Hopscotch Melbourne is the second venue in Australia to install brewing equipment that entirely avoids the need for kegs.

Dubbed ‘Frank the Tank’ by Hopscotch staff, the 500L brewing system is more officially known as the Spark K500, developed by Spark Engineering.

The Spark K500 system at Hopscotch

The unique configuration of brite tank stacked above the fermenter allows Hopscotch to serve more easily direct from the brite to draft font, Spark founder Julian Sanders told Brews News.

“They have no keg washer, no kegs and no plans to distribute offsite,” he said.

“The only other system in Australia that I know with this ‘brite above fermenter’ setup is one of our other K500 projects, Ocean Reach, on Phillip Island. No one else builds this configuration.”

Sanders said the layout has other benefits including reduced footprint, opening up the possibility of brewing to space constrained venues.

The venue’s first in-house beer will be tapped Wednesday July 26

“The beer brewed on site will be experienced fresh and exactly as the brewer intends, having never seen heat, light or oxygen,” he said.

Hopscotch put its first brew through the system in late June, an oyster stout created by Mick Jontef for Brewmanity.

The venue will celebrate the tapping of its first in-house brew in a special event called What The Shuck! next Wednesday July 26.

Presented bySparkEngineering, creator ofhigh quality brewing and distilling systems, theSmall Brewery Updatereports the latest brewery openings and closings from across Australia.

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