Advantages of using a drip tray and glass rinser when pouring beer

There’s nothing more unpleasant than sitting at a bar and having your arm stick to the surface. Imagine you go to have a beer and find that the bar is covered in drink residue. Besides being unhygienic, it discourages consumption. To prevent beer drips from pooling on the bar, we use drip trays. This gadget has been around for a long time; it’s nothing new. Bear in mind that we’ve been using beer taps for more than two hundred years, ever since Englishman Joseph Bramah invented a hydraulic system at the end of the 18th century to serve ales without having to tilt the barrels.

Today, the industry provides different types of trays depending on the needs of the hospitality professional. Most of them are made of stainless steel, due to this material’s excellent properties for resisting corrosion in a humid environment, while also preventing the proliferation of bacteria or fungi on smooth, crevice-free surfaces, unlike other porous materials such as wood. However, we also find some models made of ABS, an acronym for the plastic acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.

In any case, remember that you must clean the drip tray every day to prevent the buildup of drink residues, which over time can become a source of contamination. For this reason, it’s best to rinse it with hot water after each service. Depending on the manufacturer, there are also specific products you can use to disinfect it.

What’s interesting is that we can fit both a glass rinser and a drain into the same drip tray. The glass rinser will be our great ally when pouring beer for two key reasons. First, it removes any specks of dust left on the glass surface. Second, it creates a thin film of water that runs down the inside walls of the glass. The result? A much softer impact that prevents the beer from releasing all its carbonation and causing a tsunami of foam. This way we can achieve that two-finger head everyone loves.

Regardless of the type of installation the publican has chosen, they will find a drip tray that suits their situation. There are bar-edge models, trays with a lip, recessed trays, trays with protective grates, bucket-style trays, trays to place on top of the bar and even a universal-format tray to position using an integrated bracket or clamp. You can find any of these options at Install Beer, a supplier of equipment not only for beer but also for dispensing other beverages such as wine, cider, vermouth, kombucha, mead, soft drinks, coffee or water.