Keg And System Cleaning

[fergi]

after one of my posts about a brew in my keg tasting funny then seemingly clearing up someone mentioned its about time i removed my dip tube and cleaned it,i do flush and clean my kegs when emptied but i have never removed dip tube to clean, they are 12 months old, what is your frequency of thorough cleaning of your system and have you ever noticed a strange taste before giving your system a proper clean out. how long do you soak your lines and kegs and what do you use for a cleaner.
fergi

 

[MarkBastard]

cleaner: home brand napisan (home brand nappy treatment plus or something like that). Just mix with hot water, good for cleaning kegs and fermenters etc.

I take apart the tip tubes just every now and then. I soak all the parts in a bucket with napisan as above. The beer out dip tube is a bit harder to clean obviously because it's so long but if you put the napisan solution in the keg and use gas to blow it out through the beer out, the inside of the tube should be fine, so just take the seal off and soak that top end.

Give a very thorough rinse and then a sanitise with whatever no rinse sanitiser you use (I use starsan now, brilliant stuff).

 

[raven19]

I currently use 'keg and line cleaner' (a brewcraft product iirc - no affiliation, etc...). Maybe 1L or so flushed through the keg, lines and tap.

I have been naughty of late and have not pulled apart my kegs totally, but when I do i use a little food grade lube on the posts when putting them back together.

I did use a replacement seal kit from Ross when I got my kegs though.

I know some other brewers run up to 4L or so of cleaner, then the same amount again with hot clean water through the system to flush lines, etc. This would use a bit of gas - I'd rather not waste it!

(I have more issues with my taps clogging than the kegs).

2c.

 

[MarkBastard]

I just gave a keg a nice clean then.

I did a better job than I had previously. I found simply soaking in napisan not good enough, but a cheap soft scourer worked wonders and made the inside very shiny. I went over the outside of dip tubes etc too and they came up very nicely.

One thing I noticed is my gas post on that keg is rusty or stuck with beer residue on the inside. Napisan, a tooth brush, and a scouring pad couldn't help it, so I'm gunna use another one.

The only time I don't give kegs a very thorough clean is when I know for a fact I gave them a very thorough clean only one or two brews ago.

 

[glaab]

I don't really see the need to pull your kegs apart, the cleaner / sanitizer should come into contact with any surface that the beer does the way I see it. Having said that, I'll pull them apart once a year anyway, it cant hurt and it's pretty quick and easy to do[I only been kegging 6months]. I give my kegs a good dose of PBW or Fiesta[ el cheaparse napisan with no perfume] and stand the keg upside down for a while to give it a good chance to dissolve any crud up the top of the keg. Half filling it with a coulpa gallons and leaving it right way up seems a waste of time, there isn't anywhere for crud to cake up in the bottom. [then they get the starsan treatment after a rinseout]. Raven, save your pennies and get some Perlick 425ss taps, they never gum up. I got mine from some US ebayer, they're not that expensive, worth every cent.

 

[muckey]

I use home brand napisan as well. normally mix up enough to claen a keg and run through the lines then a couple of rinses with hot water just prior to filling a keg normally does it for me.

 

[Pennywise]

I use PBW at the moment, cleaned every time just before I'm ready to keg a brew, 3/4 ounce in 4L hot water, seal it up and shake the bejesus out of it the leave it on it's side for 10 mins, rotating till all sides have been soaked. Then another rinse with boiling water, pouring it down the beer out tube to get rid of any crud that may be stuck in there. Then the almighty Starsan.

My lines I don't clean as much as I should, prolly every 10 kegs that go through it

 

[The Big Burper]

The beer out post can be tightened by hand and will still hold pressure.

To clean the diptube, unscrew the post, get a tiny funnel ( the red ones are best)
and pour a litre or so of boiling water down the tube, replace the post, seal the keg
and shake the shit out of it. Release the hot air through the valve and your
done.

Of course, it is rinsed out with hot water beforehand to get rid of all crud
off the bottom.

100 kegs done, 0 infections.


cheers
BB

 

[JonnyAnchovy]

get a tiny funnel ( the red ones are best)

Because they go faster?

 

[///]

G'day there

Infections are not always the problem with finish beer flavour, taint from proteins and tannins that build up on Biofilm and surfaces have a huge impact on beer flavour. The latter is a major concern in the dispense area and alot of work is being done by scientists around the world. Proteins and tannins need an attach point, and this is usually biofilm (which make sticky residues, perfect for grabbing onto) and calcium oxalate (beer stone). Both love dark, wet environments which kegs and heat exchangers basically are.

Things like beer stone and biofilms are hard buggars to get off; caustic solutions dont do the job. When it comes to biofilm, caustic makes the protective layer of the biofilm thicker and more impervious to the solution, they adapt to their environment, and with the heat it acts to burn on the proteins and tannins rather than remove them. Oxalate is usually attacked by strong acids, bad for the metal surface and for you when it spills on you.

2 years ago I met some scientists who came into the brewery, took samples and went away. They threw alot of money and and serious Phd type- research into some trials and 10 months ago came back with a multi enzyme brewery wash. (note, still a few things to tidy up, like the website). This we have been using at 3 test sites with huge effect. It is safer than traditional caustic/acid solutions, better for the environment (once the enzymes have thier party, they then start knocking each other off) and easy to use.

When I finish my bit in the next week for the product, I'll put things up in the retail shop. A warm (50c) soak with the solution is an excellent start ...

Scotty