Tap Beer

Time to talk about tap beer

An amazing thing about beer is the various ways we can get it, cans, stubbies or on tap. Beer on tap though is a completely different way to drink beer, there are many things that have to go right for you to get a good looking beer from a tap. I’ve been drinking tap beer for almost ten years and have been pouring for others for more than seven, I’ve seen a lot of good pours and too many shocking ones.

To have a proper tap beer set up you need taps, a drip tray, a chiller, gas, glasses and most importantly a keg of beer. By the time it takes to set that up you could have easily gone to the fridge several times and had some stubbies.

look at all the taps!

Beer taps come in all shapes and sizes

It has its benefits though, standard Australian kegs are 50L so it will take a while to finish, bars can have several different beers running at the same time, and they are always chilled and ready to drink no matter what time of day it is (in a perfect world).

Popeye in Tokyo, Japan has 70+ beers on tap daily

But with these benefits there are many things that can go wrong, the tap might not be used correctly, the chiller might shit itself or not be at the right temperature, the glass could be warm or dirty, the keg might not be tapped properly, something seeming so simple isn’t always.

In my opinion the best way to pour a beer is by following the DO’s and DON’Ts

DO use a cold glass/ container – room temperature is acceptable.

DO tilt the glass at first when you start to pour and straighten up as the beer reaches the top.

DO turn the tap off before the beer overflows.

DO drink it, unless of course you are bartending then drinking on the job is bad!

DON’T use a dirty glass, the beer won’t get a proper head and there are germs etc.

DON’T bash the glass into the tap, it might break.

DON’T let the tap immerse itself in the beer.

It's important to tilt the glass as you pour

Naughty, don't do it!

The frothy foam at the top, known as the head, is a widely debated topic around the world. The Japanese bartenders love to give a big head on beers they serve, on the other hand, in Australia, if you serve someone with more than a finger of head you might get ripped out from behind the bar or even have the drink thrown back at you. In my opinion I’d be happy to get any head…

This head might be okay in Germany and Japan but not Aus

What do you think about my tap beer suggestions?

Have you had any interesting tap beer experiences, share it with us?

Until next time.

Cheers,

Dave

True or False?

VB is made from the run off from wasted tap beer?

I wish it was true but I’m pretty sure they make it almost the same as every other beer. I have seen a cartoon meme though with a urinal wall that feeds into VB kegs on the other side. I couldn’t find it again…

VB being made, JK