Technology: Beer flow monitoring systems

A decade ago the launch of the Brulines beer flow monitoring system was greeted with suspicion by licensees.

Even those who weren't the initial target - tenants buying out of the tie - felt it was an intrusion into their business.

Now, however, increasing numbers of pubs have discovered that having more information about the beer going through their pumps is of positive value - and recent advances in technology mean that Brulines is on the brink of opening up a whole range of new uses.

Derrick Collin, the founder of Brulines, believes that within a few months pubs will be using the system not only as a sales information tool but for what he calls "total atmosphere management".

This might include:

• Brewers keeping a check on beer quality by remotely reading temperatures in the cellar and at the tap and knowing whether line cleaning has been performed correctly
• Monitoring carbon dioxide levels and leaks
• Measuring the footfall of customers through the pub
• Checking smoke and noise levels in the bar
• Monitoring fridge and glass washer temperatures
• Tracking usage patterns for gaming machines
• Monitoring EPoS till operations.

Pub trials are already underway on a new product that tests the quality as well as the quantity of beer being dispensed and on conditions monitoring. Brulines has also hooked up with machine operator Rank Leisure to improve information from gaming machines.

"Within three to six months we shall be able to bring everything together in one pub," said Derrick. "Total atmosphere management will bring benefits to the licensee, the pub group and to suppliers."

He agreed that Brulines has come a long way since he initially sold the idea to tenanted pub companies as a way of cracking down on buying out.

"That's still our main selling point, but right from the start I thought that the system could and should be delivering added value not just to the pub companies but to the licensees themselves."

Already pubs are using Brulines and its main rival Nucleus Data, to track sales through the day and the week, evaluating the impact of promotions and adjusting the operation of the business to maximise profitability.

Clive Consterdine, director of Nucleus Data which was set up a few years ago as a sideline to Jim Walsh's Commer Inns chain, believes pub operators will increasingly use monitoring systems in a positive way.

"We are going to see more people joining the trade who have experience of sophisticated data systems used in other retail sectors," he said.

"In future the best tenants will expect their pubco to provide them with accurate trading data and make management reports available to them."

From the pubco's point of view, Peter Brook, chief executive of InnSpired, agrees that "the future for beer flow monitoring is as a positive force in the partnership between pub companies and their tenants".

"The feedback so far is that it helps tenants and business development managers work towards improving profitability for both partners in the relationship," he added.

Pictured: Derrick Collin and the 'total atmosphere management' hardware.​

How it works​

The original Brulines EDIS (electronic draught information system) software, used by most major tenanted pub operators, measures volumes dispensed each hour of every day using flow meters and converts the data into useable information for the pubco and licensee.

A pubco with a beer tie can compare the amount of beer delivered to the pub against the amount actually going through the taps. If the second figure exceeds the first, the tenant must be buying out of the tie and breaking their contract.

But it is also possible for the tenant to use the sales data to run a more profitable operation, and the latest technological advance radically broadens the use of such systems to monitoring subjective measures of a successful pub, such as beer quality and the atmosphere.

The breakthrough has come with wireless telemetry. Brulines was restricted by using telephone lines but is now working with a company called Box Telematics on a device which enables remote monitoring using cellular, radio and satellite networks.

Derrick Collin explains the change as EDIS becoming a "hub" for any number of measurements simply by connecting it up to a suitable probe that detects physical properties, such as heat, movement and electrical variations.

"As well as objective monitoring - such as the specific quantities of drinks dispensed and actual temperatures - the system can be used to monitor conditions that are prone to subjective judgements, such as noise or smoke levels," he said.

"While these may not have the same quantifiable effect on profit as, say, drinks wastage may have, they are all factors that can affect the popularity of a pub.

"In most situations, these factors are up to the judgement of licensees and their staff but at busy times they may not have the chance to do a walk-round that would tell them whether air conditioning or sound levels need adjusting."

Case Study: Colin Clarke, the Mallard, Seaham, Co Durham​

Growing numbers of licensees are finding that there's nothing wrong with having a "spy in the cellar" - if the spy is working for your side.

InnSpired tenant Colin Clarke is one who, far from feeling intimidated by his beer flow monitoring system, actually welcomes it as a benefit that improves the profitability of his business.

Colin took over the Mallard in Seaham, County Durham, two years ago after an 11-year career running DIY superstores.

"After all that time working with computerised systems for analysing sales I knew that when I became a pub tenant I would have to learn to manage without them," he explained. "But about 18 months ago I was asked by InnSpired to take part in a trial with the Nucleus Data system. I jumped at the chance because I knew I had nothing to fear and that I could use the system to my advantage. I had always been used to making business decisions based on solid information."

The Mallard is a community pub on a roundabout on the old A19. It serves vastly differing groups of customers on different days and at different sessions, from families on a Sunday to crowds of youngsters on Friday and Saturday nights and more mature drinkers midweek.

"To make sure the business is profitable I need to review our product range regularly, and to do that I need to know who is buying what and when," said Colin. "The Nucleus Data system gives me precisely that information, and in the last two range reviews I have managed to increase my more profitable lager sales from 47 per cent to 52 per cent of total beer sales."

Colin has also used the system to identify when it is not profitable to open at all. "It enabled me to work out the value of sales versus the cost of sales and on that basis I calculated I could save money by not opening during the daytime on certain days in the winter," he said.

Similarly, Colin is using the system to make sure he gets his planning right for the busiest times of the year, particularly bank holiday weekends.

"Getting it wrong on a bank holiday can be very expensive for a tenant," he said. "You have to pay for more beer than usual and staff wages can double.

"You can't afford to run out of beer but you can't afford to over-order either. I have now got a very detailed analysis of how things have gone this year so I can plan staffing and orders more accurately and more profitably."

And the original benefit of beer flow monitoring is also being turned to his advantage. Colin can check the number of pints sold against the number of pints recorded in the till at any time.

"If there is a discrepancy it might mean we are getting too much wastage because