If I were either an industrial designer or a biologist specializing in mycology I think I’d be drawn to beer taps.

Once they were just utilitarian mechanical pumps drawing on the bartender’s strength to ‘pull’ ale from kegs. Now however these bright iconic taps sporting their manufacturer’s logos seem to sprout from bars like mushrooms.

Just like the the fungal mycelium under the ground, under bars lies a complex network of nylon tubes leading off to hidden kegs, cylinders of carbon-dioxide gas and refrigeration systems.

Mushrooms and beer taps; I wonder who else has noticed the uncanny similarity. Now if only one or two would pop up on our back lawn!

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Mushrooms and Beer Taps’, 1/100s f/3.2 ISO320 200mm