Problems At The Local Cafe...

[LRB]

Hey!

I thought someone here might be able to help me with this one:

There's a little cafe across the street from my office where me and my colleagues have been going for a beer for ages. We like the place, even thought we have to endure Carlton Draught on tap... They have now changed owners 4 times since I've started to go there; they seem to have certain issues with upholding a customer base.

One of the problems (the way I see it) is that their beer have always smelled like rotten eggs. Fair enough, Carlton might have an offensive odour, but not like that!

I believe there's something wrong with their tap-system. It doesn't matter if the keg is new or old, it still smells. Could it be the airlock that's broken and lets old crap back into the keg? Or are there other feasible explanations why this smell occurs? I think they need to change the whole pipe-system if there's going to be any hope...

Any ideas on this one? What could the problem be? Have anyone else experienced smelly beer at a pub before?

 

[j1gsaw]

I havent personally, but then again, thats why i brew my own... so i dont have to go and hang around with dero's at a pub!

 

[boingk]

Ask them how often they flush their beer lines. Not sure what the recommended timetable is, but I'd hazard weekly as a guess. Stale, fouled lines might be the culprit.

Also, nothing wrong with a few ales with mates down the local...nothin' 't all

Cheers - boingk

 

[Kleiny]

Im pretty sure most pubs flush their lines daily after service snd if it has not been done or if they are not using the right cleaning solution it could foul the beer.

Get them to put something good on tap if they dont have an agreement with CUB. You could try to get them to stock a local micros beer, Where ever it is you live.


kleiny

Have not heard of the drunken haze micro

 

[staggalee]

I havent personally, but then again, thats why i brew my own... so i dont have to go and hang around with dero's at a pub!

So you find it easier to hang around with deros at home? :lol:
Less travelling.

stagga.

 

[chappo1970]

...Carlton Draught on tap...

That's the bloody problem...



Oh and lines are fully infected! :icon_vomit:



Edit: Just the Calton Draught not the tap although it's probably harbouring a beautiful colony of bacteria BTW. So on second thoughts both!

 

[Pollux]

Im pretty sure most pubs flush their lines daily after service snd if it has not been done or if they are not using the right cleaning solution it could foul the beer.

I've never worked in a pub that did a daily flush....Every pub I worked in did a weekly flush of water, then whatever the line cleaner was (too many years ago to remember it by name, was made by Bracton, came in two big bottles that were combined as they ran through the lines with water), then a long flush with water (I used to turn all the taps on with running water flowwing out and through the drip trays for the length of time it took to make a coffee and smoke 3 ciggies) or till the pH showed up as neutral on the test strips again, then run the beer back through and then taste every tap before we opened.....

Only once did I not rinse a line well enough, I could taste it straight away, reminded me of laundry powder...

Other possiblities include their line from the drip tray to the slops container, this needs regular cleaning or the smell gets rotten, or perhaps a lack of servicing with the glasswasher, or the wrong type of detergent used in the washer..

EDIT: Just noticed the comment in the original post regarding the airlock, not quite sure what part you are talking about? If you mean the lock at the start of the line near the keg, trust me, they would know if one was cracked, there would be pouring issues and/or beer all over the coolroom floor.

 

[buttersd70]

That's the bloody problem...

If you're going to quote someone, at least get it right....


Well, theres you're problem....

 

[chappo1970]

If you're going to quote someone, at least get it right....
Well, theres you're problem....

:lol:

Not what I was after but it'll do!

 

[citizensnips]

thats strange you say that. i drink a fair bit of carlton on tap and have never experienced this however last friday when at the pub i had the exact same thing. Alot of sulphur on the nose. As i have never experienced this before and you have brought it up, is there a chance carlton united have put out a bad batch?
Is this the firs time for you LRB or is it constant?

 

[Steve]

Why dont you ask the new owner/manager and express your concerns? Ask if he knows how to clean lines and his cleaning regime. A bit of friendly advice might be all that it takes to ensure you dont have the same problem with the 5th new owner?
Cheers
Steve

Edit: And if he shrugs his shoulders and says I dont know or care then tell him you are going somewhere else until he fixes it.

 

[Occa]

When the old man ran a pub, we would finish the lines by pushing out the remaining beer with gas (drink them or hand those beers out if we were in a good mood), then flush the lines with water each night, leaving the water in the lines until the next day. Then once a week we would clean the lines with hot water and a beer line solution cleaner. The cleaner would be left in the lines over night, before flushing out with water the next day.

He was advised at one stage that he only needed to clear and clean the lines once a week which he had a go at, but that resulted in a really poor beer being dished out. There was a build up of scum and what-not over a few months and so we returned to the old method.

Cheers Occa

PS. He won pot of the year a couple of times.

 

[LRB]

thats strange you say that. i drink a fair bit of carlton on tap and have never experienced this however last friday when at the pub i had the exact same thing. Alot of sulphur on the nose. As i have never experienced this before and you have brought it up, is there a chance carlton united have put out a bad batch?
Is this the firs time for you LRB or is it constant?

Hey guys! Thanks for all the replies!

I do not think we're talking about a bad batch. This problem has been consistent. I gave up with the previous owners, since they just wouldn't listen to sense. When I heard from my colleagues recently that the problem was still there, I really started to get suspicions...

What is strange here is that the problem seems follow the place -and not the owner. Seems odd that two owners at the same venue have the same sloppy routine with flushing their taps.

Instead of speculating, I will march down there tomorrow and order a pot of Carlton! :icon_vomit:

I'll take one for the team! I have to get to the bottom of this; maybe then I can convince them to actually put something drinkable on tap - like one of my beers for example! :beer:

 

[staggalee]

I'll take one for the team! I have to get to the bottom of this; maybe then I can convince them to actually put something drinkable on tap - like one of my beers for example! :beer:

Good idea, that should sort things out.
What is your recipe for one of your beers you may ask to be put on tap?

stagga.

 

[LRB]

At the moment he will put Coopers on tap -which is a huge improvement. And since it is an Italian style place now, he mentioned something about Peroni. I said it probably fit the overall theme, but not the best option.

I suggested trying something a bit more exciting... Suggested Effen; is is new, microbrewed, Australian, have good drinkability and a name that would probably be a appealing to the customer base (right next to a uni).


But first things first, he will get someone in from CUB to test his pipe-system. I reckon the previous owners totally wrecked it, and the whole thing needs to be changed...

Any other good ideas to what they should have on tap there? -should be something that is sessional and could fit the wallet of uni students. (and they only have 2 taps).


LRB

 

[marlow_coates]

Go for a coopers pale as the uni drink,
and maybe a James Squire, or Little Creatures beer for the second tap. Nice, trendy, not overly expensive so will appeal to uni students with some cash as well as those lunch time drinks for workers in the area. Also all australian

Also I agree it is in the lines (the bad smell). Our pub used to clean with solution that was left to soak for a couple hours every monday morning. There was a noticable taste difference post clean, and a gradual deterioration in quality throughout the week.

It pisses me right off when a place that survives by selling alcohol cares so little about how it gets from the keg to the glass :angry: . If the manager can't detail at least a weekly cleaning regime that sounds descent then he or she should not be serving beers.

Marlow

 

[marlow_coates]

One other thing,

I recall Castlemain used to go around doing spot checks on places that served their beers. They would run a small ball with ridges in it through the line from the keg then out the tap.

The ball would be taken for testing in their labs. And if it had too many bugs or whatever on it then the venue would be told to up their game or something?? not sure what the penalty was but there was some incentive to serve at least somewhat clean beers.

Marlow

 

[LRB]

*Sigh* No reinheits gebot... We are a filthy breed.

 

[trevc]

The beer smelled of rotten eggs, and yet you've been drinking there through 4 changes of owners. That's some serious customer loyalty!

I think only 1 eggy smelling Carlton would be enough to scare me away.

 

[LRB]

The beer smelled of rotten eggs, and yet you've been drinking there through 4 changes of owners. That's some serious customer loyalty!

I think only 1 eggy smelling Carlton would be enough to scare me away.

Hoho, no. It was never that bad mate! It used to be good, and they used to have decent brews on tap as well. The problem came with the previous owner. And that's when I stopped going. They just didn't listen to sense.

I were still skeptical when the place opened again, and didn't really feel like returning.

When some of my colleagues told me the beer still tasted like sulfide I hit the panic button and posted the thread here.

The positive side is that the new owners seems to have some sense. Hopefully, I'll get them to change those infected taps and bring in some reasonable beers as well!