Last updated: 2 May 2026
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Most pub landlords don’t realise their cellar temperature varies by 8–12 degrees Celsius between the coldest corner and the warmest spot near the pump house, and they’re losing money on spoiled stock because nobody wrote it down. You know the feeling—a delivery arrives, you stack it, and three weeks later you’re pouring thousands of pounds of flat bitter down the drain because temperature fluctuations damaged the gas balance. But here’s the thing: a simple cellar temperature log template, checked twice daily, catches these problems before they become expensive losses. This article gives you a working template that actually gets used, plus the exact numbers your EHO inspector will expect to see, and the hard truth about what happens when you skip this step.
Key Takeaways
- Cellar temperature should stay between 13–15 degrees Celsius for cask ales and 4–8 degrees for lagers and soft drinks.
- A simple twice-daily log (morning and evening) is sufficient for EHO compliance and catches problems before they become stock losses.
- Recording the time, temperature, and name of whoever checked it protects you during inspections and proves due diligence if something goes wrong.
- Most spoilage happens because nobody noticed the temperature drifted over 3–5 days, not because of a single bad day.
Why Cellar Temperature Matters (More Than You Think)
I took on Teal Farm Pub three years ago under a Marston’s CRP agreement, and the first thing I inherited was a cellar full of ale that had been sitting at 18 degrees for who knows how long. Flat, oxidised, unsellable. The previous licensee had no log, no idea when it started, and by the time he realised, the damage was done. The most effective way to protect cask ale quality is to maintain consistent cellar temperature between 13–15 degrees Celsius and record it twice daily, because temperature fluctuations damage the gas balance and create flat, bitter-tasting beer that customers reject.
Temperature matters because it affects carbonation, flavour development, and shelf life. Lager needs colder storage (4–8 degrees). Cask ale prefers cool but not cold. Soft drinks and mixers have their own range. Get it wrong, and you’re not just losing money on spoiled stock—you’re serving customers substandard product, getting complaints, and damaging your reputation.
The EHO doesn’t inspect cellars just to make life difficult. They’re checking whether you have systems in place to prevent food and drink spoilage. A cellar log proves you do. It shows due diligence. If something goes wrong—a compressor fails, a door’s left open overnight, a delivery sits in the sun—the log shows exactly when it happened and that you noticed. That matters legally and financially.
What Records the EHO Actually Wants to See
When I passed my 5-star EHO inspection in March 2026, the inspector spent five minutes on the cellar log and asked one question: “Is this filled in every day, and do you act on the readings?” I showed her three months of entries, temperature within range, and one entry where we’d flagged a compressor issue and called an engineer. She made a note and moved on. That’s what compliance looks like.
The EHO wants to see:
- Daily temperature readings taken at consistent times (morning and evening is standard)
- The actual temperature recorded in writing (not just “looks okay”)
- The name or initials of whoever took the reading (accountability)
- Evidence that you act on out-of-range readings (a note saying “called engineer” or “door left open—closed at 10.30am”)
- Records kept for at least 12 months (in case of dispute or complaint)
That’s it. You don’t need software. You don’t need a fancy system. You need a piece of paper or a spreadsheet, filled in twice a day, stored somewhere safe. According to UK food hygiene enforcement guidance, temperature logs for cold storage must be kept for a minimum of 12 months and be accessible to the local authority during inspection.
Building Your Cellar Temperature Log Template
Here’s what a working template looks like. You can print this weekly or use it as a spreadsheet.
Cellar Temperature Log — [Pub Name] — Week of [Date]
Column headers: Date | Time | Temperature (°C) | Who Checked | Action Taken / Notes
Example entries:
- Monday 5 May | 08:15 | 14 | SM | No action needed
- Monday 5 May | 18:00 | 14 | JP | No action needed
- Tuesday 6 May | 08:20 | 16 | SM | Compressor running loud—monitor
- Tuesday 6 May | 18:30 | 17 | JP | Temperature rising. Called engineer. Booked for Wednesday 09:00
- Wednesday 7 May | 08:00 | 18 | SM | Engineer attended 09:30. Replaced faulty relay. Temperature now 14 at 16:00
That’s what a real log looks like. Simple, specific, timestamped. You can see what happened, when you noticed it, and what you did about it.
Target temperatures by drink type:
- Cask ale: 13–15°C
- Lager: 4–8°C (or as per style)
- Soft drinks and mixers: 4–8°C
- Wine: varies, but typically 12–18°C depending on type
If you have a mixed cellar with different temperature zones (separate fridge for lagers, ambient for cask), you need to log both. Most pubs have one cellar at ale temperature, so you’re checking that one spot twice daily.
How Often You Actually Need to Check
Twice a day is the standard: once in the morning (before service) and once in the evening (before close or after service finishes). That’s enough to catch a problem before it ruins a whole day’s stock. If your compressor fails at 2pm, you’ll catch it by 6pm evening check. If a delivery was left outside by mistake, you’ll spot it before the next morning service.
Once-daily checking—morning only, or evening only—is not sufficient because a temperature drift over 12 hours can damage carbonation and shelf life, leaving you unable to detect the problem until customers reject the product.
I check ours at 08:00 and 18:00 most days. It takes two minutes. My bar staff know the routine. There’s a thermometer on the cellar wall, a log sheet on a clipboard, and they write it down. If it’s out of range, they tell me immediately. No excuses, no delays.
Some pubs use a digital thermometer with a probe in the main storage area. Others use an old-school bulb thermometer. Either works, as long as it’s readable and you write down what it says.
Digital vs. Paper: What Works in a Real Pub
You don’t need Pub Command Centre or any fancy software to track cellar temperature. A printed sheet and a pen work fine. But I’ll be honest: after a busy Friday night service, nobody wants to remember whether they checked the temperature or just assume it was fine. Paper logs get forgotten.
If you’re running 180 covers on a match day like we do at Teal Farm, or managing multiple overlapping tasks with pub management tools, a digital system has an advantage: it can send you a reminder at 8am and 6pm, and it keeps historical data automatically. You’re less likely to skip it.
That said, I know several good landlords who use paper logs religiously and never miss a check. It depends on your team and your discipline. The important thing is consistency and proof.
If you do use a spreadsheet or app, keep a backup copy and print it out monthly. If your phone dies or the cloud syncs wrong and you lose three months of records, you’ve got nothing to show the EHO. Paper doesn’t crash.
Common Mistakes That Cost You Money
Mistake 1: Not acting on out-of-range readings. You notice the temperature is 16 degrees at 6pm and think “it’ll sort itself overnight.” It won’t. A compressor problem gets worse, not better. Call an engineer. The earlier you act, the less stock you lose.
Mistake 2: Only checking when you remember. Sporadic logging is worse than useless—it makes you look disorganised to the EHO and catches problems too late. Twice daily, same times, every day. That’s the system that works.
Mistake 3: Not recording who checked it. If something goes wrong and you don’t know who was responsible or whether the check was actually done, you’ve got a compliance problem. Names and initials matter.
Mistake 4: Losing your logs. Keep them in a safe place for 12 months. EHO inspectors ask to see them. If you’ve thrown them away, you can’t prove you were compliant. Some pubs keep a physical folder in the office. Some take photos of the paper log weekly and store them in a folder on their phone. Either works.
Mistake 5: Keeping logs but not using the data. If you log temperature every day but never look at the trend, you’re missing early warning signs. A very slow drift from 14 to 17 degrees over a week is harder to spot than a sudden jump, but it’s just as damaging to stock. Review your logs weekly. Look for patterns. Act early.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What temperature should a pub cellar be?
Cask ale should be stored at 13–15 degrees Celsius. Lager and soft drinks need 4–8 degrees. If your cellar stores different drinks, you may need two separate temperature zones or a log that records both. Check with your supplier’s guidelines—some ales prefer the lower end of the range, others the upper end.
How often should I check cellar temperature?
Twice daily is standard: once in the morning (before service starts) and once in the evening (after service or at close). This catches equipment failures or temperature drift before they damage a full day’s stock. Once-daily checking leaves a 12-hour gap where problems can develop unnoticed.
What happens if the EHO finds no cellar temperature log?
The inspector will record it as non-compliance with food hygiene standards. You won’t receive an immediate fine, but it will affect your hygiene rating and scores. If there’s a complaint or outbreak linked to spoiled drink, the absence of logs suggests you weren’t managing temperature—which strengthens the case against you legally and financially.
Can I use a digital thermometer instead of a bulb thermometer?
Yes. Digital or analogue thermometers both work. The important thing is accuracy and consistency. Choose one type, mount it in a visible spot in the cellar, and read it at the same time each day. Digital thermometers are easier to read and can sometimes record data automatically, but they require battery changes and are less reliable in damp cellars than a simple bulb.
What should I do if the cellar temperature goes above 16 degrees?
First, check the thermometer is working correctly. If the reading is accurate, contact your compressor engineer or call your pubco (if you’re on a tied tenancy, they may send an engineer). Document the time, temperature, and action taken in your log. If the problem took more than a few hours to fix, consider whether any stock was damaged and act accordingly. Prevention is cheaper than replacement.
Managing cellar temperature manually takes mental energy every single day. Most landlords either skip checks or remember them sporadically.
The Pub Command Centre includes a built-in cellar management screen where you log temperature twice daily—it sends you reminders so you never forget, stores 12 months of historical data automatically, and flags temperature drift so you catch problems early. Works offline, works on any device, built by a working pub landlord who knows what actually happens behind the bar.
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