December 1, 2008

Advances in the Draft Beer System Improve Profits and Keg Yields

In the great world of commerce, new technologies are constantly being created to make life easier for us all. The enterprise of draft beer is no different. In the last few years, companies have made several advances that improve not only the quantity of draft beer but the quality as well. Self-cleaning beer taps systems have been developed as well as self-contained systems that are making life easier for the bartender as well as the consumer. This leads to increased profits for restaurant owners and a lower turnover rate for kegs of beer.

Probably the most important improvement has been the “quick-fill†systems that not only get colder brew into beer glasses but also cut down on waste, therefore reducing costs and improving profit margins. These improved beer taps fill the beer glasses from the bottom to the top, therefore getting more beer and less foam into the glass. These “quick-fill†systems can get up to and beyond a 98% yield out of a keg, where the industry standard is somewhere between 75-80%. This is especially relevant when it comes to a novice bartender. A beginning bartender can produce as much as 25-30% waste on a keg of beer in a busy night. Their lack of experience in pouring draft beer literally makes them pour all of the owner’s profit down the drain. There have also been small modifications to beer tap handles that have increased the success rate of the draft beer pour.

As consumer demands for draft beers goes up, so does the manufacturers urgency in creating a system that will deliver the product in the same quality as when it leaves the brewery. This is another one of the main problems with draft beer; it must remain at a constant temperature of between 38-42 degrees Fahrenheit. If the keg gets too warm, it will produce too much foam and make a lot more waste. If it is too cold, there will be no foam and there will be too much beer poured in the glass. Either way, it means lost profits to the restaurant or bar owner. Modern techniques in transporting product have increased as breweries strive to maintain a constant temperature to better preserve the taste of their beer right from the brewery. Recent inventions are not so much whole new systems as they are modifications to bar’s and restaurant’s already existing systems. With so many ways to pour a draft beer and so many different aspects of how the beer hits the beer glasses, companies are trying to take a lot of the guess-work out of the bartender’s job. New systems fill beer glasses from the bottom up, thus eliminating much of the usual 15% waste factor.

Representatives for these new beer taps say that while they still have a ways to go, things seem to be getting better for the most part. There has not been a perfect method developed yet, despite the efforts of the manufacturers. Improvements continue to be made and passed on to the consumer, giving the beer-drinking consumer something to smile about.


Michael Usry is a long-time beer lover and contributing author for “Beer Maniac” fanzine in Austin, Tx. He is also a top affiliate at steinsandglassware.com” title=”http://www.steinsandglassware.com>steinsandglassware.com” target=”_blank”>www.steinsandglassware.com>steinsandglassware.com, websites for household draft beer accessories.

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Itching to Drink a Good Beer? Do German!

One of the various things the Germans are renowned for is beer. Beer is an important part of their legacy and civilization, with more than thirteen-hundred different breweries spread across the land. The Czechs and the Irish are the only ones above the Germans with beer drinking per capita. The monks started to experiment with brewing around one-thousand A.D. at the origin of the Germanic history The country’s monarchy eventually began to legislate the manufacturing of beer as brewing started to be more and more profitable. The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, or purity standard, was written in 1516 and remains the most prominent and significant aspect to effect German brewing.

The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot was authorized by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria to help ensure that Bavarian beers were only of the highest quality. Water, hops, and barley are the only ingredients that should go in in beer according to the regulation. Unchanged after almost 500 years, the Reinheitsgebot is the oldest legislation put on food in the world. Yeast is the only extension to the list of vital ingredients in the proclamation. Brewers before had simply used the yeast that was naturally in the air. Because of the stringent code of quality followed by the purity requirement, Bavarian manufacturers were soon considered the superior manufacturers of beer. More and more manufacturers began to adhere to the proclamation as the reputation of the Bavarian breweries continued to spread.

German beers have a long-standing position of producing quality beers made only from the purest ingredients as a result of the Reinheitsgebot. As time passed and Germany started to export beer, a lot of towns became famed brewing spots. By 1500, Scandinavia, Holland, England, and even as far as India primarily got their beer from one of the 600 breweries in the town of Bremen. Einbeck and Braunschweig were two more famous brewing towns. In modern-day Germany, most of the nation’s drinking people still prefer fabbier, or draft beer, over bottled beer because of it’s hardy taste and perfect amount of head foam. Used still today, German beer steins became popular around the time the purity requirement came about in an effort to prevent further breakouts of the black plague.

Germany enacted many regulations to stop its people from becoming ill during the time of the bubonic plague. Disease would spread as large amounts of diseased flies landed in citizen’s food and drink. This led to the German beer stein, a drink container with a hinged top that is used with the thumb so somebody could stop disease and still be able to drink with their free hand. Beer consumption went up exponentially as citizens started to realize the plague spread in dirty conditions with stale water. Originally crafted from stoneware with pewter tops, steins grew in popularity. Steins began to be manufactured entirely of pewter for almost three-hundred years as the pewter guild became more powerful. Eventually, porcelain and silver steins were introduced and continue to be manufactured in the present.

Nowadays there are over thirteen-hundred and fifty breweries within Germany’s borders that manufacture over 5000 kinds of beer. The Benedictine abbey Weihenstephan, which has been producing beer since one-thousand and forty, is reported as the oldest brewery on the earth. The most concentrated area in Germany for breweries is the Franconia region of Bavaria near the city Bamberg. The majority of beers can be placed by ales and lagers but German breweries make a wide variety of tastes. Some types of beer can have an alcoholic content as high as 12%, making them stronger than many wines even though most beers have an alcoholic content from 4.7% to 5.4%.


Michael Usry is a top affiliate with beertaps.com, a website for household draft beer accessories and a site that has authentic German imported beer steins.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

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The Fascinating History of Beer

Beer is made of barley, fermented yeast, water and various other ingredients. Word beer is derived from the Latin word ‘bibere’ meaning ‘to drink’. It can be safely assumed that beer like beverages were independently invented among various cultures throughout the world.

Ancient Time Beer

The oldest evidence of beer can be found in Southern Mesopotamia; between Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Historians assert that the Sumarians discovered beer by chance. It might have happened that a wet piece of bread was left for several days. After which it fermented and formed a pale yellowish pulp.

Gilgamesh Epic written in 3rd Millennium B. C. states that, it was not only bread but beer too held an equal importance in society, where a primitive man ‘Enkidu’ were served beer to drink.

“… Enkidu drank seven cups of beer and as his heart soared, he wished himself and became a human being.”

The Egyptians carried the tradition of Brewing Beer. It was the essential food item in their daily meal. They used unbaked bread to make beer and used dates to improve its taste.

It is the Egyptians who taught the Greeks how to brew. Greek then taught the Romans and from Romans, brewing culture spread among the Celtic and Teutonic tribes in Britain and middle Europe. In Roman civilization, beer was only popular to the extreme outskirts of the empire, as wine became more prevalent in Rome. The ancient Germans sacrificed beer to the Gods and used it for their own enjoyment in daily lives. In the first century after the birth of Christ until the Middle Ages, Brewing Beer from baked bread was a work for women.

Beer in the Middle Ages

Monks turned their attention to Brewing Beer in the Middle Ages, shortly before the end of the first Millennium, as they wanted a better tasting and nutritious drink to serve with their daily meal and during their fasting periods. Many old art works reveal the fact that monks enjoyed beer and the historians say, each monk were allowed to drink five litters of beer every day.

Beer became one of the most popular drinks in Europe during Medieval times and was consumed daily by all social classes; especially in Northern and Eastern Europe as grape cultivation was very difficult or almost impossible. In England and Low Countries, the per capita consumption was 275-300 liters a year. The use of hops (Humulus lupulus); a female flower cone of hop plant; for flavoring and stabilizing agents in beer started around 822. Apart from hops people started using juniper berries, blackthorn, aniseed, wormwood, oak bark, rosemary and bay leaves.

In 1516, the Duke of Bavaria, Germany, Wilhelm IV, came up with Beer Purity Law, which is the oldest valid food law in the world. The law stated:

“Herewith shall beer brewers and others not use anything other than malt, hops and water. These same brewers also shall not add anything when serving or otherwise handling beer, upon penalty to body and chattels.”

The Modern History of Beer

With the invention of Steam Engine, industrialization of beer became possible, the brewing culture moved from homemaker’s activity to industry oriented large scale production. Steam Beer Breweries was the first to use steam in order to brew beer. Considerable scientific research on brewing took place in the 19th century. With the advent of technology, wooden barrels have replaced by the metal barrels.

Today brewing industry has become a global business; many multinational companies have invested Billions of dollars. Advances in technology such as refrigeration, shipping and transportation help beer industry to progress. There are lots of options for the buyers ranging from different colors to taste and alcohol percentages.


If you are looking for a responsible service of alcohol course, or RSA Brisbane, Queensland, consider South Bank Institute of Technology.

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