beer lines

[klangers]

Yeah, every night is insane and a crazy waste of chemicals. If it was a bit of dairy equipment, then sure. But beer is a very stable product; even unpasteurised it's not considered perishable.

I just flush with hot water between kegs. Caustic is great, but if you're getting that much build up in your lines that it requires fortnightly caustic then I'd review the line geometry and line velocities (not with respect to commercial set ups).

 

[Grott]

I run two 1 metre x 4mm id lines to taps in the fridge door. They are always connected to beer, always cold and regularly used so I think koshari is right in that under these circumstances cleaning is not required on a regular bases. I go about 20 kegs, never a problem, never any sign of bacteria. Then a good soak in sod perc and starsan flush.

 

[Pnutapper]

There's no pub with a long draw system that flushes with water nor can afford to take the waste. Harts has 75l of beer in the lines, called flow backs and a regular clean. Aside from the fact the lines would freeze due to a glycol tank at -2c

Aeris enzyme cleaner or the pink Andale caustic product works well. 2% caustic also works well, main thing is to do it fortnightly at least

Flow back is a system almost unique to NSW. It is almost unseen or unheard of in Vic & SA. The system relies on pushing beer back into the keg or tank. If beer lines are already dirty, then the beer going back into the keg will be as well.

With all of my glycol equipped customers, I push the remaining beer in the lines with gas so they can trade the beer out without freezing the line. Most of my customers have a minimum 30 meter python run - some as long as 150 meters. At 70mL per meter, that can add up to a lot of beer.

Andale have a product called QGuard beer lines. The lines are treated, and Andale claim that venues can extend cleaning cycles to once per 3 months. Personally, I don't agree with this, as the beer also travels through keg couplers, fob detectors, beer pumps, and manifolds etc. that are not treated.

 

[TheWiggman]

On the boring home scale I clean a line every time I clean a keg. Typical sequence will be -

1. Rinse keg thoroughly
   
2. Boil a jug of water
3. Add cap full of sodium percarbonate and freshly boiled water to keg, shake to buggery
4. Run at least 200ml though beer line to clean keg dip tube and beer line
5. Allow to soak for 30 mins
6. Empty keg and rinse/clean
   
7. Add jug of boiled water to keg, shake again
8. Run boiled water through beer line

Two birds killed with the one stone.

 

[VP Brewing]

That is my exact method Wiggman. So easy.

 

[klangers]

I get nervous putting hot water into kegs without a vacuum breaker fitted...

 

[Brewno Marz]

'bout $10 from the local hardware shop (not green shed) plus a spare liquid post. Simples!

Makes flushing the lines a breeze. I use hot water every keg change and throw in some sodium perc every now and then.

 

[Lionman]

+1 carb caps method.

About $9 on eBay. I need another to make cleaning my keg jumper easier.

I use sodium percarbonate and starsan every few kegs. Just water other times. If the lines get any build up that won't budge I just replace it. Only a couple of dollars.

 

[Batz]

Speaking of cleaning beer lines I went to a well known venue in the Valley Brisbaine, ordered a beer and the bloke poured it for me. Placed the beer in front of me and a big moldy piece of crap was floating in it. Looked at it then him and walked out.

 

[unwrittenlaw]

I had the same last week at a very old establishment near the RNA. 11 bucks for a pint of rogers, you could at least put it in a clean glass FFS

 

[hotmelt]

View attachment 107571 'bout $10 from the local hardware shop (not green shed) plus a spare liquid post. Simples!

Makes flushing the lines a breeze. I use hot water every keg change and throw in some sodium perc every now and then.

I took a lazier way out.Had a brown pump sitting around so I just let it recirc for a while then change water/solution.

 

[Lionman]

I took a lazier way out.Had a brown pump sitting around so I just let it recirc for a while then change water/solution.
View attachment 107578 View attachment 107579

building a device specifically for cleaning lines is hardly the lazier way out.

Not cleaning lines is the lazier way out.

 

[Grott]

I run two 1 metre x 4mm id lines to taps in the fridge door. They are always connected to beer, always cold and regularly used so I think koshari is right in that under these circumstances cleaning is not required on a regular bases. I go about 20 kegs, never a problem, never any sign of bacteria. Then a good soak in sod perc and starsan flush.

I felt a bit guilty about this so decided to clean both lines (no reason to in terms of taste etc). Filled lines/taps with sodium percarbonate solution and left overnight. Just forced solution out with starsan then put beer in each line. Well, the sodium percarbonate was quite filthy so I think I might just clean more often. With carb caps it is piss easy so I'm going to change my cleaning frequency and not be so casual.