Planning for a draft beer installation takes time. If you’re opening a business intending to sell beer, offering draft options helps ensure quality and differentiates your business from other spots just offering cans and bottles.

However, a draft beer installation can open many new doors for businesses. More and more bars, restaurants, and shops are offering everything from soda, coffee, and cocktails on tap — all of which can be served from a draft system — so it’s crucial to find the right system that delivers quality, minimizes waste, and supports smooth service.

Choosing the right draft beer installation system isn’t just about convenience — it’s about delivering quality and consistency with every drink. But getting beer (or any drink) from the keg room to the tap handle involves more than hooking up a few lines.

At Foxx, we have all the tools you need to install a draft beer line, from chillers to trunklines and regulators to beer towers. But first, you have to know what an installation entails and how to make the most of your beverage system.

Initial Planning and Site Assessment For a Draft Beer Installation

First, installing a draft beer line requires having a plan. Here’s what you should consider before buying or installing equipment:

• Space: How much space do you have to work with, not just behind the bar (which can determine the kind of beer tower you choose), but behind the scenes: how much fridge space will you have? Will the space be high-volume and maybe need multiple taps? You should also figure out what your utilities look like by evaluating available space, power, water and CO2 needs, as well as traffic flow.
• Beverage options: Decide what drinks you’ll offer: do you plan to have just a handful of rotating beers or a plethora of draft beer and other beverage options? Having a sketch of what you want to offer will help the decision-making process.
• If offering draft beer, there are special things to consider — most beers have specific temperature needs and layout considerations to take into account, like space for kegs. A trunkline helps keep beer cold as it moves from the keg to the tap; a regulator helps ensure beer pours smoothly, preserving quality and preventing waste.

Key Components of a Draft Beer Installation

There are a few tools you’ll need to do a draft beer installation, including:

• A beer chiller: A beer chiller does exactly what the name implies. The kind of beer chiller you get can depend on how much volume you plan on doing — some are more powerful than others, but all still effective.
• Trunklines: Trunklines are essentially a collection of insulated tubes used to deliver beer from the keg to the tap, while other tubes in the line carry a coolant that helps absorb heat and keep beer chilled.
• Regulators/Panels: Beer regulators ensure that beer is poured efficiently — no more flat beer or foam sputtering everywhere. Regulators are key for proper carbonation because they control how much gas enters the line, allowing for the perfect pour. Multi-pump panels allow for even more control from beverage to beverage.
• Beer towers: This is where the magic happens — that iconic moment where a server or bartender pours a drink. Beer towers come in all shapes and sizes, from columns with a single tap to pass-thru towers where bartenders can slide pints under the tap. Knowing the layout of the bar and how many drinks you plan on having on tap is key to choosing the right tower.

The Nuts And Bolts of a Draft Beer Installation

Now that you have the tools, let’s go over all of the nitty-gritty details to get your beer taps operational and ready to serve.

We recommend hiring a professional installation team because having your draft beer installation go well is pivotal. It ensures your system is installed correctly and abides by safety and health regulations.

Beer lines also need to be cleaned regularly, so develop a schedule early and stick to it — not cleaning can result (at best) in off flavors and (at worst) infected beer lines and malfunctioning equipment.

Setting yourself up for success for a draft beer installation is the key to a multifunctional beverage system that can support a variety of drinks. Although the steps listed above might seem complicated, things come together once you decide on a plan, work with experts, and source equipment from the right partners. Let Foxx help you figure out what works best for your business!