Pythons eat mice

I talked about my python a couple of posts ago. My brother used to have a couple of pet pythons. They ate mice, rather than mice eating them and I nearly tagged the fact on the end of my python woe story but thought it might give the reader something to put in the comments. Well too late, I'll make the observation now. I know, I'm pathetic.

Apparently some of you want to know how I've got on with the problem, well one of you anyway. The good news is I've got the new python installed and working. The foam insulation of the old one was rather soaked in some interesting smelling liquid. I can't work out if it's mouse wee or stale beer. I suspect it's a combination of the two.

When we first bought the pub we gained the help of a supplier of beer in respect of cellar maintenance. They put in the cask

python that has since been the subject of problems. Previous to that all the pythons had been enclosed in a 6" plastic pipe which was mouse proof. The new python was rather shoddily run alongside the old python, but to make room the protective plastic pipe was broken.

I was determined to install the new system the way I wanted. I took me 3 days, but I'm very pleased with the results. There are a few technical improvements that I've made over the standard methods of installation but I want to get a couple of weeks of operation under the belt before I brag too much. It does involve a reduction in pythons from three to one and a reduction in energy hungry cooling devices. I will have to keep a close eye on drink dispense temperature and let you know the results.

A key difference to standard installations is the inclusion of a thermally insulated connection box, mouse proof of course. This enables me full flexibility in the future for how I connect up the various products to dispense points on the bar.

Connecting up under the bar is always a problem. When the professionals do it they always seem to steal valuable shelf space needed for the glasses. They also like to cut holes everywhere in the bar woodwork. I worked hard to counter this problem. We now have four more hand pulls on the bar and two extra shelves. I didn't cut a single bit of bar timber. I'm rather proud of that.

And finally the finished result. 10 handpulls, just perfect for a beer festival.