The Exhibitor (1966)

Quality Beverage Dispensing — Part II Refrieeratins the Drink This second in a series of five articles discusses some of the technical aspects of modern beverage dispensing equipment. Based on “Facts For Quality Beverage Dispensing,” a com¬ prehensive book on the problems of post mix dispensing prepared by experts in the Coca-Cola fountain sales depart¬ ment, the material herein will enable the theatreman-concessionaire to get maximum performance out of his fountain equipment. This timely check-up on the physical condition of existing equipment and its capacities will point up the need for needed maintenance or replacement prior to your peak sales periods. — The editor. IT hasn’t been too long, as history goes, since a thirsty vil¬ lager poured a keg of water over some rye or barley grain and let it ferment when he wanted a beverage with a little more zing than cool, clear water. Today, a beer drinker would have to be mighty thirsty before he would guzzle such a brew. Traditional home-made beverages, including beer, wine and, within the span of many Americans’ memories, home-made root beer, were compounded by processes that by contemporary stand¬ ards were both unsanitary and uncertain. But long before science arrived on the scene, man’s burgeonning sense of industry had urged him towards standardizing his works. There was both comfort and economy in the knowledge that a process could be repeated time and time again with a rea¬ sonable expectation that it would produce the same results. Thus, the man who made the best beer in the village probably became the local brew meister whose jealously guarded method for steep¬ ing and boiling malt and hops was passed on to his children and his children’s children — until a dynasty was established. From early artisans, who clearly prided themselves on the consistent quality of their handiwork, this premium placed on proven methods expanded to become the very basis of much mod¬ ern scientific investigatory technique. As scientists learned the value of duplicating the same reactions in the laboratory, indus¬ try sought new and daring ways to apply their discoveries to the production of goods. Inevitably, a language of symbols and formulas came into being «o that the findings of these scientific pioneers could be studied, f .x-x-: m EXTRA PROFITS Devoted exclusively to refreshment operations ^ s > improved, and carried further by those who followed. Without some way to express what took place in his laboratory, each laboring genius would have remained a slave to his own intellect, unable to communicate with his fellow workers. With this seemingly irrelevant background in mind, let us get to the business at hand — serving eustomers a consistently superior carbonated beverage. The heart of much modern technology, including such diverse things as manufacturing common lead pencils, popping popcorn, or successfully operating a post mix beverage dispenser, is what is called probability. Within established limits of human error and mechanical malfunction, a food service machine like your popcorn popper, for example, when loaded with X kernels of raw corn — heated to temperature Y — will yield a predictable volume of popped corn. Tamper with the heating controls, use the incorrect amount of popping oil, or otherwise deviate from the optimum procedure set by the manufacturer, and the finished product will suffer accordingly. A carbonated beverage dispenser, along the same lines, is engineered to operate under certain conditions using predetermined proportions of the simple drink ingredients, syrup, water, CO2 gas, and, in most cases, ice. As you can readily see, many variables can enter into the ques¬ tion of these simple ingredients before they reach the actual beverage dispenser. If our end is to control quality, thereby hold¬ ing costs to a minimum while enjoying the knowledge we are serving the best possible product, we must control some of the variables that can adversely affect the content or taste of the finished drink. Taking each of the four ingredients, the syrup and CO2 gas are delivered in sealed containers, while the water and ice used may vary widely from location to location. Some of the many variables at work in the basic ingredients including the following: Water (1) Temperature (2) Various ‘impurities’ that escape filtration (3) Anti-bacterials such as chlorine Ice ( 1 ) Size (small, clear, bite-sized chunks; snowy, soft ices, etc. (2) Temperature (“Super-cold” ice below 32° — etc.) (3) Impurities CO2 Gas ( 1 ) Pressure in the cylinder (2) Temperature in the cylinder (3) Foreign elements, liquids in cylinder Syrup (1) Temperature (2) Age of stock and storage conditions (3) Foreign odors We will treat each of the above factors in subsequent articles, explaining how some of the variables can affect taste right up to the point of final consumption. Our concern here, however, is getting maximum use out of the controls built into your equip¬ ment. The principal elements in a post mix dispensing unit are a syrup tank, refrigeration unit, CO2 tank and carbonator. The PE-6 PHYSICAL THEATRE • EXTRA PROFITS DEPARTMENT of MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR May 18, 1966