Micro Matic’s ‘New Generation Spear’ ups hygiene, safety of kegs

Micro Matic debuted its “New Generation Spear” while at the 2014 Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America in Denver, which the company says has three key improvements over other spears in the market and will be incorporated into its existing part numbers.

1. The hygiene was improved by identifying hard to clean areas due to metal-to-metal contact. This was improved by installing “dimples” in the retaining ring for the CO2 spring, which allows the cleaning solution to pass between the components during the cleaning cycle. All Micro Matic spears will have electro-polished stainless steel parts which provides the smoothest surface for hygiene.

2. Trace-ability was improved in order to help improve a brewery’s preventive maintenance program. Micro Matic added a color ring that corresponds to the year of production in order to provide the brewer with a simple and easy way to identify spears that are nearing the end of their life cycle. These are very specific to each brewery depending on the environment that their kegs are subjected to.

3. Safety was improved by implementing a burst disc in the CO2 valve. This is a cutout in the metal insert of the valve designed to blow at 574 PSI, well below the burst pressure of 800 PSI that is typical.

Micro Matic tells Craft Brewing Business that the New Generation Spear will be seen throughout its product line, and is providing these improvements without increasing prices. All parts are interchangeable to existing product and old parts will still be available for some time.