The Dirty Truth about Beer Line Cleaning

Coming Clean – getting your Beer Lines Right

The 2016 Cask Marque Beer Quality Survey Report revealed that nearly 95% of customers would stop using a pub if the beer quality was consistently poor. Sounds reasonable – there’s nothing finer that a great pint in a great pub so why should a customer compromise on that?

How an unclean line affects business and what to do about it

The report, supported by Vianet Business Insight data found that one in three pints is served via an unclean beer line. You can read an online version of the full report here.

The reasons beer lines don’t get cleaned as often as they should are easy to understand. It’s usually a question of either yield, where an operator gains some yield by avoiding the wastage a line clean would incur, or time, where the recommended 7 day clean is seen as taking up too much time in a busy pub.

The ill effects on profits

The report points directly to the fact that not cleaning lines at the recommended intervals is a false economy. Not cleaning regularly enough impacts on yield. Any reduction in yield will result in an increase is waste. It goes on to say that the difference in volumes between a pub that cleans its line and one that doesn’t is about 50 barrels a year. That’s quite a detrimental impact on profits.

Getting Clean

Thankfully, improving beer line cleaning is not too much of an onerous task, even in the busiest of establishments. Here are the top tips for ensuring a clean pull:

Forming a habit – All brewers recommend a clean every 7 days. The easiest way to get this going is to absorb it on to the jobs list for the same day each week.
Follow Manufacturer’s instructions – Taking short-cuts is also a false economy and could easily taint your beer
Go for quality – the general rule is the better quality the cleaning solution, the more cost-effective and efficient it is
Check your fob detectors – regular checks ensure that they are free of yeast build-up
Keg couplings and beer taps – a good clean of keg couplings before they are fixed to a new keg and a thorough soak and clean of bar taps after use will ensure there is no bacteria which risks tainting the beer

Absorbing these tips into your routine will go a long way to ensuring your pub is packed to the rafters with customers thoroughly enjoying their pints!

If you have any questions about beer line cleaning Just Ask CellarCraft