You know the old saying,”you are never to old to learn”well dear reader that certainly applies to me. The other day whilst doing a beer line clean and waiting for the lines to soak, I was standing having a brew behind the bar dreaming about spending my imaginary lotto winnings on this and that, when I happened to notice the usual glass full of cask sparklers and diffusers soaking away in water. Great I thought ,just as it should be. But hold hold on, taking a closer look at one of the diffusers in the glass what did I see, yes you’ve guested it, yeast!

The perceived methodology for cleaning sparklers and diffusers, the bits that make your beer creamy, usually fitted toTetley, Guinness, Boddys taps etc, is to soak them in fresh water or as some prefer carbonated water. I have often told my customers to do this very thing and as far as I know it is common practice.

What I noticed when examining these diffusers was a build up of yeast on the inside behind the diffuser disc. I have since checked other diffusers in other accounts and found more or less the same thing. So what does this mean? Well to me it means the practice of just soaking diffusers overnight in water does not work, and that bacteria and yeast are untouched by this process. You may think that a bit of yeast might not do any harm since once the beer is in the glass it will be drunk soon enough. The point is any beer passing through these devices will be tainted with wild yeast and will perhaps have off flavours, or appear to be less bright than it should be. Whats the point of having the cleanest beer lines in Britain if yeast is lurking at the tap.

Anyway can I suggest that you have a look at your diffusers and check for this problem.

Can I also take this opportunity to apologist to all those people I have wrongly instructed over the years, please forgive an old man…..

I think there may be a better way of doing this necessary job. When cleaning your beer lines and you are pulling detergent through, fill a drip tray or other suitable container with the detergent mix, I wouldn’t recommend using a beer glass as this could be dangerous. Then place all sparklers and diffusers in to it. Soak for the same time as your lines and then thoroughly rinse. Hey presto, the yeast is gone. For the rest of the week or until you clean your lines again use the old method of soaking in fresh water.

Well as I say “You are never to old to learn”.

If you know a better way of doing this job or you have any other hot tips, please let us know, even old F**ts like us at Inn Doctor don’t know everything.

Related posts:

1. My keg beer is cloudy
2. Glass Care
3. Test your beer glasses

Just thought it might be a good idea to start off a  tips and tricks post. Add comments at the bottom to add your own. Or email us it or use the forum. Do not keep it to yourself share it.

I think the simple ones are the best.

Do you have a sticky tap? You know the type when you pull the handle down it growls, grinds and squeals at you and it won’t be long before it snaps off or breaks altogether. We haven’t shown a branded tap, but this type are all basically the same. You should use a toothbrush with hot soapy water to get rid of the sugar.

However it seems most people do not have time for this. A quick solution I have found is to put two or three drops of lime cordial on the tap handle joint at the foot of the tap handle, where it rubs against the metal plate. This works instantly you will be amazed how it works so quick, just makes you wonder what lime cordial does to your stomach.

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