Webinar – Questions and Answers

No, backward flow meters will not count. 

No, flow meters will not account for too much foam.

In our first installation at Stanley Beer Hall, we put our red wine outside the beer cooler, but the lines were inside. So in the morning, the first glass of red wine was chilled. We restructured that so it was at the correct temperature.

38°F is the key number, but some beers will taste better when served at a warmer temperature. Certain bars and restaurants do serve different beer styles at warmer temperatures to enhance the taste. The optimal temperature for this is 46°F, but if you have 10 kegs in your cooler, are you going to increase the temperature for that 1 beer? This is not a good idea, but things can be done. Some bars have different coolers depending on the style of beer. This way, each style can be kept at the proper temperature. I’d be happy to discuss this further with anyone who has questions on this.  

The answer is yes. They are made of materials that are perfectly suitable for anything that we are going to be generally cleaning with. These are built with that in mind. But it’s important that we use the right amount of chemicals. 

Generally, all the beer that’s in the lines when we clean is going down the drain. Some bars will capture it and cook with it. Generally, this is where having a shorter draw vs. a longer draw system pays off. Unfortunately, this is just the cost of doing business. You must clean your lines, and once it’s in the lines, it’s gone. 

Light beer is always the canary in a coal mine. There is really not a lot to it, so there is not a lot to keep the gas in the solution. Take a real thick and hearty porter or Guinness-type beer where there is a lot of stuff in there, allowing the gas to hang out for another degree. Again, it is almost always going to be temperature-related where a light product at 39 degrees might act up and craft beer can take another degree or two because there is more stuff for the gas to hang onto.

Unfortunately, there is no better design, but we will leave it up to one of you guys to invent! I have been doing this for 20+ years, and it has always just been this way. I think it is because it is economical, easier to make, easier to clean, and doesn’t take up a whole lot of room.