Guinness' glimpse of a futuristic pub

What will your local look like in 2259?

13 March 2009 16:20 GMT / By Ben Crompton

Guinness has laid out its vision for the pub of the future to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

The Guinness innovation team has worked with Ben Hourahine, a "futurist", to give you a glimpse of what your local could look like in 250 year's time.

New features of the tavern of the future will apparently include a robotic doorman who will greet you by name, reading your implanted RFID tag.

Apparently beverages will be brewed before your very eyes using the latest in bio-technology and will be brought to your table by a magnetic levitation tray.

Couple this with "virtual" friends meeting you at the pub using holographic projections, and embedded digital elements within the wall coverings changing in order to give different scenes and create atmosphere, and you have all the ingredients for a very sanitised, if not dull, night out.

If this all sounds rather implausible, then it might be due to the omission, apart from the alcohol, of pretty much everything associated with pubs today - like fights, vomit, barmaids and darts.

Some things will never change, like Guinness' incessant promotion on the back of St Patrick's Day. Still, as long as there's a flying taxi cab waiting outside come time at the bar, we'll be happy.