Table of Contents  

Beertender Guide Home
Storing Packaged Beer
Serving Packaged Beer
Draught Beer Handling
Replacing a CO2 Cylinder
Tapping a Keg
Serving Draught
"Beer Clean" Glasses
Handling Clean Glassware
Pouring Draught
Cleaning the Beer Lines - 1
Cleaning the Beer Lines - 2
Draught Troubleshooting
Beertender Checklist

THE BEERTENDER GUIDE


DRAUGHT TROUBLESHOOTING
 

Flat Beer

General Causes
1. Glasses are not "beer clean"
2. Not enough CO2 pressure
3. Pressure shut off at closing
4. Cooler or dispensing system too cold
5. Leak in pressure tubing or barrels
6. Loose tap or pressure connections
7. Defective pressure check valve in tap
8. Sluggish pressure regulator
9. Obstruction in line near barrel
10. Air compressor used for pressure
11. Long exposure to air instead of CO2 pressure
Loose Foam (Settles Quickly)

Loose Foam (Settles Quickly)
1. Pressure required does not correspond to beer temperature (system is not "balanced")
2. Beer line system is not as cold as beer in the barrel
3. Beer dispensed through small-diameter tubing into large shanks and faucets
4. Drawing too short a collar of foam
5. Beer drawn improperly
6. General flat beer causes
Wild/Foamy Beer
1. Beer drawn improperly
2. Faucets in bad or worn condition
3. Kink, dent, twist or other obstruction in tubing near faucet
4. Beer line system too long, unrefrigerated or uninsulated
5. Beer warm in barrel and/or in dispensing system
6. Too much pressure (system is not "balanced")
7. Creeping gauges or increasing pressure
8. Frozen glasses
9. Dirty faucets
Cloudy Beer
1. Beer over-chilled in dispensing system
2. Beer allowed to warm up at one time
3 Hot spots in beer lines
4. "Cutting" beer through faucet
5. Beer hose in poor condition
6. Dirty lines
7. Defective pressure check valves, causing contaminated pressure system
8. Contaminated pressure source
9. Beer that has been frozen
Off-Tasting Beer
1. Dirty faucets
2. Dirty beer system
3. Beer lines not cleaned properly
4. Unsanitary conditions at bar
5. Oily air; greasy kitchen air
6. Temperature of beer in barrel too warm
7. Flat or cloudy beer
8. Old draught; unrotated kegs
9. Dirty beer glasses
Sour Beer
If the dispenser complains of sour beer, the difficulty reverts to the temperature of the package itself, either in the dispenser’s outlet, at the distributor’s warehouse or en route. The beer should always be maintained at 36°-38° F under normal operation. It should never be allowed to warm up over 45° F for any length of time, since spoilage may occur.