10 Simple Steps for Cleaner Draught Beer Lines

Beverage lines and draught beer equipment must be routinely cleaned to maintain the quality of draught beer. Failure to do so results in lost sales for failure to satisfy the customer due to bad tasting beer. Below are the recommended steps for thoroughly cleaning draught beer lines: 
 
1. Drain all beer from lines
2. Rinse beer line using clean water
3. Re-circulate an alkaline cleaner solution for the period of time recommended by the chemical manufacturer.
4. Let cleaner soak in beer lines for the period of time recommended by the chemical manufacturer
5. Hand clean beer faucets every time beer lines are cleaned
6. Hand clean beer taps at least every 60 days
7. Rinse beer lines with clean rinse water
8. Test the rinse water at the beer faucet for pH of 6.5-7.5 using pH paper or pH meter
9. Fill and pack line with beer
10. Pour beer, check to make sure the beer is good with no off-aroma, no off-flavor, no excessive foam and no cleaning solution contamination.

Bar Blender Basics

Below are some points to consider when purchasing one of the most essential pieces of bar equipment, the bar blender. Commercial blenders offer many features for making custom frozen drinks. Using programmable controls, speed/power sequences, variable speed pulse options, automatic ramping and shut-off, as well as digital readouts, commercial blenders should deliver smooth and consistent beverages with little operator assistance.

Just a few things to consider before purchasing a commercial blender:

Horsepower – Choose a blender with at least a 2-HP motor, a blender with less horsepower will chop the ice into irregular sized pieces.

Controls – Blenders that produce perfect frozen drinks feature advanced electronics that automate the duration, speed, sequence and power level of each blending step.

Customization Capabilities – Blenders that offer custom programming provide consistent blending, while freeing-up busy bartenders.

Material and Design – For superior performance, a professional blender should have blades with sealed ball-bearing assemblies of the highest-grade stainless steel that maintains a honed, unbreakable edge, regardless of the hardness of ice or frozen ingredients. For safety, select units equipped with overheating protection. Blender base units with seamless, touch-sensitive panels offer protection from harmful bacterial growth and are easy to clean.

Containers – Blender containers should be built to fill to capacity and still blend drinks well. They should be tough, yet easy to clean. Polycarbonate is the industry-preferred material because it’s durable and ingredients can be seen while blending.

Drink Volume – The number and types of drinks that are served should be considered when purchasing blender equipment. If the volume will exceed 100 drinks per day, a pre-programmed portion ice shaver blender should be purchased so that ice is added automatically, preferably by ingredient weight. If serving 50-100 drinks per day, try a pre-programmed machine blending station for fast and efficient service. If you are making very thick frozen drinks, make sure the blender container is designed for extreme blending conditions.

Do You Practice Proper Wine Service?

Executing proper wine service can be intimidating for some servers. However, you don’t have to be a wine connoisseur yourself to properly serve a bottle of wine. Below is a general overview on how to properly serve a bottle of wine.

1. When someone at your table orders a bottle of wine, that individual is considered to be the host of the table. While taking the wine order, be sure to make eye contact with the host and repeat the wine choice, vintage, and vineyard to clarify their order.

2. Once you have the order, make sure you have an accurate count of wine glasses. If they are not already on the table, make sure they are completely polished and ready for service prior to bringing them to the table.

3. Prior to approaching the table with the wine, double-check the name of the wine, vintage, and vineyard to ensure your have the correct bottle. Also make sure that you have a folded napkin and a waiter’s corkscrew.

4. As you approach the table with the host’s selection, make sure the bottle of wine is lying on the folded napkin, with the label facing up towards your host. Position yourself to the right of the host and repeat the name of the wine, vintage, and vineyard to the host.

5. Once the host approves of the bottle, take the folded napkin and place it on the forearm of the hand in which you are holding the bottle. While holding the bottle by its neck, take your corkscrew knife and cut the foil off the top of the bottle just underneath the lip on the bottle neck. Use the folded napkin to wipe any debris or dust from the lip of the bottle before beginning to extract the cork. Place your corkscrew into the cork and turn clockwise while applying pressure. Once you have gotten down to about 3/4 of the depth of the corkscrew, stop, and hold the neck of the bottle with one hand, while pulling up the corkscrew with the other. Make sure the label is always facing the host.

6. Once the cork has been extracted from the bottle set the cork to the right of your host for their approval. Before you begin to pour a 1-2 oz. taste for your host, use the folded napkin to again wipe the lip of the bottle from any cork debris or residue.

7. Once the host approves of the wine, begin to pour each of the guests starting with the ladies and then the men going clockwise around the table from the left of the host. Always finish with the host regardless of their sex.

The Perfect Cup of Coffee

It takes more than a good quality commercial coffee maker to brew a great cup of coffee. Below are some basic Do’s and Don’ts from BUNN on how to make sure your customers receive a great cup of coffee every time.

Do make sure you are getting the good water you need. Check your water source for softened or hard water. If necessary, run your water through a water treatment filter.

Do keep all coffee stored in a clean, dry place away from heat registers and vents or extreme cold for maximum freshness.

Do know the correct operation of your coffee brewing equipment for maximum performance.

Do use only quality controlled paper filters designed to fit your brewing equipment.

Do make sure decanters and/or pots used at serving stations are cleaned every day.

Do dispose of filter and grounds immediately after brewing to prevent drip-thru of unwanted flavors trapped in used coffee grounds.

Do clean your brewing equipment regularly (especially the sprayhead area) -- at least once a week.

Don’t mix fresh brewed coffee with previously brewed coffee as this will dilute the taste and affect the flavor of the whole pot.

Don’t brew over previously used coffee grounds because all of the flavor has already been completely extracted.

Don’t re-heat for serving any coffee with a temperature below 175° F

Don’t serve coffee using beans or ground coffee past the freshness date.

Don’t let coffee "bake" on a serving station or brewer. Twenty to 30 minutes is the maximum time allowable for an open pot to deliver a perfect cup coffee.

Don’t serve coffee in pots or decanters that haven't been properly cleaned, since acids and other organic materials can taint even the best brewed coffee.

Visit BUNN’s website for more tips and information on brewing the perfect cup of coffee.

Bar Equipment for a Busy Bar: Frozen Drink Machines

Frozen beverage machines are an ideal piece of bar equipment for bars that serve daiquiris and margaritas. Many frozen beverage machines allow the user to easily set the machine to make icy, frozen beverages or chilled beverages. This is a great feature for bars that specialize in margaritas, as you can easily dispense and serve your customers’ favorite drinks frozen or on the rocks.

Most frozen beverage machines are available in single, double or triple hopper form. With multiple hoppers you can easily offer multiple types of daiquiris and margaritas to your customers. Frozen beverage machines are also available in manual and automatic refill designs. Any piece of bar equipment with automated features can be a time saving device in busy bars.

Many frozen beverage machines feature touchpad displays, making them a very simple piece of bar equipment to operate. These displays also guide users on cleaning and preventative maintenance, making the frozen beverage machines extremely user friendly.

Looking Beyond the Beer Mug

You are probably already aware that specialty, craft beers are increasing in popularity in bars all across the country. These beers are often seen being served in an assorted variety of pilsner glasses, pint glasses, footed glassware, mugs and steins and snifters. However, do you know that the style of glassware in which the beer is served offers more than just an aesthetically pleasing beverage?

According to CraftBeer.com the glass in which a beer is served helps to enhance the beer’s flavor, aroma and head. How do you know which type of beer to serve in which glass? Easy, just use CraftBeer.com’s online beer glassware guide. The interactive tool allows you to click on a style of glassware, and then offers suggested types of beers that will benefit from that particular style of glass.

Once you have figured out which types of glassware are best suited to your bar’s beer offerings, click on over to Serv-U’s glassware section to purchase the glassware you need at the most competitive price.

Facebook Turns Virtual Drinks into Real Drinks

If you have ever received a virtual gift from a friend on Facebook, such as a stuffed animal, cocktail or a cupcake, you may have wished that the virtual gift was the real thing.

Well wish no more – a company called Bartab now makes that possible. Bartab allows users on Facebook to purchase drink vouchers for their friends that can be redeemed at participating bars and restaurants. The drink vouchers are inexpensive, costing the sender and recipient only $1.00 each ($1.00 to send and $1.00 to redeem).

This innovative marketing initiative involves social networking, cell phones and face-to-face interaction as forms of engagement. You send and receive the certificates on Facebook, then use a cell phone application or text message to redeem it from the bartender or server.

Right now there is no cost to the restaurants or bars who participate in Bartab’s Facebook application. According to Bartab’s website, restaurants and bars decide which drinks they would like to offer on Facebook, and keep the recipients $1.00 paid when they redeem their voucher. It has been noted that most recipients redeeming their drink vouchers will often purchase additional beverages or food while at the bar, and will typically bring friends or co-workers to the bar with them.

Bartab believes the service is smart for both consumers and bars. Users get inexpensive drinks and connections with friends, while bars get new customers at a low cost. At the moment, Bartab is available only in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas and in New York, but Bartab is planning to add 17 markets in the next few months, including Seattle, Atlanta and Houston.

Learn more about how Bartab can increase traffic in your bar or restaurant by visiting their website: http://bartab.webtab.com/

How to Choose a Citrus Juicer

A citrus juicer is one piece of bar equipment that comes in different sizes and forms. When considering what type of citrus juicer to purchase, there are several criteria you may want to take into consideration: Price, frequency, type of citrus fruit and time.

The two basic types of citrus juicing bar equipment are a manual lever press juicer and a motorized reamer juicer. The most notable difference between these two types of juicers, aside from their manual or motorized nature, is their price points. Manual lever press juicers are typically less expensive than motorized juicers, making the manual juicer the more affordable piece of bar equipment.

Frequency of use should also be considered when purchasing this piece of bar equipment. You may need to look towards your drink menu and sales history to get an idea of how much freshly squeezed citrus juice you use on a daily basis. Those bars that use quite a bit of citrus juice may find a motorized reamer juicer to be more efficient. 

You should also ask yourself what type of citrus fruits you intend to juice. Larger, thicker rinded citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits will require a larger citrus juicer. Smaller citrus fruits like lemons and limes are typically easier to juice with a manual juicer.

You should also consider how much time you are willing to invest towards juicing citrus fruits. For a more efficient juicing experience, bar owners will want to invest in a motorized piece of bar equipment. Those that don’t mind taking a bit more time to get the most juice out of their fruit will appreciate the manual piece of bar equipment.

In the heat of summer, who doesn’t want an ice cold glass of lemonade, sangria, iced tea or punch? Serving these icy drinks during outdoor parties, buffets or banquets is best done in an iced beverage dispenser. Commercial iced beverage dispensers are the finest way to serve drinks to a large number of people within a short time span, and transport icy beverages to different locations safely and conveniently. On top of these benefits, iced drink dispensers are often equipped with advanced features.

Glass beverage dispensers provide your guests with a beautiful and functional display. If you are interested in a variety of shapes and capacities, check out Cal-Mil’s selection of iced beverage dispensers. Some are equipped with black wrought iron bases for elegant display and drip trays for cleanliness. All dispensers have removable ice chambers, allowing ice to cool your beverage without diluting the flavor of the product as it melts.

For the most durability, consider iced beverage dispensers with high impact plastic construction. Tablecraft iced beverage dispensers are resistant to scratching and denting, making them ideal for transport in a catering operation. Carlisle clear iced beverage dispensers feature tight fitting hinge-less lids to prevent spills. Some models have deluxe spring-action faucets and removable drip trays. Choosing the best construction saves you the labor of cleaning up spills and the expense of a pile of napkins.

Juices, punches and sangrias need optimal temperature settings, but iced tea has an additional requirement—optimum brewing. Stainless steel iced tea urns will give you the best brew for your buck. People will appreciate tea that has been carefully brewed and sits at the ideal icy temperature.

When the weather gets chilly, there is no doubt that coffee brewers, urns and percolators will become the most popular beverage dispensers on buffet tables and banquet spreads. Serv-U also carries quality warm beverage dispensers to use when the heat wave passes!