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Executive Summary

In this phase of the design process, further investigation of consumer needs was accomplished through market research. First, a survey was distributed to a variety of consumers. The survey responses showed that consumers mainly desire an intuitive tap design, reduced foam output, a simple way to keep the keg cold, a better pumping mechanism, and a faster dispensing method. Interviews with store managers were then conducted to determine the needs of beer distributors. It was found that when purchasing taps, distributors look for ones that are easy to disassemble, composed of standard parts, easy to clean, and highly durable.

After brainstorming, we narrowed our ideas into five main design concepts that satisfy the three most common user needs: foam reduction, keg refrigeration, and line reduction. For foam reduction, concepts include a pressure gauge to limit misuse, a separate beer reservoir to force the foam to the top, and a double barrel pump to facilitate pumping and improve the center cylinder. Other concepts are a beer cooling system using coiled tubes surrounded by ice and a multiple hose connector that limits line length at gatherings.

With some research, we found three main designs similar to our own: the "Tap with Spout" (Reference 1), "Jockey Box" (Reference 2), and a multiple hose design (Reference 3). A Pugh chart was created to compare and contrast our concept ideas against these as well as the standard tap. One key advantage to our design is that the competitors do nothing to reduce foam. Also, although the competing designs effectively satisfy individual user needs, they are very expensive.

By analyzing the market research, user studies, and competitor designs, it seems evident that the optimal keg tap redesign would be a combination of our concepts. The recommended combination includes the double barrel pump, the pressure gauge, and multiple hoses. To manage all the tasks at hand, a Gantt chart was also created to map out the design and prototype schedule.

Market Research

The two markets researched were consumers and beer distributors. We conducted interviews and collected survey responses to gain insight as to what customers look for in a keg tap and gauge market need.

Beer Distributors

To determine the needs of beer distributors, we interviewed the store managers. We found that most distributors own about 50 taps and need to restock every few months. They restock mainly because customers do not return the taps after use. We also found that workers routinely disassemble the taps for cleaning. From these interviews, we learned that beer distributors want keg taps that are:

Easy to disassemble
Composed of standard parts to facilitate part replacement
Simple to clean
Durable enough to withstand customer abuse

Consumers

For consumers, we distributed a survey to students, young professionals, and adults in order to get responses from a representative sample of all potential keg tap users. The goals of the survey were to identify the target demographic, key complaints, advantages and disadvantages of keg use as opposed to bottles, and other customer needs. From the survey results, we found that consumers mainly desire the following:

Intuitive tap design
Reduced foam output
Simple way to keep keg cold
Better pumping mechanism
Faster dispensing method

The survey questions along with common responses are summarized below.

Keg Use Survey

For the following survey, over 100 responses were collected: approximately 85% from college students, 10% from young professionals, and 5% from adults. About three-quarters of those surveyed drink from a keg a few times a month; the remainder reported consuming beer from a keg on a less regular basis (a few times a year, used to in college but no longer do, and never). The questions are based on home keg use as opposed to beer on tap at bars.

1. What issues have you experienced getting beer out of a keg?

Of the approximately 100 people surveyed, 90% had issues with too much foam, 81% experienced long lines to fill up their cup, and 50% found it difficult to pump the tap.

Other issues included:

Tap dispensing beer too slowly
Difficulty getting the last bit of beer out of the keg
Trouble with keg stands
Tap breaking

2. What are some advantages/disadvantages to buying a keg instead of cans or bottles?

Advantages:

Much cheaper than cans/bottles
Reduced waste and smaller environmental impact
Easier to clean up
Carbonation level better from keg
Assuming the keg is new/has been well taken care of, the beverage quality is generally higher (less chance of skunking or tasting like metal)
Easier to provide for large groups of people
Can be delivered
Don’t need to search for a bottle opener.

Disadvantages:

Have to return keg
Keg needs to stay cold until you’re done with it
Less variety with kegs than bottles and cans
May be tougher to monitor consumption i.e. not knowing what is in a certain guest’s cup and harder to keep track of the number of beers you’ve had when refilling a cup
Negative perception of “keggers” versus a more mature party with premium beers
Finding a place to put the keg
Accepting that kegs are unattractive
Tap could break
If keg isn't finished the beer will go bad and be a waste
Kegs are heavy and hard to move
Issues with foam
Kegs are banned at some schools

3. What events would you purchase a keg for?

Any large, casual party
Tailgating
Barbeques
Camping

4. Have you ever tapped a keg? What problems did you have, if any?

The tap would not stay screwed into the keg (may have been broken)
Difficult to screw the tap on properly
Not familiar with type of tap (keg tap not intuitive)
Beer sprayed all over the place because of old or broken seal
Pressure lost so the keg had to be retapped
Incompatible tap-keg connections

5. What would you look for when purchasing a keg tap?

Large, stationary upright tap as opposed to a long tube and tiny nozzle
Sturdy feel (the piston doesn’t wobble)
Low cost
Durable
Good pumping and dispensing mechanisms
Quality materials
Intuitive/Easy to use
Multiple nozzles
Good grip on the dispenser
Lightweight
Easy to wash
Long hose with a sturdy nozzle
Compatible with a broad array of kegs
Maximum beer flow

6. How could your overall keg experience be improved?

Way to chill keg
Pressure gauge to prevent over pumping
Make a keg like a Gatorade cooler with a spigot at the bottom and no tap
Handle that doesn't protrude so far off the keg (pump handle like most large ketchup dispensers)
Eliminate foam
Multiple hoses
Push a button to automatically pump the keg to an optimal pressure
Stronger flow from tap
Way to preserve beer left over in keg so it doesn't go bad
Keg with wheels for ease of transport
Add light so that you can see where you’re pouring at night
More suitable for keg stands
More intuitive
Rubber on keg handles to make carrying it easier
Have only open or closed option for nozzle
More pressure per pump (foot pump?)
Keep cost down (no CO2 canisters)

Results Summary

The market research demonstrates that there are many potential areas for improvement in keg tap design. Beer distributors desire a durable tap that is easy to disassemble and clean. Consumers focus more on use issues such as foamy beer, keeping the keg cold, difficulty pumping, and standing in long lines to fill a cup. Some user complaints can be attributed to misuse of the tap. Misuse could be easily prevented by providing directions, but based on the nature of the product, directions would probably never be read. Alternatively, the keg tap could be constructed in a more intuitive way, have arrows printed on it demonstrating the proper tapping method, or include a pressure gauge to indicate how many pumps are needed to dispense non-foamy beer.

Due to the large percentage of responses complaining about the foam, much of our brainstorming focused on fixing that problem. We also had multiple ideas for improving access to the beer and cooling it more efficiently. The keg tap redesign concepts reflect what we have determined to be the leading market needs.

Design Concepts

Based on our survey results, the key areas of improvement are foam reduction, keg refrigeration, and line reduction. While the 5 main concepts below fulfill these specific areas, other improvements will also be made. Ease of use, environmental impact, cost, and aesthetics will all be taken into account, and general improvements in these areas will be automatic. A more comprehensive list of ideas can be found in the appendix.

Figure 1. Pressure Gauge

Issue 1: Foam Reduction

Concept Solutions:

Pressure Gauge

A simple pressure gauge is something that could limit the chance of misuse by telling the user when the keg is at the ideal pressure. If we also added a release valve, this would take it a step further by entirely preventing the user from over-pumping. Ideally the gauge would be attached to the tap at the point where air is coming back out of the keg. An illustration of this is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 2. Seperate Reservoir

Separate Beer Reservoir

A separate beer reservoir is another concept idea that would reduce foam. By having the beer enter a separate container at a high point and exit at a low point, the foam would ideally rise to the top, while the beer would exit out the hose. Whether the separate reservoir is internal or external is yet to be determined. An illustration of this general concept can be seen in Figure 2.

Figure 3. Double Barrel Pump

Double Barrel Pump

The Double Barrel Pump is a concept that could potentially both reduce foam and facilitate pumping. With more air going into the keg, less pumps would be necessary. Also, this design would change the center cylinder, which is a key source of turbulence. In the Double Barrel Pump design, the beer would flow in a straight path, while the air flow would have a curved path. This is the opposite from standard center cylinders, where the beer is forced around many sharp turns and tight corners. An illustration of the double barrel pump is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 4. Cooling System

Issue 2: Keg refrigeration

Concept Solution:

Coiled tubes in ice bath

Since finding containers to hold a keg can often be difficult, and the ice can be messy, this solution would minimize these issues. A container would be placed on top of the keg with the beer tube coiled around a centered cylinder. The container would then be filled with ice in order to cool the beer flowing out of the tube. It would probably take quite a length of tubing, but this could be determined by applying heat transfer calculations. Also, the shape of the container might change depending on whether it is manually pumped (there would need to be a hole to access the plunger), or if it would have a built-in C02 canister to regulate the pressure. A general illustration of this concept is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 5. Multiple Hoses

Issue 3: Distribution Improvement

Concept Solution:

Multiple hoses

Multiple hoses is a relatively simple solution to minimizing the waiting period for a beer. This is an idea that would definitely have to be paired with another concept, as it doesn't help to limit foam. While the illustration shows hoses coming out of the same opening in the tap, this might not be the case. Also, the tubing could potentially be elimated in favor of a series of spouts. A concept sketch is shown in Figure 5.

Competitor Products

After doing multiple searches and interviewing the owner of a large beer distributor some competing products were identified in the table. These products were all found on a website that was given to us by the beer distributor. The "Tap with Spout", "Jockey Box", and "Multiple Hoses" pictures were all taken from references 1, 2, and 3 respectively. In addition to the competing products we found, we also listed our five best designs and compared them all to the tap we disassembled in the following Pugh chart.

Figure 6. Pugh Chart

As you can easily see our designs were thought of in attempt to fix certain complaints from our user surveys. The first three designs are our attempts to reduce foam, the fourth is to cool the beer, and the last attempts to serve the beer more quickly. Our designs to reduce foam seem to be promising as competitors seem to be lacking there. We also feel as though some of our designs may be easier to use than current taps. Out performing our competition in these two categories is at the top of our list of things to accomplish. That being said we have thought of multiple ways to combine some of these ideas in order to increase the positive aspects from our redesign.

Design Plan

Figure 7. Gantt Chart

Key Findings

By looking at the results from user testing, the survey, and Pugh chart, we have found that a combination of our concepts is necessary. When looking at competitor products, we noticed that there aren't any attempts at foam reduction for personal keg use. And while we found competitors to have several efficient ways to cool beer, they were all very costly. Thus, we recommend combining two of the foam reduction concepts with one of the other areas of improvement. Specifically, we recommend combining the pressure gauge, to limit misuse, the double barrel pump, to facilitate pumping and improve the center cylinder, and a multiple hose attachment to fill more than one cup at a time. In an ideal situation, the beer would have the right amount of foam, it would be dispensed quickly, and it would be more easily tapped. Take a college party as an example. The hosts, busy with other preparations, cannot deal with the keg, so they pass off the tap to an inexperienced drinker. Our tap is very intuitive, so the inexperienced drinker has no problem tapping the keg. The party starts, and no line forms at the bar because there are multiple hoses to fill cups. The double barrel pump dispenses the beer with very little foam, pleasing both the guests, since they have a full cup of liquid, and the hosts, since they waste less beer. We believe that this scenario illustrates how user needs can be met by combining our concepts.

Team Member Roles

While the majority of the sections were done by the group as a whole, each person helped in the following areas:

Dan Boljonis: Gantt chart, market research

Keith Haselhoff: Competitor research, Pugh chart

Abby Morrell: Design concept sketches and descriptions, findings & recommendations, executive summary

Julia Weirman: Market research, created survey and compiled results, editing

References

Appendix

Brainstorming Ideas:

Pressure meter
Pressure release valve
Flat surface to put cup on
Multiple cup holders
Adjustable cup holder
Multiple hoses
Instead of hoses have a reservoir with spouts
Flatten the keg on one side
Carbon Dioxide canister
Keg stand helper
Wheels on keg
Flatter, more rectangular handle
Strap for carrying keg
Motorized keg
Tubing to cool beer
Cooling Koozie
Insulated keg
Instructions for tapping
Larger diameter hose
Empty-full gauge
Cup dispenser
Pong ball dispenser
Quarter dispenser
Fold-out table
Keg grill
Pump into separate reserve
Cooled reserve
Hose-less nozzle
Breathalyzer
Flow straightener
Separate center cylinder
Way to suck out foam faster
Button to tap keg instead of pump
Recirculate foam back into keg
External primer
Internal chamber to recirculate foam
Different locking mechanism
Self-assembled tap (compact packaging)
Put some substance into keg to reduce foam (like Guinness bottles)
Put some substannce into tap to reduce foam
Keg can play music when pumped
Charges ipod with pumping
Nozzle only open or close
Koozie to insulate keg
Beer counter
Pump counter
Measuring device to dispense only certain amount of beer
Plastic keg tap
Novelty keg taps with different characters (ie. Peter Griffin, Ninja Turtles, Statue of Liberty)
Keg tap with audio
Voice-activated pressure gauge
Magic 8 ball keg tap
Sanitizer
Glow in the dark keg tap
Flashlight attached to nozzle
Attach different beverage to nozzle to make mixed drinks
Different nozzle heads (Spray, jet)
Foot pump tap
Electric motor
Multiple kinds of beer in 1 keg
Disco-light tap
Fog machine
Foam machine
Gargoyling assist
Turn a wheel instead of pumping
Clear tube to see foam
Plexiglass keg
Strip of plexiglass to show beer level
Plexiglass top only
Recognition system (Only one person can tap keg)
Theft reduction system
Vending machine keg (Quarter per beer)
Tells alcohol percentage
Removable hose, different attachments
Water fountain tap
Beer flows out over fountain
Disposable nozzle cover
No lever arm on tap (twists into place)
Make everything stainless steel
Diamond keg tap
Bigger center cylinder
Hose attachment at angle or straight up
Offset pump so beer comes out straight
Double barrel pump (balances out moment)
Use outlet tube to pump (no turns)
Pump like ketchup dispenser
Universal attachment (works for all kegs)
Ice container with coils for cooling beer (sits on keg, attaches to tap)
Dishwaster safe
Garden hose nozzle adapter for easy cleaning (flush with water)
Retractable hose (like in sink)
Hose comes coiled, tap has holder
Instead of flowing through coils, beer flows over cold surface into cup
Handle turns red when keg nears empty
Rack for holding keg
Container that has drain for water when ice melts
Holder to place cup at proper angle
Thermo-electric cooling keg
Comfort grips for keg stands
Camouflage keg
American pride keg

Keg tap redesign