Beer Cellar Temperature Logger Uk

Direct answer: a beer cellar temperature logger helps a pub see whether the cellar stays around the usual cask range through real trading hours. Cask Marque guidance centres cellar temperature around 11-13°C and recommends daily checks; a leave-in logger adds the missing overnight and busy-weekend pattern.

The problem behind fobbing and flat pints

Cellar temperature faults are often intermittent. A wall thermometer may look fine at opening, then the cellar warms after deliveries, door-open periods or cooler cycling. When beer quality complaints arrive later, nobody can prove what happened between checks. A logger does not fix the cooler, but it gives the licensee and technician a shared timeline.

Where to place channels

• At cask height near the stillage, where the beer is stored.
• Near the cooler outlet, to see whether cold air is reaching the cellar.
• Near the warmest door or delivery route if weekend traffic is the suspected issue.
• In a remote stillage or second zone if the cellar has awkward corners.

Weekend diagnostic ladder

1. Log from Friday afternoon to Monday morning without changing normal routines.
2. Mark deliveries, line-cleaning, door-open periods and busy service windows.
3. Compare high points with fobbing, lively casks or flat pint complaints.
4. If the whole cellar drifts, check cooling capacity and door discipline.
5. If one zone drifts, investigate airflow, stillage layout and blocked vents.

Do not confuse cellar temperature with other risks

This article is about beer quality and cellar temperature. It is not food-hygiene chilled storage guidance, and it is not CO2 safety monitoring. Cellar gas safety needs dedicated CO2 detection and ventilation controls. A temperature logger also cannot guarantee a Cask Marque audit result; it can only help you see and explain temperature behaviour.

Should you buy or keep using a wall thermometer?

If daily readings are stable and you have no dispense complaints, a simple thermometer and good records may be enough. If complaints arrive after busy sessions, the cooler seems intermittent, or one area of the cellar behaves differently, a multi-point logger gives you evidence that spot checks cannot.

Related reading

For local alarms in staffed premises, see temperature logger with audible alarm UK.

Sources

• Cask Marque: Cellar temperature guidance of 11–13°C; daily cellar temperature checks recommended; temperature linked to fobbing and quality faults.
• Cask Marque: Cask dispense temperature expectations and audit ranges; temperature control is central to beer quality.
• Cask Marque cellar card PDF: Recommends cellar cooling to maintain 11–13°C and beer-in-glass checks in the same band for cask ale.