1908 The World's Drinks and How to Miw Them by Hon Wm Boothby (1st edition)

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K eep the beer pipes ancl coils clean. This should never be neglected. The beer coils should be th oroughly cleaned at lea -t t wi ce a week with cleaning solution, and Empire Beer Pipe Cleaner is the best for the purpose where t here is water pressure a t ha nd. The ordinary way of cleaning coils is to dissolve a quarter of a pound of washing soda in about three gaUons of luke– warm (not hot) wa ter. Place this solution in a beer keg and tap the same as you tap a keg of beer. AJ!ow the coil to nll with the solution, letting it rest for a while, t hen rinse the pipe with a quantity of fresh wa ter. I do not recommend steam to clean beer pipes, as it has a bad effect on the coils and washers. For the same reason do not use hot water. The beer remaining in the pipes over night should not be used. The pressure in the pipes must not be too high, or else the beer would not run free, and the amount of froth would make it inconvenient to handl e. High pressure at night is liable fo result in a n explosion. B efore nlling glasses see that they are perfectly clean, then remove the froth with the fl a t stick pro,·ided for t ha t purpose. This will ser ve to keep the beer from getting flat quickly, a nd present a neater appear ance. When a customer orders a second glass of beer, the same glass should be used without previous rinsing, because the beer will both look and taste better. If a party of two or more are standing up a t the ba r, and a second "'round" is called for, it is proper to take the same glasses, one at a time, and r efill them, a nd not two or three at a time, as ma ny bartenders do, for they are likely to mix them, an incident tha t would be unpleasant to customers. Handling the gla sses carefully is pleasing to them, and should be done, if the bartender bas sufficient time to do it, but in case of a rush, put aside the glasses used in the first place and let yo ur customers see that you have t aken fresh glasses. 'fhe same rule should be observed in serving customers sitting at a table. All these suggestions are of importance. Remember to have your beer alwa:izs cold enough in summer and of the right temperature in winter. Don't use air pressure if it can possibly be helped, as the beer will always have a bad after-tast e, and jt always loses a part of the real flavor. In using the carbonated pressure, it is more expensive, but it is best not to avoid this item of" expense, for the beer is kept fresher, the foam is always bubbling, and the customers a re therefore fully satisfied. If yo.ur cylinder as well as the pipes are in good condition, as they both ought to be, one cylinder will be enough to force from twenty to thirty half-ba rrels of beer. The cylinder is usually sold a t a very r easonable price. Bottled beer must uot be kept directly ou the ice, but in a cool place in the ice box, in au upright position, so as to allow the sediment to settle. Don't stock up too heavily on bottled beer, however, beca use the older it gets the less flavor it bas, unless it is the specially brewed beer bottled for export.