Outdoor parties and special events simply aren’t fun without a nice cold beer, however, for beer connoisseurs used to pouring their brew right from the keg using a kegerator, dispensing beer from a keg with an orthodox party pump, can at times be a dispiriting experience. In many cases, the beer simply doesn’t stay cold enough, and whatever stays in the keg will spoil as the day draws closer to the end.
The good news is, you don’t require to cart your kegerator to the beach, park, or backyard patio in order to relish refreshing cold draft beer right from the keg. A jockey beer box cooler is the portable solution you need.
Jockey Box A.K.A Ice Chest
A jockey box also called Ice Chest is an insulated container which has been redesigned into a keg dispenser using a cold plate or a cooling coil that acts as a flash chiller to instantly cool down your beer as you pour. Jockey boxes deploy a similar sort of draft dispense components as a full-size kegerator (like faucets, keg couplers, beer line, air line, and a CO2 tank and regulator), however their portable dimensions makes them more economical and more easily mobile.
Use Jockey Box Correctly
You must chill your keg if possible to get around serving foamy beer. Many people use a big-size trash can loaded with ice to keep their kegs cool when refrigeration isn’t an option. A keg jacket or blanket can be used to keep temperature fluctuation at bay and to keep the keg as much cooler as possible. Ensure to keep the keg away from direct sunlight.
Once the jockey box beer cooler gets connected to your direct draw system, tap the keg and pour a little amount of beer, before adding ice or ice water, to the jockey box. If you try to add the ice or ice water, before filling the coil with beer, any water or cleaning chemicals left in the coils will freeze and obviate your beer from being dispensed in a proper manner.
Cleaning your Jockey Box
Same is with any kegerator or draft beer dispenser, cleaning your jockey box beer cooler is a crucial part of the keg dispensing process you have chosen to undertake. Make that certain that you always flush any leftover beer from the beer lines and clean the entire dispense system after use, in a thorough manner and sanitize as well.
Jockey box dispense systems are very easy to clean by making use of a pressurized cleaning kit or hand pump cleaning kit together with a cleaning chemical, specifically made for use by the beer industry. Moreover, you may not want to avoid using a faucet wrench to remove the beer faucets and clean them as well. Cleaning is a ritual you won’t want to shy away from if you are looking to use your dispense system for many years to come.
After you’ve cleaned the dispense system with the cleaning solution, follow it by rinsing with water. Again, assure to always run a little bit of beer through the dispense system, and after that add ice to prevent any rinse water left from freezing up.
Summing Up
During the use of a cold plate jockey box, it is important that the cold plate keeps its contact with the ice all the time to stay cold. You will have to constantly drain melted ice water from the cooler else the ice will float on the surface of the water and, will be unable to keep the plate cold as required. If your keg is insufficiently chilled or the beer does not spend sufficient time in the Jockey box to cool down properly, your beer will come out foamy.
