Someone once told me that the best way to assess the cleanliness of a restaurant was to look at the bathrooms or the kitchen. I would amend that to include the draft system as well. If cleanliness is next to Godliness, then a properly maintained draft system is simply divine.
Imagine your craft beer as a loaf of fresh artisanal bread with an aromatic hard crust and a soft, spongy center. What happens if a restaurant stores that bread in a dark, wet corner until it is used? What happens if it is left uncovered on the counter overnight? This effectively happens with beer all the time.
UV light can turn a good beer bad in minutes. Warm temperatures can hasten the staling process, not to mention cause over-foaming issues. And then, there is the draft system. A poorly balanced draft system can waste beer and money. However, a dirty draft system can make a beer undrinkable, thus ruining the reputation of both the restaurant and the brewery.
Our next guest is a Master Cicerone® and he is a man with a plan when it comes to keeping beer fresh and delicious.
Show Links
Brewers Association’s Draught Beer Quality Manual
Draft Beer Quality for Retailer’s
Great American Beer Festival – GABF
Worst Problems:
Mold
Common Problems:
Maintenance
Design issues
Poorly balanced system
Air compressors
Wrong dispense gas
What draft problems plague you the most?