TABLE TAP #1 TIPS ON THE PERFECT SELF POUR BEER THIS SUMMER
Summer is upon us! After a long, hot Summer’s day, nothing is better than an ice cold self pour draft beer. It really is pure bliss and something that everybody (of legal drinking age) should experience. Something that nobody should ever have to experience is pouring a lukewarm beer full of foam. It’s quite the buzz kill… literally.
By partnering with Table Tap, you not only get access to our knowledge and expertise of self pour technology and implementations, but you also get access to our knowledge and expertise of draft beer systems. What makes Table Tap unique is our ability to provide a turnkey solution for our customers. We’ll provide and install not only a first class self pour system, but we’ll also install a top-notch beer system that is meant to be self pour. By trusting Table Tap to install both systems, you ensure your customers will pour the perfect beer each and every time.
When every ounce is paid for by the customer, this is crucially important. You can have the best self pour technology in the world, but if your draft system isn’t installed properly, then the money you invested in the system has gone down the drain. Suddenly, you’ll have a worse taste in your mouth than your customers drinking warm foamy beer.
Beer is a very sensitive liquid to dispense and foam is the enemy. Through countless self pour implementations over the years, Table Tap has learned the best ways and practices to prevent foamy beers from being a nuisance within your venue. We would like to share some of our expertise with you to ensure your customers are pouring the perfect ice cold beers this summer and beyond.
Beer System Design
The cause of foamy beer can boil down to two main culprits: temperature and pressure. Kegs need to be stored at 36-38 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature must be maintained all the way to the point of dispense. Optimal dispense temperature is 38 degrees. If beer is dispensed at a temperature warmer than 38 degrees, even just a few degrees warmer, then an undesired amount of foam can occur.
*Tip: To troubleshoot a foamy beer, the first step is to get a temperature read on the beer as soon as it is dispensed. For this, we recommend purchasing a liquid thermometer.
A draft beer system always requires CO2 gas to pressurize the system. Depending on your setup and types of beer being dispensed, Nitrogen gas may also be required. For typical ales and lagers, the recommended pressure is between 12-15 lbs. Depending on the internal diameter of the beer lines and distance of the runs, varying pressures may be required. If a beer system is either over pressurized or under pressurized, then foam can occur. Table Tap calculates all the variables involved during the installation process to make sure your draft beer system is properly balanced to the proper pressure for an optimal self pour experience.
The first step in preventing foam is making sure your beer system is properly designed. By properly designing your beer system, you’ll reduce the risk of your system being inadequately cooled or inadequately pressurized. Most self pour tap walls are long-draw systems. This means the kegs are remotely stored in a refrigerator or walk-in cooler away from the taps.
The beer leaves the kegs and travels through beer lines until it reaches the taps. So how is the beer kept cold as it travels from keg to the dispense point? The key is glycol. Glycol is a coolant that circulates as a liquid at below freezing temperatures keeping the beverage lines cold from keg to tap.
Glycol gets pumped through its own tubing which touches the outside of each beer line conducting cool to ensure ice cold beverages at the tap. A Glycol Power Pack is the machine that circulates this coolant and maintains its temperature. For a long draw tap wall, Table Tap always installs a glycol cooled system to make sure beers are dispensed as cold as possible. Since glycol circulates as a liquid at below freezing temperatures, it will keep the beer colder than most any walk-in or air cooled refrigerator.
A self-contained beer system is typically referred to as a direct draw system, also known as kegerators. A direct draw draft system is one that circulates cold air to keep beer at the proper temperature. Kegs are stored in a direct-draw refrigerated cooler and the beer is dispensed through taps on top of the unit. Table Tap always recommends kegerators that contain a blower hose to continuously blow cold air up into the tap tower. A blower hose makes sure each pour will come out ice cold. Without that blower hose, the beer inside that tower will warm.
If time passes between pours, the next pour will likely be warm and foamy. Table Tap carefully selects the best direct draw units to guarantee a perfect pour every time. We always recommend commercial grade refrigeration from our friends over at Perlick. By using Perlick, you can feel much better about the longevity and performance of your system.
*Tip: The external environment can also impact the temperature beer is dispensed at. For example, we recommend keeping your taps out of direct sunlight and away from any other sources of heat as that could cause beer to be dispensed warmer than desired.
Beer System Operations
Once you have a beer system that is properly balanced and installed, you then have to make sure your operations team is implementing practices that ensure your beer system performs the way it is designed to. You can have a really nice car, but if you put the wrong gas in it, it won’t drive like it’s supposed to.
As you can imagine, the type of gas a beer system requires is ice cold beer. Again, beer should be stored between 36-38 degrees and ideally dispensed right at 38 degrees. That means your kegs need to get down to these temperatures before they are connected to your system. If you hook up a warm keg, you are doomed from the start. Oftentimes, kegs are not transported at adequate temperatures. The keg will warm from the time it is unloaded off the truck and put inside your walk-in cooler or refrigerator. It takes beer one hour to reduce its temperature by one degree. If a keg is 45 degrees when it is delivered, you’ll need to refrigerate it for at least 7 hours before tapping it.
Kegs also get jostled during transport and delivery. When a keg is jostled, foam builds up inside. Tapping a foamy keg results in pouring foamy beers. Imagine what that keg goes through before it gets to your cooler: It gets thrown into a trailer. It then sits in that trailer and bumps down the road on its way to your venue. Finally, it gets thrown off that trailer and into your cooler. If you were to tap that keg as soon as it gets delivered, you’ll likely be pouring foam. Once kegs are delivered, they need to sit untapped in proper refrigeration for at least a few hours to allow them to settle and cool.
Cars also require regular oil changes to maintain their performance and longevity. Beer systems require even more regular maintenance. If your system is properly balanced but pouring foam, then you may have dirty lines. Cleaning your beer lines on a regular basis is extremely important. Dirty lines can result in foamy beer and foul tasting beer. Dirty lines could also lead to your customers getting sick and reduce the lifespan of your beer system and self pour system.
For a bar or taproom doing a lot of volume, we recommend having your beer lines cleaned every two weeks. For an apartment complex that does less volume, we recommend having your beer lines cleaned at least once a month. Cleaning beer lines involves flushing the beer lines out with a chemical solution. Because of that, we recommend having your lines cleaned by professionals, either your beer distributors or a local line cleaning service. If your venue is local to the Atlanta area, Table Tap is happy to enroll you in our in-house line cleaning program.
*Tip: Whenever someone from your staff is handling any hardware associated with your beer system, make sure they are doing so with care. Even the smallest knick or ridge in a keg coupler, faucet, or beer line can result in foamy pours. Trust us, Table Tap has seen it all.
Beer Pouring Technique
Alright, back to the car analogy. You have a well built car with all the right accessories. You’re getting it regularly serviced and you’re putting all the right gas in it. That’s all great, but if you put a bad driver behind the wheel, you might get some dings and scratches.
With a self-pour system, your customers are their own bartender. Many of your first time customers may have never poured a beer before. It’s super important that you implement ways to educate your customers on how to pour the proper beer. We love tap ambassadors. This is an employee who hangs out around the beer wall and informs customers about the beers on tap, how the technology works, and the right way to self pour a beer.
Other ideas include posting pouring instructions on the wall next to the taps or customizing your RFID cards to include pouring instructions. There are a couple key steps to pouring the perfect beer.
Different ways to educate customers on how to self pour their own beer
First, you need to open the tap handle ALL THE WAY. In one fluid motion, pull the tap handle completely towards you. If the tap handle is only partially open, an air pocket will form which causes foam.
Next, tilt your glass at a 45 degree angle so as you pour the beer slides down your glass. If your glass is completely upright under the faucet, the stream of beer will crash into the bottom of the glass and cause foam. Imagine a shallow dive into a pool versus a belly flop. Which makes the bigger splash? The smaller the splash, the less foam.
Next, in one motion push that tap handle back, closing it all the way. You’ve put the car in park which means you can now enjoy the perfect pint of ice cold beer. Cheers!
*Tip: Glassware is also important. We recommend glasses with a rounded bottom versus a flat bottom to reduce the amount of splash. Your glassware should also have a smooth interior surface with no ridges. If you can offer chilled glasses versus room temperature glasses, that’s another plus for self pour.
As you now know, a lot goes into pouring the perfect draft beer. Nobody has more expertise on this subject than Table Tap. The battle against foam is one we know how to win. We’ve been installing, servicing, and troubleshooting self pour draft beer systems for nearly two decades and our team has combined industry experience of well beyond that. We know how to design self pour beer systems, how to install self pour beer systems, and how to operate self pour systems.
We want everyone to feel the empowerment and joy of pulling that tap handle and pouring the perfect beer. It’s the mission we were founded on, so if you’re looking for the TRUE self pour beer experts, give us a call!
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