Plastic Beer lines

Bill, Nearly every draft line I see is some sort of plastic hose. Is this some different kind of plastic? FM

Hi Frank,

That's what I'm wondering....or is there some kind of treatment the lines must go through before you start dispensing the beer that they overlooked? I'm serious, there's this nasty taste to every one of the beers I tried. :^ Btw, I asked one of their servers about it and she said she was told that the off taste would go bye bye after a while. It's been over 2 weeks.

Best regards, Bill

Sometimes a sloppy line cleaner will leave small amounts of line cleaner(it should be rinsed after cleaning), but that would be gone after a pour or two. Honestly, I've never experienced the problem going on that long. Sorry I'm no help!

They told you that a bad taste in all of their draft beers would "go away"? Didn't they think that their customers would, too? I can't believe they had the nerve to have you to pay for the beer after they admit to serving bad draft beer. (It's not unusual to get bad draft beer- just difficult to get a retailer to admit to it.)

I'd call the distributor and brewer of every beer on tap and tell them your story.

Thanks anyway, Frank. Btw, I've sent the corporate HQ of Old Chicago a detailed e-mail.

Best regards, Bill

I've started by e-mailing their corporate HQ telling them they have a major problem going on here. We'll see what they have to say about it.

Best regards, Bill

On Sun, 7 Nov 2004, Frank Mancuso vociferated:

}Bill Becker wrote: }> That's what the new local Old Chicago is using and every draft beer has this }> off(plastic) flavour }> present in it. What are they doing wrong? Thanks in advance for any help you }> can provide. }> }> Best regards, }> Bill }> }Bill, }Nearly every draft line I see is some sort of plastic hose. Is this some }different kind of plastic? }FM }

Maybe they bought their hoses from the local aquarium supplier, instead of from a beer equipment source.

Dr H

I, again, mentioned the funny taste in the draft I bought to the bartender. He tasted it and agreed and said the line needed clearing. He poured some down the drain and refilled the glass and, voila, the beer tasted like it

*should* have. So...if a tap goes a decent length of time without useage, the beer assimilates a plastic taste? Is that really something that should be happening??

Best regards, Bill

This is true. In many places, the first pour is bad, due to sitting in the lines, some of which are not refrigerated. Even a small 3-5 foot section from keg to tap can pick up off flavors from the line, but usually, it is just bad beer taste, not plastic. Keep us posted-I'm curious what they say, but the distributors are they guys that most likely installed and clean the lines, so I'd keep them in the loop too.

Guess what? Old Chicago only had the distributor *install* the line. I got that from my retailer friend who got it from a A-B rep who was really pissed that all the beer tasted of plastic. He's already threatened to remove all the beers that A-B brought in. It's starting to get real interesting. I'll keep you all posted.

Best regards, Bill