Evaluation of the Beer Line Waste Inhibitor.

A Summary report.

By Roger Hammond

Introduction.

The BLWI was received for evaluation to determine it's effect on the flavour of keg beer and to the fouling of a dispense head system over three weeks of continuous use.

Test conditions.

A dispense tube was split into two separate lines, just above
the mouth of the keg.
A BLWI was placed above the split on one of the lines making this
the trial line.
The other line was left like a normal beer line, making it the
control line.
The two lines were of equal length (10 metres) and installed as new.
The keg and dispense tubing were held at a constant temperature
of 10°C.
Hygienic sampling particles were deployed throughout the ale.
The batch of commercial beer was supplied in eight kegs
and dispensed continuously over a four week period.

Results.

On delivery, the beer contained low levels of bacteria (micrococcus), yeast and mould. During the first two weeks of the trials, differences between the two lines were too small to measure due to the low levels of molecular activity.

When the levels of activity increased, yeast was consistently detected in the beer dispensed from the trial line however effectively no yeast was found in beer dispensed through the control line.

This, in turn, reduces the need for constant (weekly) cleaning of the dispense system. The keg beer was heavily contaminated with micrococcus bacteria. There was evidence of attachment of the bacteria in the control tubing however these bacteria passed through the trial line with no measurable effect.

Taste testing of the beer was conducted throughout the trial and there was no statistical difference in the flavor of the beer dispensed through either line.

Conclusion.

In this limited study, the BLWI has found some interesting and beneficial effects in inhibiting particle deposition.

Beer Line Cleaning