Ensure beer towers and drip trays are regularly·cleaned using soapy water or·non abrasive products to remove beer spill and residue. Give special attention to the base area and underside surfaces of beer towers where beer spill tend to accumulate in difficult to see places.

Brush·and flush out drip trays/grills with soapy water daily to clean out beer spill and yeast growth. This area, if left yeasty is prone to attracting fruit flies and unwanted smells.

Talk to your local ICS technician about tap brushes.

Drip Trays
Drip tray drains are easily overlooked and will quickly accumulate yeast growth over a short time. Use small bottle brush to loosen yeast build up in the drip tray drains and then and rinse away with water or a suitable cleaning product.

Cool Room
Beer is a food product and has a limited shelf life and therefore needs to be served fresh to maintain approved hygiene and presentation standards. Poor cool room hygiene can affect beer quality causing spoilage and poor presentation when the beer is dispensed.

Cool rooms should be regularly cleaned with an approved chlorinated cleaner to remove yeast build up and other general build up. Beer spillage will cause yeast growth on walls, floors, ceilings and especially floor drains which can look unsightly and unhygienic.

Because of the differing temperatures they operate at keg cool rooms should only contain beer products and kitchen cool rooms should only contain food products

Glass Washer
Glass washer units should be regularly inspected for·residue build·inside the unit and around the door frame. Glass washers quickly accumulate product and detergent residue which left uncleaned will affect unit performance and the overall quality of the wash cycle.

A well maintained glass washer in good operating order will operate at 77 degrees for the rinse cycle and 60 degrees for the wash cycle. Regular servicing will·ensure the temperatures and detergent injection are consistently operating to specification.

Over dosing of detergent will affect glass lacing and give the beer a flat appearance during presentation. Under dosing of detergent will result in a below standard wash cycle. Staff should check detergent level before use each morning before the start of trading to ensure detergent is being correctly dosed into the unit.

Cool Room
Keg cool rooms should maintain a temperature range of 0° – 1° Celsius. This temperature range will ensure the specified C02 content is held in solution at the correct levels. Beer stored at these temperatures will generally remain stable when dispensed.

Glycol Chilled Water
Glycol chilled water reservoir tanks should maintain a temperature range of minus 2 degrees Celsius to minus 4° Celsius. This temperature range will help maintain the correct beer line operating temperature from the keg cool room to the point of dispense minimising any warming and C02 breakout due to temperature degradation.

Icebank Chiller
Icebank under bar chillers should maintain a temperature range of 0 degrees Celsius to 0.3° Celsius. Icebank chillers rely on the water bath partly freezing to create an ice reserve to keep the water bath chilled. If too cold the entire bath will freeze stopping any heat transfer through the water. If too warm the beer will become frothy and unstable creating unnecessary wastage and excessive beer head.

Dispensed Beer
Beer dispensed into a glass should present at plus 2 degrees Celsius to plus 4° Celsius. This is the optimum temperature range to achieve an even balance between cold beer, sensing flavour/aroma·and creating the recommended head size. This temperature range will also assist gradual C02 release as the beer warms contributing toward head retention and glass lacing.

Keg Pre Chilling Period
When using kegs in a temperature controlled environment (cool rooms & keg cabinets) the kegs should be pre chilled for 24 to 48 hours before use. Prechilling will ensure that when a new keg is tapped the beer will dispense at the correct temperature and perform as it is designed to. Under chilled kegs can cause CO2 break out resulting in frothy, warm beer creating unnecessary wastage and excessive beer head

Head Size

When dispensing tap beer the correct head size in the glass should be 5mm to 10mm. An under sized head will make the beer appear flat and unappetising. An over sized head will cause wastage and over fill making the presentation of the beer look unprofessional and the glass look partially filled. A good head will assist the beer by acting as a barrier to the air reducing oxidisation and protecting the beer while it is being consumed enabling the beer to retain its visually appealing characteristics.

Beer Presentation

After the beer has been dispensed there should be a steady stream of bubbles rising through the beer as the C02 in solution reverts to gas as the beer gradually warms. This reaction helps the beer retain and replenish the head as the beer is being consumed. C02 gas bubbles clustering on the side of the glass after dispensing is generally a sign of a dirty glass with mineral build up.

Fresh Glassware

To experience quality tap beer in hygienic conditions a fresh clean glass should always be used for every new serving. Using pre used glassware will be detrimental to the quality of the freshly dispensed beer in both taste and presentation but also in terms of hygiene. Fresh clean glassware will generate a superior head and the aroma will be clearer because no stale beer residue will be present in the glass.

Dispensing Hygiene

Beer is a food product and should be treated as such to ensure optimum quality is consistently delivered to consumers. The beer tap should never be dipped into the beer to prevent cross contamination of oxidised beer and other proteins. Overflowing the glass when dispensing beer will make the glass wet and sticky to use and ultimately unhygienic. When dispensing beer always keep fingers below the rim of the glass to avoid contamination of the beer and the glass. Food grease and other common compounds can be detrimental to the beer head and longevity of quality after dispensing.

Keg Best by Dates

Beer being a food product will always have a best by date on the keg, bottle or packaging. Beer kegs will generally have a best by date located on the side of keg but it may be difficult to find and read in poor light however the best by date located on the keg top is easier to see and read. Keg tops from opened kegs should always be left sitting on the opened keg for easy brand identification. When filled at a brewery kegs will generally have a 6 week shelf life (while they remain untapped) until the specified best by date.

Keg Turnover

Kegs stored in cool rooms should be consumed within 7 days after opening to ensure freshness and optimum presentation. Ambient temperature kegs used on Icebank chillers should be consumed within 3 days of opening to ensure freshness and optimum presentation. Slow turnover brands should always be purchased in 25 litre kegs to improve the turnover cycle times and assist in maintaining freshness.

Double Banked Kegs

Kegs connected in series to create larger volume banks in high turnover outlets should always be fully exhausted before being replaced with new kegs. Changing part empty kegs on a banked system can cause beer performance and quality issues if not carried out correctly and accurately.

Keg Rotation

When storing kegs before use or sale always use the earliest dated kegs first to ensure consistent product rotation and movement of older kegs. Stack new deliveries at back of the keg rows and move earlier dated kegs to the front of the row so that they are used first and the beer is consumed before reaching its best before date.