The Importance Of Keeping The Cellar Clean

Far too many publicans are not aware that the cleanliness of their cellar is most important and that a cellar that is not clean can affect the quality of beer. In fact, the cellar should be cleaned at least once a week with an odour-free sanitiser or a pressure washer.  

Every time you pull a pint in the bar you are drawing a pint of cellar air into the cask, and the dirtier the cellar air, the faster the beer will go off. Research by Cask Marque has shown that no less than 29% of cellars are not clean.    Furthermore, you should not keep food in the cellar, but many landlords do. However, a bag of onions in the cellar, for example, will taint the beer in the same way that if you keep strong-smelling cheese or garlic in the fridge it will affect the foods around it. Some landlords even let pets into the cellar, but that is definitely not on.

If you have beer that has gone off and have to throw it away it will cost you money. Equally, if you have beer that has gone off and serve it, that will cost money also because customers will simply take their business elsewhere.

Beer line cleaning is another very important issue. Lines should be cleaned once a week, and more often in the case of cask ales. Those should be cleaned every time the cask is changed, not just have some water pulled through. The secret of good line cleaning is to follow the manufacturer's instructions. Exactly the right amount of chemicals should be used and for the correct amount of time. If it is not left long enough then the lines won't be fully cleaned, and if left for too long the lines can be damaged, which will affect the beer quality.

Environmentally friendly line cleaning is something that can be done today, with one company having produced a piece of equipment which can be fitted to the lines and which will dramatically reduce biofilm. Such environmentally friendly line cleaning will mean that the cleaning cycle is reduce to somewhere between four and six weeks and will result in savings of both money and beer.

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