. Witte has been an exponent of draft beer quality for decades, first as Boulevard Brewing Company’s field quality manager, then as the Brewers Association’s quality ambassador, and currently as the founder of consulting company Craft Quality Solutions.
But the pandemic delayed TapStar’s launch until summer, and changed Witte’s calculations: He decided to give struggling businesses a hand by offering the program for free, for the time being. He’s thus far certified 16 establishments in Kansas City, where he lives. It’s an initiative with no losers: When establishments pay more attention to draft quality, they win, breweries win, and consumers win—everyone sells more and better beer.
Words,Kate Bernot