Rack AeriAle:
Cold Nitro Draft Beer Straight from the Barrel
Back in 1995, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery approached AC Beverage to build a draft system that could pull directly from their aging barrels. Earlier this year, that system hit the market as the Rack AeriAle system. We had a chance to partner with AC Beverage this April for Eataly in Boston, installing it in the newly opened Terra restaurant. We wanted to offer our experience with the AeriAle system, and why it’s a great choice for restaurants, bars, and taverns who want to show off their barrel aged ale.
With Saint Patrick’s Day just a week away and a projected 7.5 million pints of Guinness expect to be drunk, it’s important to know the specific requirements to serve the perfectly chilled beverage. Unlike most beer, Guinness is a stout beer and has some very specific requirements. It is important to learn the specifics of having this product on tap to make sure your bar doesn’t serve a subpar product. With these key products and techniques you can learn exactly what you need to know on how to serve the best quality Guinness at your bar this Saint Patrick’s Day. 
There are several terms used in the draft beer industry that are valuable to understand as you begin serving draft beer. These terms can be broken down into two main categories: conceptual terms and hardware terms. Conceptual terms are the terms that are used in the industry to refer to the scientific concepts that dictate how the system actually functions. Hardware terms are the names of specific parts which comprise the draft beer system. It’s easy to get lost in the language of the draft beer industry, so here’s a handy guide you can refer back to in case you get confused.
If you’ve ever been to a good party, you know that all you needed is a chilled keg, a beer tap and a red solo cup, and you’ll be sure to have a good time. However, at your local classy bar, the system is actually a bit more complicated than that. The keg-tap-solo cup system works well for a frat boy looking for his third buzz of the weekend, but a good beer system will include a high powered and reliable beer pump. Over the next two blogs, we’ll take a look at how beer pumps work and beer pump best practices for establishments of quality.
Draught drawing systems are not hard to understand, but it does take some amount of knowledge to know how they work. The better you know how your system works, the quicker you will recognize problems and even be able to anticipate some of them. Beer lines require a balance between carbonation, pressure, and resistance. It’s important to get that balance right in order to result in the best possible tap beer. You can read 
On the surface, draught drawing systems are not hard to understand. However, there are several factors which contribute to an excellent draft beer system. Besides quality and proper installation, the key is to maintain proper balance throughout the system. You don’t want too strong of a flow, too weak of a flow, too much foam, too little foam, etc. These things happen when there is a breakdown in the system balance. In 
Essentially the key to your beer keg is pressure. Without the right amount of pressure your beer will dispense improperly and you will find yourself (as well as your customers) very frustrated. Finding the perfect CO2 or Nitrogen pressure is, quite possibly, the most tedious task associated with dispensing draft beer. Thankfully, regulators are here to help ease and even perfect this dreadful task.
On the surface, draught drawing systems are not hard to understand. However, there are several factors which contribute to an excellent draft beer system. Besides quality and proper installation, the key is to maintain proper balance through the system. You don’t want too strong of a flow, too weak of a flow, too much foam, too little foam, etc. All of these things happen when the systems many moving components get out of balance. This series covers the basics of “beer balance” to ensure you have the best possible tap beer.
No bar, pub, or club is complete without a robust