Proper System Balance

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There are 4 key measurements in determining the overall balance of a draft beer system; beer temperature, pressure, resistance, and the level of carbonation in a beer.  If any of these factors are slightly off the quality, flow rate and taste can negatively affect how the beer comes out of the tap.  

Beer Temperature- While many styles of beer taste better at different temperatures, when pouring a beer from draft the ideal temperature is 38*.  Why is this? It's because at 38*, the CO2 in the beer is at its most perfect state. 

 Too cold and CO2 becomes more soluble, which means more carbonation in the beer when it is poured, making the beer taste flat and unappealing to your customers.   It also leads to your bartenders over filling the glass, which leads to less profits.  Also, as your keg sits at colder temperatures for too long with your pressure set at a level or 38*  you will end up with foamy beer and lost profits, which is the worst case scenario for a draft system. 

Beer that is kept too warm  allows CO2 to come out of the beer when dispensed leading to foaming issues and a lack of ideal carbonation.

Pressure-  It's how we get the beer out of the keg and thru your beer lines.  All beer has some level of CO2 in it, so using CO2 to get the beer from the keg to the faucet is the perfect way to keep the beer tasting the way the brewer intended it to.  However, if you have a long-draw system, you'll want to mix that CO2 with Nitrogen using a blender.  Nitrogen helps push the beer longer distances without adding any taste or extra carbonation to the beer.  If you run a long-draw system on 100% CO2, you'll over carbonate the beer trying to push it to the taps.  In most cases a blend of 70% CO2 and 30% N is correct blend.  

The correct amount of pressure forced into the keg also keeps the beer properly carbonated.  Too little pressure on and the beer will result in excessive foaming as the gas dissolved in beer comes out of solution.  Over the course of a few days, the beer in the keg becomes flat.  Too much pressure will force additional gas into the beer, leaving you with foamy beer that comes quickly out of the faucet. 

Resistance - Restriction comes from two factors; beer line/hardware and gravity.  

Level of Carbonation - The amount of carbonation in a beer is measured by a unit called "volumes" of CO2. Typical volumes of CO2 run from 2.2 to 2.8 but can be as low as 1.3 (nitrogenized stouts).  Having a secondary CO2 regulator on each keg set up as closely to the beer's volume of CO2 insures the beer tastes exactly how the brewer intended. 

If your draft system has any issues, we can help get it back on the right track!