The Difference Between a Jumper Box and Jockey Box
There’s a simple, noticeable detail missing on a Jumper BoxTM that distinguishes it from a jockey box. This intentional omission is the single differentiator that creates a new market of opportunities for creative entrepreneurs operating or building their own draft beer trailer or mobile bar catering service.
For those who may be unfamiliar with both, jockey boxes are the beer industry’s solution to pouring taproom-quality draft beer anywhere. Historically, they’ve earned their reputation at beer festivals because they don’t require electricity.
Instead, jockey boxes are constructed from professional-grade, insulated coolers and modified with stainless steel coils internally and faucets externally. As beer flows from its keg through these coils it’s chilled by ice inside the cooler until it’s dispensed out of faucets on the front.
Fun fact: You can dispense any kegged beverage through a jockey box (or using a Jumper BoxTM!). This makes them popular for also being able to offer wine, hard seltzer, coldbrew coffee, soda, etc. on tap.
Yes—jockey boxes are a turnkey draft beverage station! So, what about Jumper BoxesTM?
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
The subtle, yet advantageous difference that makes a Jumper BoxTM distinct from a jockey box is that Jumper BoxesTM do not have faucets on the box itself. Trust us, there’s a method to this madness!
A jockey box is a self-contained draft beer system, portable unto itself. Wherever you can go, a jockey box (plus your kegs and a CO2 tank) can follow. And just like that, voilà—beer on tap, dispensed directly from the jockey box!
While identical in construction (remember—minus the faucets), think of a Jumper BoxTM as the essential middleman—the bridge, if you will—that allows your static mobile catering service to become its own dynamic draft beer bar on wheels. No longer are you weighed down by having to haul hundreds of bottles and cans to your next event, nor do you have to worry about installing commercial refrigeration in your beer trailer.
JUMPER BOX APPLICATIONS
The elevator pitch for Jumper BoxesTM is that they allow you the flexibility to customize your catering truck or mobile bar trailer such that you can design your beer’s tap layout to fit cohesively with the limited space you have.
This luxury is dually advantageous in that you can present a guest-facing experience that feels just like being in your favorite neighborhood watering hole.
Here’s how it works...
POURING SCENARIOS
Think first about how and from where you’d like your guests to be served. Is a bartender inside the mobile bar slinging drinks from behind the bar like they would at a restaurant? If so, you probably want to install a permanent beer tower on the bar counter or back bar—either work.
Or, if your niche is serving draft beer exclusively (i.e., no mixed drinks, coffee, etc.), perhaps you want the draft beer taps (i.e., the faucets) on the exterior of your trailer. This would allow a bartender to serve a high volume of guests quickly at ground-level from behind a banquet table (think music festival, corporate conventions, for example), or for guests in an environment where they’re able to walk up and serve themselves.
In either case, notice that the faucets—where the beer is literally being dispensed into your guest’s glass—are not directly attached to the Jumper BoxTM. As a matter of fact, the added benefit is that they actually don’t have to be close at all. They probably will, but they don’t have to be. You’ll appreciate the leniency this affords.
These reasons why Jumper BoxesTM do not have faucets attached allow you to install the faucets where they’re convenient for the way you need to operate. Then, all you have to do is let the Jumper BoxTM do what it’s meant to do—chill your beer so you can pour it from wherever you want—inside or out.
