Draught Operations > A Matter of Balance

This section contains the following topics:

Components of Balance

Carbonation Dynamics

System Balance

Designing For Resistance

Mixed Gas

Dispense Goals

Balancing Draught Systems

All beer contains dissolved carbon dioxide. Brewers control the amount of it in each beer to influence the overall character of the beer. For beer servers, its presence can be both a blessing and a curse.

Ideally, we deliver beer to the consumer’s glass while maintaining its CO₂ content. When this happens, the beer pours “clear” without foaming and we create a pleasing head on the beer without waste.  But too many draught systems fail at this goal. Foamy beer comes out the faucet and servers overflow the glass trying to get a decent pour. Beer quality and retailer economics both suffer.

To put beautiful, high-quality beer in the glass and maximize retailer profits, we must consider the concepts of balance and how they apply to draught systems.  This chapter introduces the concepts then looks at some practical examples. 

Download a PDF of Chapter 5 (284 KB).