Order
It is important that the brands are on the correct lines and in the correct order.
This way, your techs can quickly identify the lines they are cleaning.
The brands listed in the Tap Trackers system should correspond with the way the kegs/lines are in the walk-in beer fridge. Industry best practice when installing a draught system is to go from left to right in the walk-in. Line 1 will be the left-most brand, line 2 the second left-most line,… This order should be the same at the bar.
When you are standing on the guest side of the bar, the taps should be listed from RIGHT TO LEFT, with line one being the right-most tap handle.
When standing behind the bar, the brands should be listed LEFT TO RIGHT, with line one being the left-most tap handle.
Naming Brands Guidelines
Rotating / Seasonal
If it is a rotating tap, list the brewery name, followed by the words 'Rotating' or 'Seasonal'. Example “Duff's Rotating”. This saves your techs from constantly changing the brand name when a brewery has the tap for an extended time and changes brands as necessary.
"Seasonal" brands usually change 4-6 times a year.
"Rotating" brands tend to change more frequently, typically monthly.
Wine / Cocktail Lines
These should have the preface of "W" or "Wine" or "C" or Cktl"
Examples:
W - Calli Coast Cab
Wine - Cali Coast Cab
C - House Margarita
Cktl - House Margarita
Empty Lines
Empty lines may not get cleaned. This poses a problem for the reports, as they will eventually appear as being neglected.
To solve this problem, you need to use the word “Empty” to identify an empty line. When the system sees “Empty”, it will change the background colour to white and remove it from the reports, auto-scoring, and emails.
When the line becomes active again, the listing will need to be updated from 'Empty' to the correct brand.
It is industry best practice to clean an empty line before tapping a new keg and putting the line back into service. After cleaning, update the brand from Empty to the new brand and then record the cleaning. This cleaning should be recorded so that the line will show as recently cleaned (green status), and the line cleaning status is reset to green.
It is best practice to create a brand for each brewery called “Empty”. This way, you can select the Empty brand from that brewery when the line is empty. Chances are the line will remain with the brewery, they are just in the process of switching brands.
Alternatively, you could also create an “Empty Line” brewery and create a single brand under that brewery called “Empty”. This way, you could highlight that the line is not tied to a brewery, which your distributors may find valuable.
Brands on Non-Tracked Lines
Are shown in gray and with a strikethrough font:
Spelling
Please ensure that you use the correct spelling, especially if you work for a brewer or distributor. Stella, not Steller, Kronenbourg not Kronenberg. Please take your time and get it right - spelling your client’s brand name incorrectly will never earn you any bonus points.