Tell the micro brewery that you would prefer to use your line cleaner to clean their line(s). They do a great job and you trust them. It will be done consistently, promptly, and they will be able to troubleshoot any problems you may encounter because they will know your system inside and out.

But...you want $150 per year from them instead of their cleaner coming in.

What nobody will tell you:
Most brewers who clean their own lines don't want to be in the line cleaning business.
They make money selling and delivering beer, not cleaning lines.

Let's do some math:

• It costs about $60k a year to put a tech in a truck and have them drive around town cleaning lines.

• If they work the typical 250 days a year (50 weeks x 5 days), they costs the brewery $240 per day or $30 per hour.

• Assuming travel time plus line cleaning time, let's say they can clean six accounts per day, so $40 per account.

• It costs them $480 each year to send their guy in every month to clean their lines in your bar.

You just saved them $330 per year.

If you pour two lines of theirs, ask for $300. They still saved $180.

It isn't until you get to four lines where it makes more sense for them to come in, but at four lines, it can take longer to clean the lines, so the savings may still be there.

If they're not sold, tell them that they can come in and inspect their lines anytime they want.

We have several clients who have done this and it has worked out very, very well for them. Their draught system is more efficient, beer lines and taps are cleaner, and their monthly audit scores are higher.

If they say that their delivery driver cleans the lines and they are there anyhow - start to track how often the lines get cleaned. I'll guarantee it's less frequent than it should be because they make money delivering kegs, not cleaning lines.