Line cleaning, installation, repair, glycol chiller and CO2 service for bars, restaurants, taprooms and venues in Chicago, Cook County, Lake County and DuPage County.
Everything a commercial draft system needs, from routine line cleaning to new installations.
We flush the beer out of each line, circulate a line-cleaning solution through the full run from coupler to faucet, then rinse with clean water until no chemical remains. Faucets and couplers are taken apart, scrubbed and reassembled so the parts that touch beer get cleaned along with the lines.
Each cleaning is logged with the date and signed by the person who did the work, so your cleaning record stays current.
We install new draft systems and expand existing ones: direct-draw kegerators and walk-in cooler setups, long-draw systems with trunk lines, towers, faucets, shanks and couplers. Line length, line diameter and gas pressure are balanced to the system so beer pours at the right speed with the right amount of foam.
Foamy pours, flat beer, slow faucets, leaks and warm lines usually trace back to a specific cause: a worn part, a pressure setting, a temperature problem or a line that needs replacing. We track down the cause, replace faucets, couplers, shanks, washers and lines as needed, and rebalance the system so it pours consistently.
Long-draw systems depend on a glycol power pack to keep beer cold from the cooler to the tap. We check glycol concentration and bath temperature, clean condenser coils, inspect pumps and lines, and top off or replace glycol so the chiller holds temperature through a busy shift.
Gas pressure and gas mix decide how beer pours and how it tastes. We install and adjust primary and secondary regulators, set up gas blenders for CO2 and nitrogen mixes, run and replace gas lines, and leak-check the system from the tank to the keg.
We also set up cylinder manifolds and bulk CO2 systems, and help you choose the right setup for your volume and space.
A draft system can look fine from the bar side and still be pouring beer that tastes off.
Beer leaves yeast, proteins and minerals behind as it moves through a line. That buildup gives bacteria and wild yeast a place to grow, and they produce sour, buttery or stale off-flavors that end up in every glass, even from a fresh keg.
Buildup roughens the inside of lines and faucets, which knocks carbonation out of the beer and causes foamy pours. Foam that goes down the drain is beer you paid for and could not sell.
Lines, faucets and couplers touch every draft beer you pour. Faucets that are not taken apart and cleaned can grow mold and attract fruit flies, right where your customers can see them.
Illinois sets a legal minimum for retailers that pour draft beer in its liquor sanitation rule, 11 Ill. Adm. Code 100.160(b):
The Illinois rule is the legal requirement. On top of it, the Brewers Association's Draught Beer Quality Manual (fourth edition, 2019) recommends cleaning draft lines with a caustic line-cleaning solution at least every two weeks, taking faucets fully apart and cleaning them at the same interval, and de-stoning lines every three months with an acid line cleaner or a strong chelator.
We work on commercial draft systems only. If you pour draft beer for customers, we can help keep your system clean and running.
Chicago and the surrounding counties of Cook, Lake and DuPage.
Tell us about your bar, restaurant or venue and what your draft system needs.
