Foam or “head” on a pint of beer is important for the drinking experience. The aroma, the mouthfeel, and the aesthetics of a pint can be attributed to the head on beer. The general rule is to include a 1-1.5″ head on each pint poured.
But too much foam is not just undesirable to the customer, it also hurts your business’s bottom line. Every ounce of beer lost to over-foaming adds up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars lost every year.
Draft Horse helps bars and restaurants identify the problems that cause beer waste, ensuring that you’re getting the most out of your beer kegs.
THE REAL COST OF FOAM WASTE
When a draft system isn’t properly balanced or maintained, foam is inevitable. Each time a keg empties of a line fills with foam instead of beer, your bar loses sellable product.
LET’S PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE:
- A 200 foot system without a proper FOB (Foam-On-Beer) detector can waste roughly 150 ounces of beer every time a kegs kicks.
- Over a week, that can mean several pints lost per tap. Multiply that by your own number of taps and it's easy to see how much money is literally going down the drain.
Lost beer = lost revenue.
Foam waste adds up fast, and it’s one of the most preventable losses in any bar operation.
why foam happens
Foam is almost always a symptom, not the problem itself. The root causes often include:
- Dirty or irregularly cleaned lines: Bacteria and yeast buildup create turbulence and CO2 breakout.
- Improper pressure balance: Too much or too little CO2 pressure leads to over-carbonation or flat pours.
- Temperature Fluctuations: Even a few degrees too warm can cause foaming at the faucet.
- Empty kegs without FOBs installed: When air enters the line, you waste beer refilling it each time.
These are small technical issues often go unnoticed until profits start slipping or customers start complaining.
How to take control.
There are a few things you can do to keep foam under control:
- Keep your cooler temperature at a steady 36-38*F.
- Make sure CO2 regulators are properly calibrated.
- Clean your draft lines every two weeks to maintain flow and cabonation.
- Inspect faucet gaskets and seals for wear or leaks.
These simple habits can help, but true efficiency comes from professional inspection and tuning.
the draft horse difference:
At Draft Horse, we specialize in identifying and fixing the small details that make a big difference: