Customer: Nigel Jones, Owner, Railway Hotel, Blandford.

Requirement:

Based in Dorset, Railway Hotel is an independent Free House, which plays host to numerous sporting events at any one time, across its 22 television screens, in different areas of the pub.

As with any venue showing major sporting events, the Railway Hotel required beverage dispense equipment capable of meeting high levels of demand in short windows of time, such as those experienced during the half-time period of football matches. As well as delivering total service efficiency, owner Nigel Jones wanted to ensure that customers consistently received superb quality beverages, served at optimum temperatures without jeopardising throughput speeds.

Solution:

Working closely with Nigel to specify the equipment and install the system, Cornelius delivered a holistic solution, which includes glycol cooling, high-speed dispense systems and automatic keg changers to effectively meet the needs of the busy venue.

In order to cope with demand for the most popular beers, Cornelius’ Fast-pour system, capable of dispensing high quality beer over two times as fast as standard units, was teamed with the company’s Automatic Keg Changeover device, which automatically changes a keg with a seamless switch.

The system was customised for each application to ensure that every pint is delivered with consistent taste, temperature, carbonation and head height.

The pub now benefits from quicker service of the best selling lagers and has seen a 25 per cent year on year increase in profits from sales of Carling due to the optimisation of spend-per-head during peak times and increased throughput speeds at the bar. Operational efficiency is maximised as congestion at serving areas is minimised and the customers are kept happy as their requirement for refreshment is satisfied.

Cornelius’ Cask ale Python controller also keeps real ale at optimal temperature, from cask to glass, and helps to ensure consistent quality, while the Glycol cooling system reduces heat behind the bar, eradicating the need for flash coolers.

In addition, Cornelius’ TwinIce technology was installed within the venue. TwinIce provides a differentiated, premium product on the bar, dispensing an extra cold draught product topped with a drinkable head of frozen Westons’ cider crystals, freshly created out of the beverage itself.

Satisfying customer demand for an ice-cold beverage that retains its taste and provides a consistent premium product, TwinIce ensures cider is served to the customer in an unadulterated form and has resulted in a two keg per week sales uplift for the cider category.

The result, a pint of iced cider that is all cider and served to the customer in an unadulterated form – satisfying the demand for ice-cold cider that retains its taste and provides a consistent premium product.

Speaking on the installations, Nigel said, “Since installing Cornelius’ Fast-pour system and Automatic Keg Changeover device, operational efficiency at the bar has been maximised, particularly at peak trading periods.

“The increased availability of staff, who no longer have to run back and forth to the cellar to change kegs of our most popular beers, and accelerated service speeds have allowed us to realise uplifts in consumer spending during short sales windows, which were previously a key operational constraint within the pub.”