Can bars control each tap lines temperature differently?

Torst in brooklyn is probably the best beer bar in nyc right now, one of the owners, jeppe is the founder of evil twin brewing (the twin brother of the guy that owns mikkeller). They have a custom built draught system where they can control temp and pressure on individual lines. again, this is custom built, so it can be done, im not sure if there are systems available like this at retail though.

 

It can be done, but I imagine it's very costly. Usually the kegs are kept in the same refrigerator.

 

Hmmm. Initial gut feeling was it would be too expensive. First thought was upping the temps of the room to good stout temp, then use chiller plates with automatic control to bring temps down on styles served at lower temps. Then I thought about my home main refrigerator (the one that has silly stuff in it like food) which has custom temp levels for certain drawers and zones. In the larger walk in refrigerators it would be pretty easy to use poly foam insulation panels to create temp specific zones.

Having said that, in most bars, even craft centric bars, getting a reasonable over all temp (not ice cold), cleaning taps and lines, regular keg rotation, etc are likely things that should be addressed first.

 

It is extremely rare and expensive to control the temperature to each line individually. A better and more cost effective method is to have multiple coolers at different temps. This allows you to create multiple temp ranges.

 

I don't work in the service industry, so I may be a bit off-base - I remember reading a Cicerone study guide at one point where it was discussing tap lines and maintenance. One of the things it said was how the tap line bundle comes up to the taps in a place where the taps aren't directly on the fridge's wall behind the bar.

It was showing how you would run a glycol central line, then bundle all of your other lines around it, the ones at the center being coldest, and so on.

If that was true, then theoretically it could be done using the same cooler, presuming a reasonable distance between cooler and tap, and enough lines in the bundle, by simply adjusting the glycol temp and placing the warmer-serving beers on the outer bundle lines.

 

Order beer. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Drink it. Problem solved.

 

This overly simplistic response is the solution to the problem. But to answer your question, yes. I believe Chuchkey in DC has a few different serving temps.

 

While it's nice that you have an appreciation for consuming different beer styles at different temperatures...please keep in mind that the vast majority of an establishment's guests do not.

Serving a beer 'too cold', however, still allows for the beer to warm slowly and naturally in ambient temperatures or it can be warmed quicker using ones own 90°F+ hands.

Serving a beer at your perfect temperature, however, leaves many other guests with the inability to chill the beer down to their preferred temperature. In addition, draught beer is notoriously harder to pour at warmer temperature which not only lowers the keg yield...it does so on what are usually the highest-priced kegs as well; wreaking havoc on pour cost and profitability.

As a result, most establishments will choose to serve a beer a wee bit colder as opposed to warmer.

Patience is a virtue.

 

It can be but it depends on the bars setup. Most of them run the lines together in insulated casings so to do each separately would be more costly. One of my favorite spots bar is actually on top of a row of kegerators so they could theoretically just set each kegerator for whatever temp they wanted.

 

I believe what you are referring to is shown on page 25 and explained on 26 here: http://www.kegworks.com/faqs/Draft-Beer-Quality-Manual.pdf
-it's important to note that this reference states that, when glycol lines are setup, each draft line comes in contact with a glycol supply line. Multiple supply lines can be run depending upon how many drafts are offered.

 

That's exactly what it was, thank you for finding it!

Although the guide here says each draft line comes in contact with a glycol line, it makes me wonder if the scenario described above would work assuming a bit of temperature conductivity between the lines and beer in the lines.

ie. the glycol would be colder than normal, the flowing beer (or beer stuck in the tubes as it were) would transfer their relative heat to the tube/beer next to it, and it would become a thought for the one tapping beers to know which line they're sticking it on relative to the bundle. And, even in the article, it seems common to use a glycol chiller separate of the beer cooler.

Of course, this is all relative to the 'serve beer, wait for warmth' folks (all good either way, mmm beer)

 

I actually run a bar in south florida so I can give u a pretty good answer. Yes it is possible, but no it is not practical. The best way by far would simply be to serve in a non-chilled glass and let it warm up to desired temp

 

Well that solves that... hope business is well for you

 

There's a place in New Haven CT (Cask Republic) that has somewhere around 50 draft lines and they reserve 4 of them at 52 degrees, I believe.

 

Churchkey/Birch&Barley in DC serves each beer at the "right" temp for the style, and the temp is noted on the menu. All it takes is multiple coolers at different temperatures, and putting the right keg in the right cooler. Remember, the key is cooled, not the tap line itself.

 

Torst's "flux capacacitor" as they call it does serve beers at 40, 45, and 50-55 (I can't remember which) and Mikkeller's new bar in Union Square, San Francisco uses the same machine. The machine also regulates some other things that I can't recall, but I believe one is carbonation.

When I was at Mikkeller this past week I spoke with a bartender about the Beachwood Barleywine I was drinking and he told me that the Beachwood owner created the machine that Mikkeller and Torst use. Anybody happen to know if Beachwood uses the same machine?