Steve Bradt has enjoyed a long and rewarding career in brewing, beginning in 1989 at the newly opened Free State Brewing Co. in Lawrence, Kansas. Throughout his career at the pub, later in the design and oversight of a new production plant, and currently as a representative for the Packaging Division of Micro Matic, providing support and training to brewers and manufacturers regarding the proper use, care and maintenance of Micro Matic keg spears throughout the Eastern U.S. and Canada, Steve has taken a practical, hands-on approach to brewing science and technology. His belief that there are always options to be explored and processes to be improved has led to many creative and resourceful solutions.
Well-known among US Craft Brewers, Steve has established and maintained a strong relationship to the brewing community as brewer, beer judge, writer and through service and leadership in the Brewers Association, Master Brewers Association of the Americas and Kansas Brewers Guild, as well as other organizations.
I travel the Eastern US working with brewers who use kegs as part of their packaging mix. As a “recovering” craft brewer I came into this position painfully aware of how little most of us know about that ultimate beer can that we love so much. There is a lot to say about the ways that kegs can affect the quality of your beer, but the first thing to be addressed is safety. At most stages of a keg’s life cycle, it exists as a pressurized vessel and as such, it deserves some respect. A full explanation of keg servicing and safety is beyond the scope of a blog post, but let me offer a few key tips to help keep you, your crew, and your customers free of injury. Note that while periodic removal of spears for repair or inspection is a good practice, the practice of removing spears to wash kegs is not. This greatly increases the likelihood of an accident. A well designed, commercial keg washer that will allow cleaning of the keg without disassembly is an essential piece of equipment for commercial brewers of all sizes.
The overarching safety requirement is that you must always depressurize the keg immediately prior to attempting to remove the spear.It seems like a simple concept, but it gets ignored surprisingly often. And the “immediately” part is critical, because a keg that has beer in it will re-pressurize over time and even an empty keg will re-pressurize as it warms up.
Drop-in style spears are the most common in the American Sanke or D-system kegs. They are secured by a double circlip made of flat stainless steel that snaps into a groove in the keg neck.
Threaded spears have their own set of safety rules, but that can wait for another post.
