Co m m e nt
maintenance
Up Your Game As consumers demand more for their money, it is time for the Canadian draught beer industry to step up and deliver. Your beer deserves better, your brand deserves better, and your customers will thank you for it, explains Mike O’ Brien owner of Ontario’s CarbonTap.
cleaning procedures. Unfortunately, old habits die hard, and without legal mandate to require otherwise, many long standing licensee owners are reluctant to change their cleaning standards, often citing “cheap” and “fast” as reasons to stick with the status quo. In the case of draught quality, and cleaning standards, the age old adage of “you get what you pay for” could not be more accurate. While Mechanical Recirculation Cleaning is quite common in the U.S, most draught lines in Canada are unfortunately still using the Pot & Kettle method to clean
by Mike O'Brien
their lines. With Pot & Kettle cleaning, a cleaning pot is used to pour a caustic/toxic chemical in to the lines and left to sit stagnate for 20 minutes, before flushing the lines
F
or a brewery, cleaning and sanitation are an integral
with water (hopefully) and re packing the lines with beer.
part of it’s day to day operations, and a critical
Pot & Kettle cleaning is little more than a warm bath for a
factor in its ability to control quality. The last thing a
beer line, and is simply ineffective at adequately cleaning,
brewer wants is for anything to come in contact with the
and does very little at removing or preventing the build
beer, causing any off flavourings that could negatively
up of organic materials that accumulate inside a draught
impact its flavour and aromas, or effect the overall quality
system. Pot & Kettle cleaning also allows for cleaning to
of the beer.
be done without removing beer faucets. One look inside
Unwanted yeasts, bacteria, microorganisms, and other
a faucet that has not been disassembled and cleaned in
organic/inorganic materials, can potentially ruin a batch
quite some time is enough to convert most people in to
of beer, spread throughout the brewery and contaminate
bottle drinkers.
brewing vessels, and equipment. But for so many
Mechanical Recirculation on the other hand, uses a
breweries, the ability to control quality ends when the
pump to recirculate cleaning solution and water through
product leaves the door. By the time its in the consumer’s
the draught system at a higher than normal pressure.
hands, how it ultimately tastes, is left up to a number of
The goal with Mechanical Recirculation is to isolate as
various factors, from transportation, storage, delivery,
few lines as possible, while maximizing the total number
and in the case of draught beer, how clean the draught
of circulations in the 15-minute cleaning period. The
system is, that its being served through. Regardless of
increased effectiveness of Mechanical Recirculation
whether the brewery, or the licensee pays for the line(s) to
allows for the ability to use non-toxic, non-caustic,
be cleaned, the brewery’s commitment to quality should
environmentally friendly cleaning products, and allows
extend to the licensee level.
the technician to circulate water in a direction counter to
Although most people have likely never given it a
the normal direction that beer travels through the system.
thought, many might be surprised to know, that unlike
It is the constant, high pressure, mechanical circulation,
food storage and handling regulations, or the standard
as well as the added ability to agitate (creating air bubbles
of quality a commercial kitchen must follow to pass a
in the system) that allow for a much more volatile, and
health inspection, at the time of this article, there are no
effective method of not only breaking down the softer
laws or regulations in Canada, that mandate the quality
materials, like proteins and yeasts, but the more difficult
or cleanliness of a draught system. Unlike other countries
minerals, like calcium, or beerstone, that build up on the
around the world, along with many states across the U.S,
inside of your draught lines over time.
there are no laws or regulations that require a draught
The term “line cleaning” itself, is problematic, as it
system to be built to any specific quality or standard, or
minimizes the scope of what we’re trying to achieve
to be cleaned or maintained in any way, let alone to any
during cleaning. As in the brewing process, cleaning,
specific frequency, standard or process.
and quality control should be a focus at every step of
Canada’s draught beer industry is an unregulated black art, with varying degrees of quality, standards, and
24
Autumn 2017
the process – with draught system maintenance, this includes ensuring that any part of the system that comes
Brewers Journal Canada