Any bar people here? Beer tap handles question...

varial

varial

varial

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8 Sep 2003
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Hi guys and girls,

Just wondering if any one else when pouring certain drinks push the tap handle backwards to poor the last inch in the glass? I have no idea where i got this from but do it with Guinness and john smiths and have now been asked why, to which i replied 'i dont know'.

Only thing it does seem to do is give you a lot more control over the speed of the poor but maybe thats just me being daft!
 
varial said:
Hi guys and girls,

Just wondering if any one else when pouring certain drinks push the tap handle backwards to poor the last inch in the glass? I have no idea where i got this from but do it with Guinness and john smiths and have now been asked why, to which i replied 'i dont know'.

Only thing it does seem to do is give you a lot more control over the speed of the poor but maybe thats just me being daft!
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It does seem to help with drinks like Guiness and Smiths, where you need to get a proper head on it.
 
jp_bl_68 said:
You get a squirt of gas with no extra beer. It livens up the pint without over filling it. Vital for pouring a decent Guinness.
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I kinda know what you mean, as with the fosters it has its own little button which gives it a squirt of gas but with the Guinness and john smiths it doesn't seem to do that, i could theoretically poor a whole pint by pushing the handle backwards and i think it wouldn't make a difference... what im trying to say, is i don't think there is any gas involved!
 
Perhaps it depends on the tap and how far back you push it. Even so, I think pushing it backwards will usually give you more gas than beer.
 
With guinness, it's slower when pushing the tap away from you (don't know about gas but it sounds plausible) and thus easier to control the head of the pint. Pouring the last part of a guinness with the normal tap-drop will mean it will have to sit to settle again.
 
I thought it put less gas in with smooth flow and Guinness as if you push it backwards for the whole pint you get no head on the pint. Handy for bitter shandys if you can't be bothered beating the gas out of the lemonade.
 
It always just did it slowly when ive poured them, unsure about the gas content.
 
Guiness is like that as you are supposed to pour the first 3 quarters then leave 45 seconds then push back to fill the rest, putting a shamrock on if you so desire and can.
 
As Magic x uk says when ever I have poured Guiness, I pour it 3/4 leave it to stand for a bit then pour by pushing back for the rest.
 
The lager taps in the bar I worked required the push back at the end to add a head. If we had used the tap forward for the whole pint it would end up looking like a pint of cider.
 
Azza said:
As Magic x uk says when ever I have poured Guiness, I pour it 3/4 leave it to stand for a bit then pour by pushing back for the rest.
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Thats how its usually done as far as im aware. Always one or two **** bartenders who just pour the whole thing straight off and wonder why you look at them funny giving you a guinnes with either no head or a HUGE one.
 
Also when pushing the tap back on Guinness it is a lot easier to do a shamrock, to be honest with lager if you need to use it to make a head you ain't pouring it right.
 
Where i work pushing back and forward will just produce beer. To get just head you just push it forward or backwards very slightly. Guiness and John Smiths are pressurised taps so don't need to add head or anything after words to liven it up.
 
Nix said:
With guinness, it's slower when pushing the tap away from you (don't know about gas but it sounds plausible) and thus easier to control the head of the pint. Pouring the last part of a guinness with the normal tap-drop will mean it will have to sit to settle again.
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Correct!

Magic_x_uk said:
Guiness is like that as you are supposed to pour the first 3 quarters then leave 45 seconds then push back to fill the rest, putting a shamrock on if you so desire and can.
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Do you leave exactly 45 seconds? What happens if it's 46? Does the pint explode?!

neodude said:
The lager taps in the bar I worked required the push back at the end to add a head. If we had used the tap forward for the whole pint it would end up looking like a pint of cider.
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The taps are either broken, or more likely, you're not pouring correctly. You should be able to pour a pint without having to add any extra gas. Using a warm glass is also a culprit to a failed pint.
 
Maccy said:
The taps are either broken, or more likely, you're not pouring correctly. You should be able to pour a pint without having to add any extra gas. Using a warm glass is also a culprit to a failed pint.
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Nah, Shoddy equipment tbh. It was usually fine when a new canister of gas is on, but gradually tailed off as the gas emptied. The whole lot needed ripped out and replaced.
 
neodude said:
The lager taps in the bar I worked required the push back at the end to add a head. If we had used the tap forward for the whole pint it would end up looking like a pint of cider.
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Most have a button on top, Fosters does, that you press at the end of the pint to give a nice head on top. :)
 
On the Guinness and John Smith's taps, pushing them forward does nothing different - it just pours the beer slower - because they're both classed as "creamflow" (ie there's a metal plate with small holes in in the nozzle itself) - they produce a head as you pour, which has to settle and rise to the top. You then top up the pint by pushing the handle forward, pouring beer in slower, and allowing you to serve it properly.

Any beer line can serve Guinness, you just need the appropriate coupler in the cellar, and the right nozzle at the bar end :)
 
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