A Draft beer system is an extremely worthwhile venture, and one that can be extremely profitable if several factors are in place. The first step to ensuring your establishment acquires a system that achieves the highest profit margin is to make sure that your system is installed by a qualified Draft Beer Technician. Hundreds of factors are to be considered when designing and installing a quality draft system. More times than not, many owners opt to install the lowest priced system they can be quoted, only to realize too late that they have purchased an inefficient system that will take more money out of their pocket than it is putting in. On average, the cost margin on draft beer sales is approximately 30%. Realizing the 70% profit can depend on a number of factors, including: distance of kegs from the point of dispense, draft tower design, temperature consistency along every inch of beverage tubing, proper insulation, exact pressure regulation, and quality equipment components. The company you choose to install your draft system should take the time to explain the importance of these factors, as well as all design options that are available and how they affect the system’s efficiency.
One of the most important tasks to be done after your draft beer system is installed is to ensure that the beer lines get cleaned on a routine schedule. This is often an over-looked need of maintaining a draft system and can have disastrous results if not performed correctly or at all. Beer lines should be cleaned every two weeks in order to prevent the beer you serve from possibly driving customers away. Beer contains hop resins, yeast, and dissolved minerals that all have a tendency to stick to the inside of the beverage lines that it travels through on its way to the faucet. If these materials are not cleaned on a regular basis, the beer poured through these lines will have a distinctive butterscotch attribute that severely degrades the intended flavor of the beer. As a rule, no line should go a month without being cleaned. Proper cleaning should include pumping a caustic line cleaning solution through the lines as well as disassembling each faucet and scrubbing the individual components. Line cleaning is usually performed by beer wholesalers or draft beer technicians. A tell-tale sign that your lines have not been cleaned, is to look at the vinyl (should be clear tubing) lines inside the keg cooler. If you can visually see a chalky substance coating the inside of the line, then it is of the utmost importance that the lines be deeply cleaned as soon as possible by your local draft beer technician.
Curbing over-foaming issues is a main concern in preventing product loss (beer) in a draft system. While this problem can be caused by a number of variables, temperature is usually the culprit. In any draft beer system, it is of the utmost importance that the beer line traveling from the keg to the faucet is kept at a constant and precise temperature. When even a small portion of the line changes temperature, due to ambient air exposure, compromised insulation, or refrigeration flaws, the beer traveling through these lines become extremely foamy. This can be explained because the warmer the beer becomes, the more that the carbonation breaks out of the beer and fills the line with foam, resulting in foamy and wasted pours. A qualified draft beer technician can get you back on track to pouring all of your beers exactly how the brewer intended.
It is important to remember that draft beer systems should be making your establishment money. When owners and managers dismiss little inefficiencies in their system, they fail to get their full profit potential. Wasted ounces add up to gallons; and gallons quickly add up to big losses. Dirty beer lines causes off-flavors in your beer; and that beer leaves a bad taste with your customers in regards to your establishment. Whether you are considering a new draft system or evaluating one you already have, look closely to make sure you realize its maximum profitability.
