Inn Doctor

The cleaning of all beer lines is of utmost importance to the beer retailer. Regular beer line cleaning keeps your beer on top form and your profits in good shape as well.

The cleaning of cask ale beer lines however requires a little more attention if you are to provide the perfect pint.

The very nature of real ale as a “live”product means there is a lot more yeast contained within in it.

Cleaning cask ale lines is much the same as cleaning keg beer lines.

To begin with, some brewers but not all have special cask cleaning sockets fitted to their beer line cleaning ring mains. If you have these fitted then it is just a matter of connecting your cask lines on to these sockets and then carrying out a normal line clean. Don’t forget to wear goggles and gloves.

In the case where no such sockets have been fitted then it is a case of finding a nice clean bucket or other container and placing your cask lines for cleaning into it, and performing the same tasks of rinse, detergent and then rinse.

On a daily basis, Inn Doctor recommends that as a matter of good housekeeping that if a cask line has become empty, regardless of how recently it has been cleaned, then fresh water should be rinsed through it, before connecting to a new cask.

An important factor in ensuring your cask ale stays in top condition is to make sure all cask taps are thoroughly cleaned. Use dilute cleaning fluid and a small brush to clean these, then allow to dry and store somewhere clean until ready for use. If you decide to take the cask taps to pieces always remember not to mix the parts up, not all cask taps are the same and you could end up with leaking or stiff taps.

Remove all sparklers from swan necks and clean these with fresh water. Clean the swan neck and exterior of the beer engine as well. Nothing worst than a grotty looking beer engine.

One of the keys to keeping consistently good cask ale is hygiene. Plain and simple, keep things clean.

When reconnecting after a clean, two things, don’t forget to clean and refit the hop strainer and also remember to turn the cask tap back on slowly so as not to disturb the cask. All that is left to do is pull the fresh beer through and taste.

My Cask beer is flat and tastes off?

• Your beer might be too cold. Check cellar temperature it should be around 52-53 degrees Fahrenheit 13 degrees centigrade.
• How long has your beer been on service, it might be past its best?
• Was your cask vented properly?

My Cask beer tastes of vinegar and has off tastes?

• Your beer has been on service too long and has gone off. Probably infected

My Cask Ale is very lively?

• Have you vented and conditioned the cask properly?
• Is your beer serving at the correct temperature? Check cellar temperature.
• Have you cleaned your lines? At least once a week minimum.
• Check the sparkler has not been over tightened.
• Don’t try to pull your beer engine too quickly.
• Check a hop filter is fitted and cask tap nut is tight.

My Real Ale is flat but tastes great?

• Are you serving it correctly? Swan neck to the bottom of the glass, correct sparkler and a steady even pull.
• Your beer might be too cold.

My Beer Engine is stiff?

• Is the cask tap open and gas pump if fitted turned on?
• Check your hop filter is clean.
• Is the hard peg still in the barrel?
• The beer engine might be faulty, call Technical Services
• The back check valve may be faulty, call Technical Services.

Cask Breather

With beer volumes down over the winter months and the fact you must sell your lower alcohol (3.8%) real ale within three days, two days is better, this can become a struggle with Pubs who are quiet during the week. If you haven’t got one, why not consider using a cask breather or aspirator as they are sometimes called.

If you haven’t heard of them, they have been out for many years and have been tried and tested by the brewers.

What do they do?…….. Answer, they keep your beer fresher for a bit longer (usually a day).

And how do they do that?……..Instead of stale cellar air entering your container as the ale is drawn out, carbon dioxide (Co2) via a spigot in the shive, is replacing the liquid. This also works with upright stillaging using a pipe attached to the vent valve on the body of an ale extractor.

Spigot

How do you get one?…….Ask for one, most of the major Brewers supply them as part of their commitment to provide you with quality cask ale.

(revision : I have been told by one of the Pub Co’s that the 4 major brewers no longer supply such equipment and that only certain regional’s now supply)

However if you wish to remain in CAMRA’s good beer guide this avenue isn’t open to you.

Why ever not?………The argument is that carbon dioxide (fizzyness) is being added to the beer, which shouldn’t be a problem, if set right at a few pounds, normal blanket pressure (secondary fermentation occurs whilst in the cellar, this process makes its own carbon dioxide as it rises through the liquid, Co2 is heavier than air so it forms a blanket over the liquid and this helps to keep it fresh).

As any brewery technician will tell you the gas pressure has to be a lot higher to get absorbed into the beer and over longer period of time. I would like to bet that even a seasoned CAMRA drinker wouldn’t be able to tell the difference and anyway, would probably say it tastes fresher. They have been using one in my local for years and they don’t really need to, but they do, because of that very fact.

CAMRA’s answer would be to sell the beer quicker, but as we know in the real world things aren’t quite so simple.

• The condition of Cask Conditioned beer (Real Ale),when dispensed will depend on the way it has been looked after in your cellar. When the beer is delivered it still has to go through its’ final fermentation and clarification by means of finnings, which have already been added in the brewery . While every brewery has it own procedures, if the beer is to be presented to your customer in consistently good condition, the following must be adhered to at all times, unless in special circumstances your Brewery advises otherwise.
• While this is in no way a complete exercise as far as cask ale is concerned it should be enough for most licensees. If you feel we have missed something out or you would like something added please post on the forum it should also be made clear that we will not be able to offer advice on a personal level. Any questions must addressed via the forum.
• .As with all cellar procedures the cask equipment must be kept spotlessly clean at all times, to minimise the risk of infection it is recommended lines should be cleaned every seven days. Follow the manufacturers instructions depending on which cleaning fluid you use. Please click on the link below to take you on to the next page.

• .Wherever possible casks must be stillaged (thrawled) (A stillage is any device on which a cask is placed for use, this may be a raised concrete area, a wooden or metal rack) on delivery. Casks should be stillaged level and firmly “scotched”(wooden wedges) to prevent movement
• If insufficient space is available to stillage a cask on delivery, it should be scotched level on the floor and spited (vented through the shive) in the normal way. When stillage space becomes available, the cask should be rolled and then stillaged and re spited to achieve best finings results.
• If you need an answer to a problem why not leave a post on the forum

• Cellar temperature is vitally important. If too warm (in excess of 60 deg F) a vigorous fermentation can be anticipated. Whilst if too cold (below 52 deg F) little fermentation will occur.
• Casks have to be spiled ( a small wooden Tapered peg )to enable control of the gas pressure in the cask. The sealing plug in the spilehole of the shive must be punched in and replaced with the required spile or peg. This should take place within 8 hours after delivery.
• If the beer is fermenting and producing C02 gas, venting is necessary to prevent excess condition developing which otherwise would cause dispense and safety problems. If the beer is dead or quiet because no fermentation is taking place, it does not require venting, but needs the spile hole to be resealed, so that some C02 gas condition can be allowed to develop in the beer. Only by daily checking of the beer and adjusting the spiles according to the condition will the Licensee be able to bring this type of beer into the ideal state for dispensing to his customers.



• Spiles (or pegs) are normally supplied by the brewery or depot delivering the cask conditioned beers and are available on request from draymen. The types vary according to the area and the supply position, but they are all made from wood and should be kept clean and dry, preferably in a plastic bag. Dampness will usually cause them to go mouldy in cellar conditions, and this can be harmful to the beer when inserted into a cask.
• ALWAYS destroy used pegs immediately after use, to prevent the risk of re-use and infection.
• There are two basic spiling systems in use which are broadly described on the next page, but for detailed advice on the system used in any particular area, the brewery representative should be consulted.
• “Hard” pegs are used for sealing the cask, when venting is not required, and it is required to “hold in” the gas condition developed. If a cask is to be left for more than a day hard pegged, checks should be made daily that pressure is not built up in excess of what is required.

• Twin (or double) porous pegs are used in such a way that they eliminate the need for separate soft and hard pegs. Made of oak sap wood, they are in effect two pegs left attached to one another during manufacture, the result being a double length peg, which can be broken down into two pegs of standard length when required.
• The twin peg is inserted into the spile hole, and the harder it is driven in, the more restriction there is to venting, thus giving the required control. Vigorous working of the beer may cause the upper peg to become blocked, in which case that can be broken off to leave the lower peg still in the spile hole to continue venting, or subsequently to be knocked in more tightly to “hard” peg the cask.

• The recess in the Keystone plug must be wiped with a clean cloth before tapping with a clean and sterile cask tap.
• Casks should be tapped at the same time as they are spited if sufficient taps are available, or at least 48 hours before the beer is required for sale.
• The tap should be partly open to prevent air being driven into the cask and disturbing the beer. The cask tap should be knocked firmly into cask with one powerful blow.

• Cask Beer must always be examined for smell, taste and clarity before connection to the beer dispense equipment, preferably as soon as possible after the beer has had adequate time to fine out (become clear and fit for sale).
• If a beer engine is to be used to raise beer, the peg must be removed to allow air to enter the cask as beer is pulled, but it must be replaced at the end of service till the next session or the beer will lose condition and probably become flat. If CO2 top pressure is to be used, the peg must be removed and replaced by a gas spigot which should be screwed firmly into the spile hole with its pressure release cap screwed down. Ensure that the gas non return valve is in position before the top pressure pipe is connected.
• Whichever system is employed, the method of connecting a beer pipe to a cask is identical. The beer pipe is transferred from the empty cask to the full one, care being taken to ensure that a hop strainer is in position and in good order.
• If Gas pumps are in use make sure the gas supply is turned on to the pump,otherwise the beer engine will be difficult to pull.
• If top pressure is used, turn on the pressure supply and open the cask tap slowly to prevent disturbance of sediment.
• If not on top pressure, remove the vent peg before operating the cask tap.

Great care should be taken when tilting to avoid disturbing the beer. A cask should never be tilted until approximately one third of its contents have been used. The cask should be tilted by lifting the rear of the cask gently and sliding the scotches closer together, or by use of a tilting appliance. A difference of 2.1/2″ to 3″ between the vertical height of front and rear chimps is quite sufficient to allow the maximum contents of the cask to be dispensed. Although this may vary slightly according to the size of cask, a greater degree of tilt will usually cause the inner end of the tap to rise out of the beer, thus risking hazy beer.

Auto Tilting

Although traditional stillaging is still used Inn Doctor recommends the use of Auto Stillaging for both ease and profit. These will save you money by reducing ullage to a minimum. Floor standing Auto Tilt stillages are designed to sit directly on the floor and replace your existing wooden stillages .The stillages are usually zinc plated which offers resistance to corrosion in any damp cellar.