Draft Line Cleaning & System Management
WHY
Draft line cleanings are essential for all draft beverage systems. Dirty draft lines cause major dispensing problems, will sour your product, and cost your business to lose profits.
Myth Busted
Many beer distributors claim to provide free draft cleaning services for their clients. But these distributors only service the few lines they supply and neglect the rest of the system. Additionally, these distributors only flush the system with hot water, leaving behind the build-up that causes system malfunctions and sour beer.
Flavor
Different types of bacteria can cause your beer to taste and smell gross.
- Buttery Beer- caused by an excess of the bacteria pediococcus damnosus that creates a compound called diacetyl that tastes like movie theater popcorn butter
- Sour or vinegary flavor and smell – acetic acid created by accumulated yeast and bacteria
Foam
Dirty draft lines are the most common cause of foamy beer. Having Draft Horse clean your draft lines is the most straightforward solution and preventative measure against pouring your profits down the drain.
Profit Margin
You can’t afford for your draft system to be down even for a day. If you sell at least 30 beers from one product line in a day, then you are losing at least $200 a day when that line is clogged, pouring foamy, or not pouring at all.
Most repairs that take down a system are ones that could’ve been caught and fixed during a line cleaning. One broken FOB is all it takes to crash your whole system and if you are waiting days to weeks for a distributor to fix it then you are losing thousands of dollars in revenue.
30 beers x $7 /pint x 1 day = $210 in lost revenue
Use Micro Matic’s Beer Calculator to see how much money you can make with an optimized system.
System Lifetime
Installing a draft system is a substantial investment in your business’s future. Built-up sediment and beerstone in your faucets and draft lines shorten the lifespan of your system. Neglected draft lines will need to be replaced sooner than those with regular, thorough draft line cleanings. Every Draft Horse draft line cleaning includes a full system inspection! Our technicians can find and fix problems with your system before they cause an issue.
WHAT
Enemies of Beer
- Yeast – Yeast from the brewing process accumulates in your draft lines and faucets creating a breeding ground for bacteria and mold, clogs draft lines, and faucets, and causes your beer to foam.
- Mold – Condensation created from the change in temperature of the cold beer from the cooler to the heat and humidity of the bar creates the perfect environment for mold to thrive in your faucets.
- Bacteria – Bacteria attach to accumulated yeast or beerstone and sour the flavor of the beer. Different types of bacteria can give beer different flavors. It’s time for a draft line cleaning if your beer begins to taste buttery, metallic, or sour.
- Beer Stone– Beer Stone is the scourge of beer systems. Calcium Oxalate is a gray, crusty scale that flakes off into your beverage. Its porous structure provides nutrients for bacteria and hides it from most sanitizing agents. Enough buildup can corrode your system leaving permanent damage.
- Beer Slugs– Beer will congeal in your system’s draft lines and create a nasty beer slug. Beer slugs are the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and mold and they clog your lines and cause your beer to foam.
HOW
Draft Horse follows Brewers Association cleaning standards by using alkaline cleaners and recirculation pumps to dissolve yeast, bacteria, mold, and beerstone. Every draft line cleaning includes a complete system assessment to ensure your gas system, power pack, fobs, faucets, and couplers are functioning flawlessly.
Step 1) Draft Horse technicians first connect all couplers and shanks with jumper cables. Pumps are then used to flush the beer out of the system with water.
Step 2) Then alkaline chemical is circulated through the system for 10-15 minutes to dissolve built-up yeast, bacteria, beerstone, beer slugs, and mold.
Step 3) Simultaneously all faucets and internal components are hand scrubbed with chemical cleaner and rinsed with water.
Step 4) A full system inspection is completed to ensure your equipment is working efficiently. This inspection is included with every line cleaning!
What do we check?
- FOBs
- Couplers
- Shanks
- Faucets
- Glass rinsers
- Beer pumps
- Insulation
- Glycol system
- Powerpacks
- Gas systems
Step 5) The cleaner is flushed out of the system with water once all of the mold and bacteria are dissolved. The water’s PH balance is tested to ensure that no chemicals remain in the system and that it is safe to drink from. Your customer’s safety is our top priority.
Step 6) Finally, all faucets and couplers are reassembled and reattached. The system is tested by pouring a small amount of product to ensure that everything is working properly.
WHEN
The Brewers Association recommends that draft lines should be cleaned every two weeks. We understand this frequency is not always possible with a restaurant’s busy schedule or budget. We have found that our draft line cleaning process is EXTREMELY thorough. We offer service agreements for monthly or even quarterly cleanings and inspections that keep your system functioning perfectly.
WHO
All draft systems should be cleaned regularly! Draft wine and nitro coffee systems should have line cleanings just as regularly as beer systems.
HOW MUCH
Our draft line cleaning prices vary based on the type of system that is installed. Draft Horse offers free cleaning quotes and system inspections. A site visit is required to provide accurate pricing of the respective system. Approximate cleaning prices are available below.
Call now to schedule a free quote!
(832) 940-1525
Experiencing an issue with your draft system? Draft Horse also provides repair services. Contact us to schedule an appointment when we’ll send a technician to your location to diagnose the problem and get your draft system running optimally.