Serving high-quality beer relies on a well-maintained draft system. Beyond regular cleaning, understanding how to trade out beer lines using wash out cups is crucial for various tasks like product changes, maintenance, or saving beer before cleaning. This guide covers the essential reasons for trading out lines, the optimal timing, and the specific steps involved in this process.
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Important Safety Note: The information provided is for guidance only. Always adhere to your venue’s specific procedures and consult with your manager or a qualified draft beer technician before performing any maintenance on your draft beer system.
How to Trade Out a Beer Line Using a Washout Cup (Step-by-Step)
- Set FOB to Clean: Locate the FOB (Foam on Beer Detector) for the line you are trading out and turn its setting from “work” or “run” to “clean.” This prevents the FOB from automatically stopping the flow when it detects gas after the beer is cleared or the keg is disconnected. Doing so allows gas to flow through the FOB and into the beer line during the following steps. Note: FOB designs vary. If unsure how to operate yours, ask your manager or a qualified technician.
- Disengage and Disconnect Keg Coupler: Lift the coupler handle to disengage it, then disconnect the coupler from the keg.
- Connect Coupler to Washout Cup and Engage: Locate the closest washout cup on the plumbing manifold and securely attach the coupler to this washout cup. Once attached, push the coupler handle down to re-engage it. This opens the line, allowing gas (from the manifold connection) to enter the line.
- The line is now set up to trade out. Gas pressure will push out the remaining sell-able beer. Open the corresponding tap at the bar and pour this beer into glasses to serve customers. Continue serving normally until the beer flow stops and only gas or excessive foam is dispensed. It is crucial to close the tap immediately at this point to avoid wasting gas.
- Final Check: Visually double check and confirm the FOB is in the “clean” position. Check that the coupler is securely engaged on the washout cup to keep the line under gas pressure.
When is the Best Time to Set Up Lines for Trading Out/Cleaning?
Timing is key to minimise disruption and ensure efficiency:
- Quiet Periods: The ideal time is outside of peak hours when the bar trade is slow, or before service periods.
- End of Keg: The most natural time to prepare a line for cleaning is right after a keg empties (“blows”). Staff can immediately disconnect the empty keg and connect the coupler to the washout cup. This is typically done with a slow moving product coming up to the next line clean or the day before a line clean on any other product.
- Coordinating with Cleaning Schedule: If you have a regular cleaning schedule or you know the day prior to the beer lines being cleaned.
Why We “Trade Out” Beer Lines Using Washout Cups?
Beer lines between the keg and the tap can hold a significant amount of product. Standard cleaning procedures often require flushing this beer down the drain, leading to unnecessary waste and lost revenue. The specific ‘trading out’ process described here, utilising washout cup connections linked to your gas system, directly addresses this issue. By disconnecting the keg and using gas pressure applied at the manifold via the washout cup, we can effectively push nearly all the remaining sell-able beer through the line right to the tap, allowing it to be poured and served to customers. This simple procedure minimises waste, maximises the yield from each keg, increases potential revenue, and efficiently prepares the line for its next scheduled beer line cleaning by clearing it of product beforehand.
While saving beer with gas is one key aspect, the broader topic of How to Trade Out Beer Lines Using Wash Out Cups also includes several other standard operational reasons:
- Changing Products: When swapping to a different beer on a specific tap, the old keg must be disconnected. Connecting the line to a washout cup provides an easy access point for the necessary flushing with water or running a cleaning cycle before the new keg is tapped, ensuring flavour purity.
- Taking a Line Offline: If a particular beer is selling slowly or needs to be temporarily removed from service, you might disconnect the keg and connect the line to a washout cup to trade it out. This will leave the line sealed and ready for the next scheduled beer line cleaning cycle.
- Maintenance & Troubleshooting: Washout cups allow technicians to easily isolate a specific beer line from the product keg. This is essential for performing targeted maintenance, diagnosing flow issues, or troubleshooting other problems without disturbing the keg itself.