Keged beer storage

look up Coolbot. it uses a window refridgerator unit. we have an 8x8 cooler that we keep at 36f. it is amazing honestly. the coolbot equipement itself just bypasses the thermostat on the window unit. the unit itself actually lasts longer because it is constantly running at max...strange to think of but refridgeration doesnt like to heat up and cool down. constant temp is far far easier on the equipement.

generally bars will store kegs cold because it is an expensive product and takes a very very long time to get cold.

you will have far better luck with even a small cold room then you will with tying up your bbt with finished beer. since you are doing mostly lagers you could make it a 4 month shelf life. since one month would be "lagering"

you will bottleneck your production pretty badly if you have to store beer in your tanks. you could invest in horizontal brites(aka lagering tanks) that stack, they are designed for lagering and beer storage. the other thing to think about is if you loose glycol you will be in a bad spot. as i dont know that your bbt could handle the pressure of carbed beer at 35c. you will lose carb and then not be able to recarb until you are able to cool the tank down again. CO2 is expensive.
Wen this start working production sales etc I will need for sure a cold room.. I hope this is going to happen soon, cold room solve may problems!
 
Even less likely that they'd have a lot of kegs on hand, then.
If a keg lasts a week, or maybe 2, are they going to stock more than one or maybe two at most as a back up? If it lasts for a month, they have plenty of time to order when it's half empty...or, maybe order a new keg whenever they tap the last one in stock. Deliveries happen weekly in most cases, it seems, but even if it's every 2 weeks, there's time to make sure you don't run out without keeping a lot of extra stock on hand.
It's hard to imagine any bar having a backroom full of kegs of hot beer sitting for a month or more.
Unless they are very high volume, they likely do not have backups at all, or maybe for craft, a different style or two ready to go when one floats. Macro taps usually are handled by ½-Barrels with craft either 1/6 or ¼-Barrels. I've had many a craft on tap at a bar or restaurant that is from a keg 4+ weeks old. Sometimes it holds up, sometimes not, depending on the brew and the style.
 
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Looking at that post, and ordering at half a keg etc. Do restaurants, taverns etc have any kind of metering to show usage and when a a keg is low other than walking through and giving each one a shake?
Inline flow meters exist.

They aren't cheap. They are prone to fault if not regularly cleaned properly, especially when changing styles on a line. They have to be regularly calibrated to the serving pressure of the system or individual line if that is employed.

Expect to see them in Casinos and very high end Vegas bars.

Unless the tech has improved in both quality and price, I would doubt anyone else could use them and improve losses/accounting.
 
Inline flow meters exist.

They aren't cheap. They are prone to fault if not regularly cleaned properly, especially when changing styles on a line. They have to be regularly calibrated to the serving pressure of the system or individual line if that is employed.

Expect to see them in Casinos and very high end Vegas bars.

Unless the tech has improved in both quality and price, I would doubt anyone else could use them and improve losses/accounting.
there is alot of new cool stuff out there solving these problems, but it is all still very expensive so it only makes sense when installed in very high volume locations like stadiums and such. the tech involved in the fill from the bottom cups is neat and in theory is damn near zero beer waste, but the cups themselves are very expensive and wasteful.

flow meters are for sure a thing, most of them are magnetic to avoid contamination issues but they are all expensive as you said above. there are also systems that rely on floor scales and will measure the weight of the keg to count the volume that is pouring. once again very expensive and finicky as different styles and kegs weigh different amounts.

at the end of the day most places build a loss percentage into the price per pour and eat it. they also will monitor employees via camera and such.

metering liquor is far easier and has been around for a very long time due to states like Utah and such where shots are metered and bottles are tax stamped.
 

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