Among the most frequent topics posted on Craft Beer Professionals, draught beer can be problematic for breweries and retailers. While it is good to see the efforts being applied to solving draught issues, it is common that many of the answers being offered contradict each other and, in some cases are simply incorrect. This can be expected as there are so many areas where draught service can fail, and so few people with formal training in draught technology.

Pro brewers don’t necessarily need to know that much about building and maintaining draught systems if they aren’t directly involved in draught service, but there are a lot of brewers that do come in contact with in-house draught systems, event systems, and even at key draught retail accounts. If you are someone who is directly involved in draught beer service, it is important to have a basic understanding of how to design and maintain draught systems to the point where you know when to fix something yourself and when you need to call in a professional. One way to build your knowledge in draught is through the Siebel Institute Draught Master and Draught Executive courses, which help build draught skills towards complete understanding of system design and maintenance issues.

Along with taking a course in draught, there are great self-directed study options:

• Download and read the Draught Quality Manual at https://cdn.brewersassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/13094643/Draught-Beer-Quality-Manual-2019.pdf. This is a great first step to understanding the terms and technologies involved in draught. That said, it covers just a fraction of what a trained draught tech needs to know to design, build and manage more complex systems.
• Go to YouTube, which offers videos produced by draught technicians and equipment suppliers on various topics related to how draught works and what to do to keep it working.
• Consult with local bar owners and brewers towards finding trusted draught technicians in your area. They may have solutions to recurring issues that can save you thousands of dollars per year as well as improve beer quality and staff/customer safety.

Among the most common problematic issues in draught relates to out-of-control foaming during service and the challenge of getting bar staff and, sometimes bar owners and management to understand how quickly foam loss adds up to lost profits. The article at https://www.siebelinstitute.com/news/business-and-management/how-much-does-wasting-draught-beer-cost-a-retailer shows how quickly the foam losses amount to dollar losses, and Siebel’s draught courses offer excellent tips on how to troubleshoot foam problems in real-time.

While complex, draught technology can be fully understood in a remarkably short time through both free resources and formal training. Knowing as much as you can about draught technology can help you sort out the good advice from the bad, and may even turn you into the draught expert others can trust.

—

 

Keith Lemcke is the past Vice-President and current Marketing Director of Siebel institute of Technology. The Chicago-based Siebel Institute has been dedicated to helping people build careers in brewing and distilling since 1872, offering education in the form of programs, courses, and individual lectures to facilitate brewing knowledge and advance brewing careers. These offerings include our World Brewing Academy (WBA) partnership with Doemens Academy in Munich, Germany, which allows us to offer educational content that is truly international in nature. We feature extensive e-learning and campus offerings, and flexible options for all knowledge levels.