Here are links, descriptions and explanations of the various things you will need to ensure that you don’t have flat beer problems in your bar.
I only recommend high quality products that work, if my licensees sell good quality beer, it keeps us all in a job and what with the smoking ban and escalating beer duty, the last thing the trade needs is flat beer.
A glasswasher uses 2 products to wash your glasses.
1. Glass wash detergent.
2. Rinse Aid.
These are usually supplied in 5 litre (1 UK Gallon) tubs.
The glass wash detergent and rinse aid tubs are usually placed under your glasswasher with 1 pipe going to each of the products.
You need to make sure that both of these products are from the same manufacturer because different manufacturers products will not have been tested together.
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Use only high quality glass wash detergent & rinse aid. Do not economise on these products, as they are the foundations of your glasswashing process.
In addition, if your glasswasher manufacturer recommends you use their products then please do so.
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If your glasswasher manufacturer does not recommend any particular products then I recommend the following manufacturers products.
Glass wash Detergent - Prototype Ultimate
http://www.cleanerswarehouse.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&pro duct_id=906
Rinse Aid - Aqualate
These are not cheap products, but glasswasher detergent and rinse aid last for quite a long time - usually months on end, so these prices should not break the bank and ultimately they will help prevent flat beer.
You may find these products cheaper elsewhere and if you can, please let me know, so I can add your supplier to the site.
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Renovate Powder
When your glasses have been in use for a period of time, they will build up a layer of dirt and also a residue of glasswasher detergent / rinse aid. This will cause you no end of flat beer problems!
You can dramatically improve this issue by regularly draining and refilling your glasswasher with fresh water, although this is often impractical when you are busy.
If your glasswasher has a plug in the bottom that you pull out to drain the machine, then it is not a ‘fresh water wash’ glasswasher.
If you have a ‘plug’ glasswasher I recommend that you seriously consider purchasing a ‘fresh water wash’ glasswasher, such as the Clenaware Sovereign 45 or 50 machines.
These Clenaware machines are not cheap so I would definitely recommend that you shop around or try the manufacturer direct. I have found that the prices for these machines can vary considerably. If you know of a cheaper supplier please contact me here and I will list them ASAP.
Links to suppliers:-
Clenaware Sovereign 45:- (Washes 24 Pint Glasses)
http://www.clenaware.co.uk/sovereign_45_glasswasher.php
Clenaware Sovereign 50:- (Washes 30 Pint Glasses)
http://www.clenaware.co.uk/sovereign_50_glasswasher.php
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The only way to remove this build up of dirt and wash chemicals on your beer glasses is to ‘Renovate’ them.
‘Renovate’ is a powder that is scooped into your glasswasher and dissolves in the wash water. You then wash each tray of glasses twice. When the glasses have been washed twice you remove them and thoroughly rinse them to remove all traces of renovate.
You repeat this process with the next set of glasses until you have ‘Renovated’ all of the glasses on your bar. (this can take a long time!)
Recommendations on how often you should ‘Renovate’ your glasses do vary, but the process should be done at least every 2 months.
Proton Group Ltd have a simple fact sheet on testing your glasses to see if they need ‘Renovating’.
http://www.proton-group.co.uk/file/Water%20Break%20Test.pdf
The key to ‘Renovating’ glasses successfully is to follow the instructions on the tub. One of the common problems I find in bars, is that bar staff do not read the instructions supplied and fail to measure out the correct amount of ‘Renovate’ powder. I keep reminding them, but they keep forgetting!
The ‘Renovate’ powder I recommend my licensees to use is manufactured by Proton Group Ltd, and it is an excellent example of a high quality product.
http://www.jgbarsupplies.co.uk/proton-renovate-glass-restorer-25kg-247-p.asp
Once again, if you can find this product elsewhere for a lower price please let me know.
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Lipstick / Grease Remover
Your glasswasher detergent is not designed to remove grease based products from glasses. A classic problem then for all bars is the ‘lipstick’ issue.
The lipstick is in exactly the wrong place for the head on your beer, if we don’t remove the lipstick, the lipstick will turn that beer flat very quickly.
The easiest way to remove lipstick from all glasses is by using a product called ‘Quash’.
http://www.proton-group.co.uk/page.php?id=49
Any glasses with lipstick on them are quickly twisted in the ‘Quash’ dish and then placed in the glasswasher. A quick and easy solution to the ‘lipstick’ issue.
You will need to purchase a ‘Quash’ starter pack to begin with:-
http://www.jgbarsupplies.co.uk/proton-quash-lipstick-remover---intro-pack-248-p.asp
and then you will only need to purchase the refill packs in the future:-
http://www.jgbarsupplies.co.uk/proton-quash-lipstick-remover---refill-249-p.asp
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Wet, Warm Beer Glasses
This problem should only occur when your bar is busy.
When a beer glass comes out of the glasswasher, it will be wet and very warm.
It can take up to 45 minutes for this beer glass to cool down and dry out.
When you are very busy you will probably find that your beer glasses get about 5 minutes (if they are lucky) to dry out and cool down, so your bar staff will be pouring beer into wet, warm glasses and this will flatten your beer very quickly.
There is no magic solution to this problem, other than having a larger reserve of glasses for the busy periods or purchasing a glass drier such as this one.
http://www.clenaware.co.uk/airack_glass_dryer.php
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If you have come across other products that have worked well for you, then please contact us here.
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