How to Set Up a Digital Tap List
A digital tap list replaces the chalkboard and the dry-erase marker with a TV that always shows exactly what's pouring. When a keg blows, you tap your phone and every screen — plus your website — updates in seconds. Here's how to set one up, start to finish.
What you'll need
- A screen — any TV or monitor with HDMI.
- A player — a Raspberry Pi, tablet, or the TV's browser. A pre-loaded player is the most reliable because it boots straight to your tap list.
- Tap list software — a dashboard to manage your beers and publish changes. DuesterTap is free to start.
Step 1: Add your beers
Enter each beer once with the details drinkers care about — name, style, ABV, IBU, and pour pricing. This becomes your reusable library, so when a seasonal comes back you just switch it on instead of re-typing it.
Step 2: Build the board
Drag your active taps into a board and order them the way you want guests to read them — flagships up top, the hazy IPA everyone wants front and center. The layout auto-scales to fill the screen whether you're pouring 6 beers or 30.
Step 3: Design and brand it
Adjust fonts, colors, and spacing so the board looks like your taproom rather than a generic template. Use the live preview to see exactly what will hit the TV before you publish.
Step 4: Put it on a screen
Point your player at your menu URL. With a pre-configured player you just plug in power and HDMI — it boots straight to the board and reconnects on its own after a power cut. Mounting the player behind the TV keeps everything tidy.
Step 5: Run it from your phone
This is the payoff. When a keg kicks mid-rush, open your phone and 86 it in two taps — the beer drops off every screen and your website instantly. New beer on? Switch it on and publish. No ladder, no marker, no stale board.
Tip: keep your retired beers in the library instead of deleting them. Bringing back last fall's Oktoberfest then takes one tap.
Keep your website in sync
Add a single HTML snippet to your site and your online "what's on tap" page mirrors the bar automatically — so the list a customer checks before driving over is the same one on the wall.
That's it
Once your first screen is live, rolling out to the rest of the taproom is just plugging in more players. See the full feature set for breweries and taprooms, or read the broader digital menu board guide.