The temperature of the beer (in keg) in this set up (direct draw) trumps everything. You must determine this and hopefully adjust each location to 38F. This temperature is by far the most stable for the CO2 in the product as well as for optimal flavor for resale.
The back up location for your keg storage must also be capable of maintaining 38F. If you couple a keg 42F keg in a system set up for 38F, place a cup on top of the faucet tap marker and call it quits until the beer acclimates. Beer has gas! Hopefully we remember from science class what takes place with gas when it is heated or cooled.
At 38F, and if your beer is around the 2.5 volume carbonation level, adjust your pressure to 14 PSIG. (2.2 vol. - 12 PSIG, 2.8 vol. - 16 PSIG) Then have six feet of 3/16" line installed between the coupler and the faucet shank. Five feet for the 2.2 beer and seven feet for the 2.8 beer. If the flow coming out of he faucet is to slow, do not dare touch the regulator! Cut six inches off of the 3/16" line and reattach. Keep trimming this line until you acquire the flow rate desired.
You must assure constant temperature 24/7 from the keg to the faucet. Be certain that the tower is refrigerated and the bartenders must be coached to understand that the top of the keg is not a SHELF!
The bartenders must know how to dispense draft beer. I know, you have been doing it for 20 years and nobody can tell you any different. So be it. I have been watching bartenders for 30 years and I know they don't know how!
Realize that the faucet has two positions only -opened or closed. If the tap marker is grabbed at the top and opened, the chances for the faucet to be in between these two positions causing foam is much greater. Hold the marker as close to the faucet as possible and open swiftly but without such force as to shake the entire tower. So that you can visually inspect the initial beer flow as it comes out of the faucet, never touch the glass to the faucet. Not to mention the bugs that can be transferred if you are refilling a patrons glass. Yech!
If this initial beer flow is foamy or streaky, stop dispensing into the glass. Pour this down the drip tray and start over with clear beer flow. Bartenders must realize that it is physically impossible to pour clear beer on top of foam in the glass. The beer will continue to boil and this of course is very wasteful. It also results in flat beer served to the customer. If this initial pour is always foamy, check temp. /pressure. If the faucet is not removed each cleaning cycle and maintained, it may not operate correctly. Change gaskets frequently and adjust properly.
Last, demand that your beer vendor services and tunes your system properly. Call the GM! Tell him that not only do you want to make money on their brands but that you want to be certain that the product you serve to your customers is supporting the brands' equity that this vendor works so hard every day to build and maintain.
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