It appears that in recent years, the Japanese have been busy inventing new and exciting things to do with beer, including plans by the Sapporo brewery and the Russian space team to brew beer in space later on this year. Now the latest news is that Asahi have invented a robot barman to pour our pints in record time, saving money for the pubs and time for customers.

The end of the barmaid
Although the introduction of 'Mr Asahi' the robot could spell the end of bar jobs the world over, there is hope for those on the other side of the bar, as this computerised barman is able to serve pints, half pints or bottles in less than two minutes. The claims that customers could save 13 minutes being served by Mr Asahi may be welcome news to landlords whose objective is a high turn-over of an evening.

Transatlantic robot tour
Mr Asahi is currently touring bars and pubs in the United Kingdom and is due to depart at the end of August for the United States to continue its showcase tour. Asahi representatives say that landlords will be able to buy the robot for the price of 126,000 €.

In the UK, the half-tonne robot who is apparently programmed to answer questions, has met with a mixed reaction althouh Asahi are confident that this is the dawning of a new age for pub culture.

The fortunately named Simon Brewer, spokesman for Asahi, said: "To our knowledge he is the very first robotic barman in the world. One or two people said that they do not think it will replace the traditional barmaid, but I suppose it could be the beginning of the end.

"We needed to make sure he would pour the right amount of beer with no froth — it was just like training a real barman. I am absolutely sure that he could be developed to make cocktails," Mr Brewer added.