May the force be with you

Saying "you learn something new every day" might be a throwaway cliché most of the time, but when it comes to running a pub, picking up new know-how can be crucial.

This is especially true of those jobs that seem harder than others to master, like looking after real ale properly.

But according to Ray Smith, who works for Wolverhampton & Dudley training licensees in how to serve top-notch beer, even staff with 20 years' experience can pick up something new.

As part of the brewer's CaskForce initiative - a joint promotion between Marston's and the Morning Advertiser in which one reader will win their rent paid for a year - W&D's team is visiting 50 prize-winning pubs a month until June to give licensees free training.

Designed to drive up beer quality across the UK's 25,000 tenanted and free-trade pubs, the ABCQ1 BII-accredited course would normally cost licensees £400 to complete.

"Even for the most experienced licensees who already know 95% of the course, that extra 5% really can make a fundamental difference to the business," Smith says. "Just one bad pint of beer will force customers to drink elsewhere, resulting in low profits. It's like going to a fish and chip shop and the food not being up to scratch. You're not going to step foot in there again."

Individually tailored

Unlike other schemes, CaskForce sees Smith and his team visit pubs individually and tailor the course to each licensee. It takes anything between three and five hours, depending on how experienced the host is, and looks at what happens from the keg through to when the beer is served.

The syllabus also covers hygiene - in terms of storing the beer, but also of personal hygiene; understanding the properties of the beer and conditioning it; glassware, equipment and best practice in a pub environment, all of which are essential to beer quality. At the end of the course the licensee is asked to do a short multiple-choice exam. Smith says: "So far, no-one has failed - after all, it's my job to make sure they're going to pass, to ensure I have told them everything they need to know."

He says the advantage of teaching in a pub environment is that you come up against a licensee's individual problems and see where they might need extra help. Whereas exam papers would normally be sent away to be marked, the in-pub course also allows Smith and the other trainers to mark the paper there and then and discuss any wrong answers immediately.

But Smith is not there to point the finger. Having worked as a beer technician for 22 years, there isn't much he hasn't seen. He tells stories of customers complaining of tasting cleaning fluid in their pint, and of licensees who have fiddled with the spear of a keg, which has consequently shot out and imbedded itself either in the ceiling or the licensee.

"I've seen a few licensees with scars on their chins caused by the spear having flown out of the keg. Pubs can be dangerous places and people who misuse the equipment will have problems," he warns.

Smith has also been called out a number of times by licensees complaining they couldn't get any beer out of their pumps. It turned out they were unaware that the dispense nozzles needed to be cleaned every night - some had never cleaned them. While this is obviously an extreme, there will always be something a licensee can learn.

On-site advice

Last month, the MA joined Smith on a training day at the Torriano, north London. Licensee Dean Guberina has owned the pub for four years and clearly knows his stuff, and he and his partner Suzanne Martin both passed the exam within three hours of Smith arriving. But there were some bits of information they had previously been unaware of.

For instance, the couple learnt that using teatowels to dry or polish glasses is a big no-no as conditioners in washing detergents create a greasy residue inside the glass which affects the beer. They also learnt - something which might come as a surprise - that bottles of any drink take 24 hours to chill to serving temperature from room temperature.

And did you know that an environmental health representative will check the ice quality for any bacteria, or that the legal requirement for a head of beer is 10mm, or 5% of the total volume of drink after the head has subsided?

By carrying out the course in Guberina's pub, Smith was also able to have a look at his cellar and offer him advice on improving storage.

Although techniques and equipment have improved immensely over the past decade, Smith urges licensees: "There is still a lot that can be learnt to help improve beer quality."How to become a winner and serve better beer

Step 1: Order your Marston's beer

For every nine gallons of Marston's ale, you will receive one cask sticker showing a unique reference number. This number is an entry into the prize draw for that month, so the more beer you buy, the more entries you have.

Step 2: Enter into the monthly draw

Go online at www.caskforce.co.uk or phone

the entry hotline on 0800 028 1969 to

enter the unique reference numbers from your casks into the draw. The deadline for entering the next draw is 5pm on Tuesday 7 February.

Step 3: Are you a winner?

From these entries, CaskForce will draw 50 winning pubs that will receive the ABCQ

training in their pub for two people and one winning pub which will be able to choose

from eight prizes to make improvements to their pub or business. All winners will be featured on the website and in the Morning Advertiser.

Step 4: Unlucky this time? Try again...

If you don't win this time, don't worry. There are still another three draws to be held between February and April.

See terms and conditions on the website:

www.caskforce.co.uk