The only chance you get to impress is how your pint looks in the glass.

If the glass and the pint look poor then you can bet complaints will follow, along with your patrons out the door.

We will take for granted that the following points have been considered

Slops - Don`t be tempted and make sure that staff are aware that the glasswasher is not a disposal unit. As the detergent will be neutralised by the additional protein and the cleaning will be ineffective.

Cutlery – It’s a glasswasher not a dishwasher. Using it for cups, saucers and cutlery can leave an oiled film in the wash tank that’s very difficult to remove

Chemicals - Use a good quality glasswasher detergent. Ensuring that it is not caustic based and both the detergent and rinse aid are the same brand.

Water quality - Water quality throughout the UK is no longer consistent. In many cases sites, which have had good results, can suddenly experience a cloud or bloom appearing on their glasses. It is caused by minerals, which are totally dissolved in the water drying on to the glass.
Depending on the severity of the water impurity use an Aqupure water filter.

Softened water - Use a water softener and regenerate the softener at least weekly. If it is not done then the life of the machine will be shortened and more detergent will be needed to overcome the effects of hard water.

A clean glass will leave a poured pint with a good head and small bubbles originating from the bottom of the glass. If you find the glass has bubbles sticking to the sides of the glass or there is no head on the pint then it’s a good bet that the glass is not clean.

Dirty Glasses

In nearly all cases the problem of dirty glasses originates from the pint glasses and most
prominently from Real Ales. However the first complaints will probably be about the wine or
spirit glasses. Once the problem with the pint glasses is resolved then the wineglasses will
improve.

Worn glasses – These will look frosty and no amount of scrubbing removes it. This is usually the result of caustic detergent and high rinse temperatures within the glasswasher.
In some cases renovating all your glassware and ensuring the glasswasher is set up correctly will cure the poor appearance and prevent this etching.

Yeast bloom – Also known as beer protein. This will show as a brown or in some cases black residue within the wash tank area. This will transfer to all your glasses, wipe the inside of a glass with a wet serviette and you will find a brown film.
De chlorinate the glasswasher and leave the door open at night, use good chemicals and make sure they are correctly dosing

Raindrops - As the glasses are taken from the glasswasher they will appear with water drops on the glass instead of the water sheeting off the glass. This can be caused by oil film on the glass. Possibly from drying with a tea towel, yeast bloom or water impurities.
Do not dry with tea towels, as this film is very difficult to remove. Ensure that the chemicals and rinse pressure is adequate.

Hot tips

Glasswasher
This needs to be at its best. If you have just brough it of are just taking over its worth getting the machine installed correctly or at least having its serviced, part of this service is to ensure the chemicals are dosing properly. Even the die hard DIY fan can not check this function. In addition to this staff training and maintenance is the key.

Glass polishing
A lot of licensed establishments do not polish their beer glasses any more. Lack of understanding, time and costs of polishing a beer glass are making this practice like the dinosaurs. It’s sad, as this is the best way to serve a beer. There are modern beer glass rinses that are starting to appear which helps but there’s nothing like a hand polished beer glass to ensure your glass is beer ready.