Craft beer lovers will travel far and wide for the perfect glass, but one food truck owner is looking to make that trip shorter with a portable bar focused on a quality beer experience.
Avi Shemtov, owner of the Chubby Chickpea, recently launched the Tapped Beer truck to bring an authentic craft beer experience to private events. His new truck is serving up brews from craft breweries like Castle Island, Exhibit A, New Belgium and Ballast Point straight to the people who love them.
"Anything that is made by people that really care about it is craft, my background in the food industry is about craft food, and that is what led me to the beer industry."
TAPPED Craft Beer Truck
The whole system lies within a vintage 1966 Chevy P36 step van that can serve up to six kegs of beer at a time. The side of the truck has a built-in bar on the outside and a sophisticated tap system on the inside that can include whatever beer the client is looking for.
What sets his truck apart from other vehicles out there that serve beer on the go? The key is a restaurant-quality setup built by Modern Draught, a local draft system installation and maintenance company that has built systems for breweries like Night Shift and Trillium.
Shemtov says some companies have a turnkey tap system that offer an inferior beer experience.
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"The difference between our system and other beer trucks is that they just put taps in. Yes it’s off of a truck, but it is just doing what a frat party does just off of a truck. This is a draft system."
Modern Draught’s system is constantly cooling the beer through 120 feet of coil so it comes out at 38 degrees - the perfect beer-pouring temperature. This gives it a "restaurant pour" that includes a lot less foam than just tapping a keg.
Sanitizer can also be blown through the tubing between events so the next batch tastes like it came straight from the brewery.
Shemtov launched the Chubby Chickpea 7 years ago and wanted to include lessons he’s learned over the years in his new project. The most important one for a food truck owner was to avoid using electricity at all costs since losing power is the bane of any food truck business. His system is electricity-free and requires less maintenance.
Shemtov found the bright blue truck in Wellfleet, Massachusetts while browsing Craigslist, which fit perfectly into his vision of a vintage vehicle serving craft beer.
Any good food or beverage truck has to be eye-catching and Shemtov plans to trick out his mobile taproom with a painted logo and keg-top hubcaps. He also plans to add a batch cocktails and wine-serving system on the other side of his mobile taproom.
