long Draw Beer Systems

We often have customers ask about the best way to deliver beer via long draw beer systems. To summarize: there are two ways to deliver beer, “Push it” or “Pump it.”

Push

Kegs come from the brewery with 12-15 pounds of CO2 pressure on the keg.  The length of the long draw beer line and changes in elevation determine the amount of CO2 pressure you must put on the keg to get the desired flow rate and control foam.  Longer runs may require up to 25 pounds of pressure.  Additionally, the higher CO2 pressure on the keg will contribute to over carbonization of the beer if the keg sits too long.

Using a mixed gas (combination of CO2 and nitrogen 60/40 for lagers) at 25 pounds eliminates the over carbonation possibility.  While the mixed gas solves the over carbonation problem, it can contribute to the beer going flat if the keg is exposed to the mixed gas for too long.

Pump

When you have a pump system, you only apply the whole 12-15 pounds to the keg, eliminating the possibility of over carbonation.  You apply the CO2 pressure required to move the beer to the pump only; the higher pressure never touches the beer, thus eliminates the possibility of over carbonation.