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Brewing System |
Dispense Page |
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Click on Links for Photographs or more information (details are for general guidance only, not a specification) |
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| Fundamentals | Dispense is the subject of getting the beer from a bulk draught container, such as a keg or cask, into a glass for a consumer to enjoy. Factors to consider are the relationship between the bar area and the storage cellar, the temperature at which the beer is to be consumed, the appearance of the product in the glass, and the appearance of the dispense head (Font or counter mount) on the bar. |
| Keg Dispense | Typically kegs are dispensed using gas top pressure. Cylinders of gas, eg nitrogen or carbon dioxide are used to provide the motive power to drive the beer to the font and into the glass. The font is usually a highly designed marketing device clamped to the bar top. |
| Cask dispense 1 | The simplest form of cask dispense is gravity. In this method, a tap is driven into the cask, and the beer allowed to pour directly into a glass or jug. picture. |
| Cask dispense 2 | Handpumps. Currently the most common form of cask beer dispense in the UK is the hand pump. This is a manual levered pump which is clamped to the bar. A hose pipe leads from the pump to the cask in the cellar. The person pulling on the lever of the pump provides the motive power to draw the beer from cask to the glass. Sometimes this can take a lot of physical effort, and a servo, or booster, pump might be placed in the cellar to reduce the manual effort required. The booster pump clicks in as the hand pump is operated. The booster pump can be powered by compressed gas, electricity or even mains pressure water. Hand pumps are usually fitted with a sparkler on the nozzle. This device helps to create the creamy head seen on the top of the beer. Hand pumps usually carry a clip on badge called a "pump clip" to advertise the type of beer being served. |
| Cask dispense 3 | A seldom used system in the UK involves combining a highly designed marketing counter mount with the "booster pump" system for cask beer. This used to be widely used in the UK, and was often referred to as electric dispense or metered dispense. This system will be significant outside the UK market as it allows the use of low technology cask beer production to be married to the highly sophisticated marketing requirements in some bars. |
| Cask dispense 4 | For satisfactory cask beer dispense there needs to be a high enough turnover of the beer, so it is consumed before it turns sour. Ideally a container should be sold with in 1 to 2 days of opening. Hence a requirement to use smaller containers for quieter bars. Alternative solutions exist such as the cask breather system and bag in a box technology. |
