New York-based Marc Thorpe has become the latest designer to produce a compact draught beer dispenser with a design for Stella Artois that was created for small restaurants and bars (+ slideshow).
The self-contained unit, called Stella Artois Nova, is designed for a counter or bar top, and relies on special 12-litre glass beer vessels supplied by the company, rather than hooking to a standard keg.
At 24 inches long (61 centimetres), 28 inches high (71 centimetres), and 15 inches across (38 centimetres), the dispenser takes up far less space than conventional beer draughts.
Made of high-density injection-moulded plastic, the double-layer dispenser uses compressed gas to create the pressure for the pour. It also contains a cooler that can bring the full vessel to the correct temperature in four hours.
"The vision of this project was to design a best-in-class draught experience to be shared at bars and restaurants that did not previously have this capability," said Thorpe. "Stella Artois Nova brings a new draught experience that celebrates the essence of this culture by bringing the standards, technology and rituals of Stella Artois to life."
His design follows a similar product by Marc Newson, who teamed with Heineken and Krups to create a barrel-shaped dispenser intended for home use last year. Newson's design holds two-litre vessels of beer that must be ordered from Heineken.
Thorpe works in architecture, furniture design, packaging, branding and graphics for a variety of companies including Moroso, Under Armour, Mercedes Benz, and L'Oreal.
"In the United States we tend to categorise things – put things in boxes – and it sort of limits the designer," he told Dezeen in an interview earlier this year. "Whereas in Europe I found it very different, the sort of approach of understanding what a designer is, and that a designer can pretty much do anything"
Stella Artois is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, which also owns beer brands including Budweiser, Corona, Becks, Leffe, and Hoegaarden.