“You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed.”
-Bob Dylan
Although Bob Dylan was singing about serving higher powers, there’s a growing trend in the craft beer world where, as it turns out, you serve yourself.
A friend in California first tipped me off to self-pour craft beer bars — places where you literally pour your own beer via tech-forward systems dispensing as little as one ounce at a time. I hadn’t encountered this setup before and was skeptical that removing the bartender from the equation might dull the experience.
Turns out, I was wrong.
A few dedicated KBM readers pointed me toward Hop & Vine, a self-pour taproom in Stamford, and I quickly found that the self-serve model didn’t diminish the vibe — it enhanced it.
On a bitterly cold Saturday afternoon, the Katonah crew rendezvoused with my former workmates (and Stamford craft beer power couple) at Hop & Vine.
Stamford’s recent growth played a key role in the owners’ decision to open Hop & Vine there. Over the past decade, the city’s population increased by approximately 10.5 percent, reaching more than 135,000 residents. Now the second-largest city in Connecticut, Stamford has been one of the state’s fastest-growing municipalities, driven largely by housing development in its downtown and south end.
Self-serve beer bars began gaining traction nationally around 2015–2016, accelerating as the technology matured and later surging during the pandemic when labor efficiency became critical.
One of Hop & Vine’s owners, Sak Seedasome, encountered self-pour taprooms while visiting California and immediately knew he wanted to bring the concept to Connecticut. There was just one obstacle: under state law, customers could not legally pour their own beer or wine.
Confident in the concept, the three founders — Seedasome, Matthew Ventura and Connor Rasmussen — embarked on a lobbying effort with state government. Before Hop & Vine could pour a single ounce, the law had to change.
Working with a lobbyist, the owners helped draft legislative language modeled after other states, met with lawmakers, and explained the technology and safeguards. Those efforts paid off in 2021, with a passage of a bill amending Connecticut’s Liquor Control Act to allow automated self-pour systems under specific conditions.
Each guest card is capped at 32 ounces of beer or 10 ounces of wine before an employee must reauthorize additional pours.
Hop & Vine opened in early 2024 with 69 automated taps across sleek draft walls, pouring rotating selections of craft beer, wine, cider and seltzers.
The spacious taproom is split between a quieter downstairs and a livelier upstairs featuring darts, cornhole and table shuffleboard — where GT and I put on a clinic against JMc. and BMc. Could those skills translate to curling?
Both levels feature beer walls lined with self-pour taps offering a wide, ever-changing lineup.
Connor summed it up well: “That’s the beauty of self-pour. We get people from across Connecticut and Westchester sampling local craft beers. It’s new for many guests, and the crowd really varies depending on what’s happening here.”
The self-pour system turned out to be surprisingly social. Pours can be as small as one ounce, averaging about 63 cents per ounce, encouraging exploration. Our crew sampled freely, discovered unfamiliar breweries, and swapped tasting notes throughout the afternoon.
While the tap list spans multiple regions, there’s a strong emphasis on Connecticut breweries — a welcome nudge for me, as I don’t connect with Connecticut producers as often as I should.
The standout of the day came from My Friend’s Lunch, a small Connecticut brewery. Their Litcoin Lager delivered a mellow elderberry finish that kept drawing me back.
As a former data analytics professional — before seeing the light and becoming a craft beer journalist — I appreciated another layer of the system: data-driven decision-making. Hop & Vine’s Pour My Beer platform tracks a lot of stats including what and how much is being poured and this data helps guide future tap selections.
Most kegs are smaller by design, ensuring frequent rotation. Come midweek and return on the weekend, and the draft list could look entirely different.
Interestingly, ciders and sours perform well year-round. Perhaps a New York vs. Connecticut thing — because while Guinness was available, our crew would’ve welcomed a few more stouts and darker seasonal beers on the day we were there.
Crew member BMc summed up the experience perfectly: “I tasted five new craft beers and only drank sixteen ounces.”
Variety is indeed the spice of life.
They also have nitro coffee, kombucha and in-house mocktails.
The seasonal menu leans toward an Asian-fusion-pub-food sensibility, spanning apps, wings, burgers, flatbreads, entrées, salads, soups, and — when in season — lobster rolls.
Everyone initially passed on the thick-cut lager-beer-battered onion rings with house-made ranch. We ordered them anyway and promptly devoured those crisp ovals of awesomeness like it was an Olympic event.
Other highlights included chicken and lemongrass potstickers with hoisin-gochujang sauce, solid thrice-cooked buffalo wings and a hearty Texas-style chili. Our Stamford craft beer power couple noted the food program has improved significantly since their first visit awhile back — a promising sign for a young operation.
In the end, the self-pour model at Hop & Vine adds a fun new dimension — a conduit for exploration, conversation and discovery. Combined with a welcoming space, a thoughtfully curated tap list, and a good food program, it makes for a compelling destination.
As it turns out, serving yourself doesn’t mean going it alone.
Cheers!
The Katonah Beer Man can be reached at TheKatonahBeerMan@gmail.com or visit thekatonahbeerman.wordpress.com. For more information about Hop & Vine, visit hopandvinect.com. Hop & Vine is located at 30 Spring St., in Stamford.
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