To diagnose a draught problem, hold a clean glass at a 45 degree angle under the faucet and open the tap completely. Use the troubleshooting guide below to find a potential cause and solution for your problem.
Draft Beer Troubleshooting
| Problem | Potential Causes | Symptoms | Possible Solutions |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Beer is Coming Out | Keg is empty | Gas will rush out of faucet | Connect a full keg |
| Gas tank is empty | Other draught lines will start to pour slowly, gas tank volume gauge will read “0″ | Connect a full gas tank | |
| Gas valves are shut off | Beer pours very slowly and stops, but gas tank volume gauge shows that there is gas in the tank | Turn the toggle so that it is parallel with the gas line | |
| Beer line is frozen | Beer trickles out or stops in one tap or multiple adjacent taps | Turn the glycol system off for 1 hour, then try pouring | |
| Beer is Pouring Foamy | Beer lines are dirty | Beer slowly becomes foamy over several weeks time and lines have not been professionally cleaned | Contact a professional draught servicing company to clean lines every 2-3 weeks |
| Gas regulator set at wrong pressure | Beer pouring very rapidly or very slowly, with excessive foam | Adjust pressure – downstairs keg systems should be set at about 24 P.S.I., and direct draw systems (under the bar) should be set at about 10 P.S.I. | |
| Keg storage or coolant temperature is too high | Beer pours above 40°F with excessive foam | Lower the cooler temperature, limit traffic through the cooler door, and lower the temperature of the glycol reservoir to about 35°F | |
| Beer was just delivered | The first few pints in a keg pour foamy | Wait 1-2 hours, then pour again | |
| Beer “Burps” or Sputters | There is a warm spot, kink, pinhole, or bacteria buildup somewhere in the beer line | The beer starts pouring fine, then “burps” | Check to see if a full keg could be sitting on a beer line. If not, check the insulation and seals on the line with a sponge and warm soapy water, and plan to get lines cleaned |
| There is a bad seal around the faucet or keg coupler (sankee) | The beer starts pouring fine, then “burps” | Replace washers in the keg coupler and faucet or exchange for new equipment | |
| Beer Tastes “Off” | Beer tastes metallic when running through recently cleaned lines | All beers on draught have a metallic taste | Lines cleaned with caustic acid can leave a faint metallic taste. You can request that your lines be cleaned with a chemical-free method, or just pour a few pints off and the taste should return to normal |
| Beer has a strong buttery or butterscotch flavor | Diacetyl could have formed in the beer during fermentation, creating this off taste | The keg is filled with bad beer and should be returned to the distributor, with a request to notify the brewer | |
| Beer has a “creamed corn” flavor | D.M.S. could have formed in the beer during fermentation, creating this off-taste | The keg is filled with bad beer and should be returned to the distributor, with a request to notify the brewer | |
| Beer tastes stale, with a papery or “wet cardboard” aroma | The keg could be past it’s expiration date, or air could have been pumped into the keg | Ensure that you are pressurizing kegs with CO2 or G-mix from a gas tank, not with oxygen rich air. If the keg has been on tap for longer than 4 weeks, it can go bad, and should be returned to the distributor |