Mediocrity, we can do better!
The "last mile" of getting a beer to a glass involves 2 items visible to the public, the beer faucet and the glass. I'm going to talk faucets for this post because it's the last piece of the draught system that touches your beer. I'll be posting on various faucets, then we'll get to glassware. This illustration is of a "standard" beer faucet and the lowest common denominator version, a chrome on brass faucet. Now I won't tell you that you can't, but I will say that you shouldn't. Why? At the simplest level, beer will dissolve chrome, and once the brass is exposed to beer, because brass is porous it can absorb some beer from the pour and as that beer dries, it is fertile ground for "things" to grow in. Leave that petri dish overnight, day after week and you invite the opportunity for whatever the "things" are to grow and create problems. Yes, regular cleaning and attention to chrome loss can minimize the effects, but a...