The first thing that would strike anyone on reaching either bar in this pub was the quantity of taps on the bar.
There were two small bars which were each dominated by a bank of 4 hand pulls , one 4 tap tbar and three additional founts. Given the throughput, this was a clear example of over tapping.
A general rule of thumb should be that a minimum of one keg per week should be going through each tap. Any more than that is ok but any less, and there are likely to be beer quality and yield issues.
Despite the quantity of taps, the lager was mostly within specification. The cask however was warmer than it should be and this will be a key area to focus on.
The cellar was in good working order but also provides a good example of the importance of cellar cooling. This was working well delivering a temperature of 11c but due to the shape of the cellar and the direction the cellar cooling was facing, part of the cellar was 4c warmer.
The biggest issue in the cellar was the constant external water seeping in, causing an almost constant flooding scenario. A pump is dealing with this but again this needs to be addressed.
On a very positive note, the lines were religiously cleaned and this was having an impact in reducing losses through beer quality despite the sheer number of taps.
