It appears that Trondheim still holds the distinction for the thirstiest and biggest beer festival in Norway, and sometimes as an ambitious brewer the plans get a little out of hand.

Meet FrankenReins the 13 tap double decker thing I thought would work well in Trondheim

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What was supposed to be a vehicle to show off what we have been up to for the last few months and offer more beer on tap then the others became a crutch.

In practice there was very little space for one person to stand and serve beer, even less so for two.

*Breweries were allotted about 1 square meter.

Like Icarus, my ambition much like his waxen wings encountered a stark reality, this isn’t going to work.

Lesson learned:

People at the Trondheim beer festival are so numerous (25,000 over three days) that once a line develops at the beginning of the day, its nearly impossible to catch up.

13 taps although charming and ambitious, simply aren’t possible with 30 liter kegs standing up normally, just cant fit that many behind the bar, barely can fit 9 and still have room to serve beer.

Although having a wide variety of beers seems like a good idea, in reality it seemed to just overwhelm the customer, many asking to try many things before they could be convinced they made the right choice – this is an analyzed phenomenon aptly called the paradox of choice.

Overall, the festival was great as always. Fun to be able to serve beer to your neighbors and close friends in the best city: Trondheim, but next year I’m going to take note of these aforementioned lessons and strive to get some fast taps and curate a smaller menu.