Biofilms in Beer Lines

Perhaps of interest, a little book was published in 1952 by the United States Brewers Foundation titled “A Beer Dispensing Handbook - A Guide to the Proper Handling and Serving of the Beverage of Moderation”. Within it, and under the subject of “Cleaning”, it was recognized that, due to the nature of beer, contamination can easily develop. In those days, however, biofilms were not well understood, especially in beer lines.

Your friends at Draftec want to re-enforce your knowledge on all things to do with beer line cleaning. Like all of you, we love beer and we take it seriously so we hope this little blog on biofilms will add to value.

What are Biofilms?

Life is not sterile. Bacteria are everywhere. Even the cleanest beer lines contain some bacteria which will build up over time. We know; we don’t like to think about it but bacteria happen!

Biofilms are formed when bacteria attach to a surface such as that forming the beer line and then produce and encase themselves in a polysaccharide or slime matrix. When this happens, further bacterial growth cannot escape the matrix and so the biofilm grows.

In beer lines these biofilms, without proper cleaning and cleaning at the correct frequency, will then risk the taste of the beer so that, when dispensed into a glass, the beer will not look or taste the way that the brewmaster intended thus potentially disappointing the consumer which, in turn, will risk further consumption.

In 1952, it was recommended that beer lines be cleaned every week to clear away biofilms. However, today, we know that if beer lines are cleaned with an effective product like Draftec, then every 2 weeks of cleaning will suffice.
 
A free sample of Draftec's beer line cleaner is available for professional line cleaners and beer distributors. To request a sample, please email us at info@draftec.com or call us at (888) 226-8228.

The formation and buildup of biofilms in beer lines not only risks the taste of the beer but can actually risk eventually blocking the beer lines as well as risking the early breakdown of the beer line material, potentially causing early and expensive line replacement costs.

Your friends at Draftec have actually experienced beer lines which used a commercial beer line cleaner but not one which was properly formulated, i.e., caustic, surfactant, wetting and chelating agents. When finally cleaned with Draftec we were amazed at the material which was finally eliminated from the line, obviously previously compromising the taste of the beer which had been in that line.

Why risk it? Why risk consumer rejection? Why risk your profits? Use Draftec - clean it once, clean it right!

A free sample of Draftec's beer line cleaner is available for professional line cleaners and beer distributors. To request a sample, please email us at info@draftec.com or call us at (888) 226-8228.