There is nothing like an ice-cold draught beer on a hot summer day. Bottled beer, while refreshing, does not have the same flavor and appeal as draught beer for the increasing beer cognoscenti market. For a proprietor of a bar or restaurant this can translate into higher profits and a broader array of customers. Anyone who has worked in the bar and restaurant industry knows that while customer demand for draught beer is increasing, poor system design can be a nightmare to work with. There are three keys to success to setting up a successful kegging system: access to beer kegs, proper flow rate to the draught and temperature control along the way.
Trendy restaurant and bar designers tend to forget the adage “form follows function” and try to attract customers through their own aesthetic approach while forgetting about the poor barman who must lug the 130lb. kegs from the walk-in refrigerator in the back of the kitchen to the bar at the restaurant’s entrance. When planning a kegging system, it is imperative to use forethought in determining how many draught beers fit your restaurant or bar’s concept and allow for enough refrigerated space for at least twice as many kegs as there are beer selections- there is no bigger turn off for a beer aficionado than having the last of his favorite beer belch out from the tap in a frothy mess and having to apologetically ask her to select another because there is not a properly chilled back-up keg available.
Like systolic blood pressure, draught beer is optimally poured at 120 ounces per minute. It is imperative to know what pressure the brewer recommends for each beer on tap and utilize the line’s choking system to optimize the flow. Every beer style has an optimum level of carbon dioxide and therefore needs to be stored at the right level. This variation must be considered when the beer is transferred from the keg to the draught. There is no table for this exchange; rather the best approach is to use the line system’s choking system to regulate the rate. Just like calibrating an espresso machine to a perfect 18 second pull, the 120 ounces per minute is the ideal and once that is maintained, try to always have similar beer styles on the same lines at all times for maximum functionality.
Like wine, beer styles vary for appropriate temperatures. Lighter, hoppier, or more acidic beer styles are best served at just over freezing temperatures, whereas higher alcohol ales can be much more appealing 10 to 15 degrees higher. Again, this requires forethought. There are dual temperature refrigeration systems that can be used for this purpose.
Space, flow rate and temperature are the three keys to successful kegging systems. Focusing on those three keys can increase customer satisfaction while saving money in the long run on the single biggest line item expense for the food and beverage industry- labor. More importantly, happy bartenders make happy customers.
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