I've mentioned that I had a great time at the Micro Matic Dispense Institute last August, and many of my classmates have expressed great satisfaction with what they learned as well. Classmate Dave Dyer with Stone Brewing says he mostly uses his new expertise to balance draft systems for proper dispensing. He also educates retailers about producing the BCG, or Beer Clean Glass—the gold standard of our industry—and its crucial importance to draft beer presentation.

Stone Brewing began operation in 1996 in Escondido, California, San Diego's North County. Owners Greg Koch and Steve Wagner are on track to produce about 53,000 barrels this year, offering 6 standards year-round (including the well-known "Arrogant Bastard") and another 6 seasonally. That’s a big jump up from the 36,000 they made last year.

Dave's job is to set up and maintain their draft accounts. One of the most common troubleshooting problems he sees results from a draft system that's not balanced. Since one draft account is often serviced by several draft distributors, lots of different people mess with the gas pressure and temperature settings, and according to Dave, "99% of the people in the industry don't know about draft beer".

"We've got a bad keg", one account complained, "it's way too foamy and it tastes funny." His practice is to just listen to the owner’s story, then start looking at temperature and pressure settings. At this location the 'idiot knob' (temperature control) was set at its coldest setting, yet the beer was dispensing at a very warm, foamy, and funny-tasting 45º (we’re shooting for 38º). The coldest setting on most beer coolers will freeze the beer.

The problem? A dirty compressor—as dust builds up on its vents, they clog and make it work so hard that eventually even when its running all the time it still can't cool the box. The beer pours poorly and eventually the compressor needs to be replaced.

"I cleaned all the dead rabbit fuzz off the compressor and reset the temperature," says Dave, and everything worked.

"When you own a car," he says, "you've got to change the oil, gap the plugs, replace a broken window, maintain it in good running order. The same is true for a draft system. You've got to stay on it."