Well tapped glass of beer
means satisfied customers
The treatment of beer
How do you tap a superb and attractive jglass of beer
which you can be proud to serve? In this instalment
of our series on the treatment of beer, let's leave
aside the technical aspects for a moment and take a
closer look at the 'finishing touches'
Perception
In every country customer per
ception of 'an attractive glass of
beer' is different. In some countries
consumers expect a glass of beer
with an abundant head of foam stick
ing out well above the top of the
glass (the chefs cap-like head),
whilst in other countries they expect
just the opposite: a glass full to the
brim with hardly any head at all.
What is remarkable, however, is
that all beer fans - whatever their
nationality - prefer a glass of beer
with a head two fingers thick. And
that's exactly what Heineken recom
mends for its beer brands.
r
A brim-full glass
o dispense a good glass of
beer the quality of the beer in
the keg obviously has to be
optimal. The beer mustn't be older
than the guarantee date stated on
the keg label. Once it has been con
nected up, the keg should have been
emptied within three days. The E.P.
(Equilibrium Pressure) and the com
pensator must be properly adjusted,
the cooling system must operate per
fectly and the dispenser installation
must be as clean as a whistle.
A glass of beer is at its best at a
temperature of between 6 and 8
degrees Celsius (43-47 F). Beer that
is not sufficiently cooled does not
taste as good and also has much too
big a head of foam. On the other
hand, over-chilled beer loses its taste
and often goes completely flat.
A chefs cap-like head
Poor head
'Beer-clean'
The installation may be perfectly
in order, but the tapped glass of beer
may still turn out a complete failure.
In such cases the probable cause is
that the glass has not been cleaned
correctly. A glass which is not 'beer-
clean' makes the head of foam col
lapse. And a greasy glass will even
cause the head to vanish completely.
We therefore strongly advise that
beer glasses should not be used for
other drinks, for instance soft drinks
or milk.
For every order use a 'beer-clean'
glass: after rinsing, no drops of
water must be left behind on the
glass. The water must flow down the
glass evenly in a thin film.
How do you get your glassware
'beer-clean'? The ideal method is a
rinsing machine which is used only
for beer glasses. But you can also get
the glasses properly clean by wash
ing them in hot water with a deter
gent/steriliser or caustic soda. It is
important that the glasses should
then be thoroughly rinsed out with
clean water afterwards.
Mistakes
So your installation is now all-
systems-go and your glasses are
'beer-clean'. Everything now hinges
T H K W O R L I) O F H F I N F. k K N
