enemy
Something that seems so logical:
cleaning a beer glass, is not all
that simple. We not only have to
deal with beer and beer residues but,
above all, with grease. You come
across grease everywhere: the con
sumer's lips are greasy, ladies use lip
stick, people often eat nuts, snacks,
sometimes meals. A glass then gets
very greasy. And that grease has to be
cleaned off."
"There are three reasons for
cleaning the glassware. First of all, of
course, hygiene and, secondly, the
visual reason - and in my view that
includes the removal of smells and
off-tastes - and, thirdly, there is the
beer-technical reason, for grease is
the biggest enemy of beer and of the
foam in particular".
Soap
ffans Sehutt also makes a distinc
tion between cleaning the glasses and
rinsing them. "Glasses are often
cleaned in ordinary tap water. In a
number of countries the drinking
water is of excellent quality, but in
other countries it may, for instance,
be heavily chlorinated. After cleaning
that will leave a typical smell behind
in the glass. Unfortunately nothing
can be done about that. I advise
people to use soap, but then a soap
without special added perfumes or a
rinse aid ingredient. Some soaps
which contain rinse aid leave a thin
coating inside the glass, which causes
the beer to go flat immediately after it
has been poured. If the glasses are
cleaned in a dishwasher, no rinse aid
should be used either. I therefore
recommend that the dishwasher
should be filled with glasses only and
that glasses should not be washed
together with any other crockery."
There is one common or garden
method that Hans Schutt swears by:
cleaning beer glasses each day in a
bowl of lukewarm water to which a
small scoop of soda has been added.
"Soda is an excellent degreasing
agent and it is cheap. After cleaning,
the glasses must be rinsed out in cold
water and then left to dry naturally. I
always tell people not to dry glasses
using a cloth, as that cloth may also
contain some grease." Hans Schutt
also points out that the glass brushes
and rinsing units should also be regu
larly cleaned.
Beer-clear»
During the day the glasses are
often only rinsed. Would squirting
some beer glass cleaner in the rinsing
unit be the best solution in that case?
"To be a bit pedantic I would say: it's
not the most ideal solution. Tests
have shown that some of these prod
ucts have a slightly negative effect.
On the other hand, though, the nega
tive effect of greasy glasses is even
worse. In outlets which sell a lot of
bar food, I often recommend that two
separate rinsing units should be
installed, one of which is used solely
for beer glasses. Using the same unit
to rinse glasses in which cream
liqueurs or milk products have been
served is also the kiss of death for
beer glasses."
According to Hans Schutt there is
a simple way of testing whether a
glass is really 'beer-clean'. "Before
you use a glass, wet it and hold it up
side down against the light. If you
then see that the water flows down
the inside of the glass in one uniform
layer, the grease problem is solved."
A beer dispensed in a beer-clean
glass is not only good to look at but
also has an unsurpassed taste thanks
to the fine, stable head of foam. The
bartender who takes real pride in his
work will keep his glasses scrupu
lously clean. Aiid have satisfied cus
tomers.
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
