Some old habits die hard as they say. Since writing the odd article for Inn Doctor, odd perhaps being a good word to describe my humble offerings, I have become more aware of just what goes on behind the bar. I’m not referring to any inappropriate behaviour by the bar staff you understand, but practices that are carried out because “we have always done it that way.”

One of these old practices I have come across was the drawing off of beer at the start of a new session. The place was a social club in Liverpool. I watched as the steward diligently pulled off nearly half a pint of beer off ten beer dispensers along the bar. It seems the steward always did this as he thought it was what you where supposed to do. It seems he thought you had to do this because the beer had been laying in the lines and would not be at it’s best.

Maths is not my best subject but even I could calculate that he was wasting 5 pints per day, 228 gallons per year, 20 eleven gallon kegs per year, thrown down the sink for no good reason. I bet all you Corrie fans have seen old Jack Duckworth doing exactly the same thing for years.

The reality here is that modern beer dispense systems are designed to prevent this practice ever being necessary. Be it cask or keg beer “pulling off” should not be carried out. If you find that between sessions your beer becomes cloudy or develops off tastes you have a problem and need to call your local technician or refer to these pages. Making sure that all the taps on the bar are both needed and are used all the time, not just every blue moon is another factor. Beer taps that are not used on a daily basis will develop yeast quickly.

Our staff, bless them all, can sometimes forget that beer equals money, equals profit and that every drip tray of beer thrown down the sink is money lost from your business. I think it is a good idea now and again to re-educate staff on how to pull a pint properly and not waste beer. Getting the maximum yield from every keg of beer, reducing unnecessary wastage and realising that wasted beer means wasted profit should be a priority for all pubs and clubs.

We are all guilty of doing things the same old way year on year, but taking the time to take a fresh view of what and why we do things, in our pubs and bars, could just save you a great deal of money.

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Now is a good time for us all to look at ways of saving money in our businesses, and beat the credit crunch. Taking a fresh look at how and why we do things in our bars and pubs could save us some big money.

Lets take a fresh look at the bar. Having a bar full taps of every type of product may look good but does it cost you money? The answer is yes. OK, back when our pubs where full every day having lots of taps wasn’t an issue. The brewery reps would always like to see their latest brew on every bar in the house. The trouble is every tap on your bar costs you money,a single tap cleaned out every week could cost you £150 per year just for the privilege of having it. So it is a simple case of cost versus convenience. Ask yourself do you need that extra tap?

Likewise are all your products selling well? That extra cold you had installed,does it get used every day? How many kegs are you selling a week. The rule of thumb is one keg or less a week of a product is the minimum amount you should be selling. Any less than that you are wasting money. The logic should be do I use this tap regularly enough to warrant having it. Do I sell enough of this product to have it on the bar. So if the barmaid has to walk a bit more around the bar, so what and if Old Fred can’t have his glass of Mild every Tuesday, tough!

Whilst we are in the bar lets think about electricity. For every 6 taps you have there will be a nice little warm lighting transformer under the bar churning away using your electricity. Not much you might think. Each transformer uses about 150 watts. So if you have 6 transformers that is nearly a kilowatt burning away 24 hours a day. The answer switch them off at the socket when not in use.

Staying in the bar always check the grills on your flash coolers. If they are clogged with dust they become inefficient and will run for longer costing you money. This also applies to you bottle fridges. It is worth spending the time to ensure the grills are kept clean,they will work better and more efficiently.

Down in the cellar there are savings to be made too. You may have a cellar cooler, but is it working properly? Check and make sure that the cellar is coming down to temperature. If you haven’t got a cellar thermometer ask your local Technician and get one for free. If the cellar cooler is not working properly it will run continuously. Don’t have the cooler set too low, 52-54 degrees Fahrenheit is about right. If in doubt get it checked. Bear in mind some coolers are designed so that the blower will run permanently,ask your Technician. Getting this right will save you money. Don’t forget what is the point of having a lovely cool cellar and then leaving the door open or worst still putting your ice machine, soft drinks cooler or fridge in there. These all create heat.

Beer gases are a great cost to the landlord. If you are not contracted to a supplier then now is a good time to shop around. There are some good deals to be had out there, it is worth while checking different suppliers. Also the old favourite which everyone forgets…..switch off your beer gases when not in use. You may have leaks.
So there we are just some ways you may be able to save some money. I think it does us all good now and then to sit back and have a look at how we do things. Old Fred might not be getting his pint of mild any more, but with the savings you make at least he will have a pub to sit in. Cheers one and all.

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He went on to tell me that the club stocked Sam Smiths beers, and that for price they where the cheapest around. OK,I thought but I bet it tastes like nats whatsit! Thats why it is so cheap.

Surprise, surprise,not so. Now this is not an advert
for Sam Smiths, but I am just making the point that here is a
smallish brewer selling beer without advertising, without vast
discounts, in fact the chairman told me that Sam Smiths do not do
discounts, or for that matter sell at wholesale prices, because
their beer is that cheap.

Looking further into this small brewer has revealed that not only are the beers excellent, but all their beers are brewed solely from authentic natural ingredients,with no added chemicals.Great for all you foodies.

It transpires that this small independent brewer owns quite a few
pubs of it’s own, even one in London, near Trafalgar Square.
Some sample prices: Tadcaster Bitter £84 per 18 gallon 3.7%
ABV Alpine Lager   £99 per 18 gallon   4.5% ABV
These are last years prices,at this time we do not have
current prices.

And finally,having been in the trade for many
years, how come I never realised that Sam Smiths where probably
the cheapest brewer on the block.Sam Smiths are based in
Tadcaster

In short the best kept secret in our  brewing
world.They don’t even have a Web site!

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Well, going by the number of times I have heard Slade telling me that “Here it is, Merry Christmas, everybody’s having fun….” I can safely assume that once again our favourite season is about to hit us.

Yes, unless you have been locked away in the deepest recesses of your cellar, contemplating why you ever decided to become a licensee, you must realise that you cannot escape all the work and planning necessary to have a profitable Christmas.

In the spirit of Inndoctor and the Season, here are a couple of simple and you may say obvious tips, to think about. We are pretty sure there are lots more, so if you think of any please let us know.

• Take time to check all your dispense equipment. The taps you use only once or twice a year when you are very busy should be cleaned and tested. Any defects get sorted, don’t leave it to the last minute, technical services are very busy this time of year.

• Obvious you may think, but as well as ordering extra beer don’t forget to order additional beer gases.

• Make sure you and your staff have all the relevant emergency telephone numbers for brewery technical services and soft drinks services.

• With quite a lot of temporary staff being taken on over the Christmas holidays, take time to train them. Using a till is one thing, but serving a good pint is quite another. Ten minutes showing them how to pull a pint of cask or keg beer properly could save you a lot of wastage and money.

• Last but not least, save Inndoctor on your computer favourite list. If you come unstuck and things start going wrong on the bar, check our fault guide, it may just get you back in business.

  And finally as old Trevor Mc Donald used to say, keep a good supply of Anadin Extra Strength at hand for those quiet times over Christmas, when you remind yourself why you enjoy being a Landlord so much.

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