Beer line cleaning

[BasementArtie]

Hey Everyone,

I just want some advice.

I have a kegerator with 4 taps on the door so all the lines are refrigerated.

I was originally cleaning the lines every 4 weeks with purple line cleaner then rinsing it out.

Then I reduced this to every 6 weeks. By mistake this time round it's been 8 weeks (as of today when I cleaned) however I haven't noticed any off flavours from any of the 4 beers I have on.

I've done some research on other threads etc and some say every 2 weeks and others say once the keg kicks. However I am wondering if this differs because of certain set ups i.e. taps with towers and taps door mounted.

All my beer lines are refrigerated within the fridge the same as the kegs. I am wondering how it is that the internal dip tube of the keg not being cleaned periodically until the keg has kicks is fine but the line from keg to tap must be cleaned regularly? Surely with both storing beer within a refrigerated environment means the contents are the same?

Also what do other people do?

 

[Rwilts]

Probably get shot down here (maybe correctly) I have a three tap keezer which I don't use for every batch as I like to give beer away ...

I only clean the lines when the keg connected kicks and I have never used line cleaner. I just disconnect everything and wash the tap( stripped down) and lines with hot soapy water and flush through with cold water.

Probably been lucky but never had an issue.

 

[Caramel Ox]

Probably get shot down here (maybe correctly) I have a three tap keezer which I don't use for every batch as I like to give beer away ...

I only clean the lines when the keg connected kicks and I have never used line cleaner. I just disconnect everything and wash the tap( stripped down) and lines with hot soapy water and flush through with cold water.

Probably been lucky but never had an issue.

This is me basically, 3 lines of about a metre each. If I had to replace them annually then it really wouldn’t be an issue. I feel like I should line clean but it’s one of those jobs that I have no one to show me, I have never worked in drink retail, so i don’t understand well.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I clean my lines every 1-2 weeks and I can tell the difference if I leave the cleaning much beyond 2 weeks.

Stainless steel is far less likely to suffer from bacterial infection than beer lines so this maybe is why the dip tube in the keg remains clear.

Shorter beer line lengths and cooler temperatures help to minimise/slow bacterial growth but you can be pretty sure it’s there.

If you have fewer taps and draw beer frequently the off flavours building in the pipe from the bacteria are flushed into your pint before they become bad enough for you to taste, or maybe you get used to the off-flavours, or maybe you are less sensitive to them.

It might be worth a close inspection of the beer lines (assuming they are translucent) and maybe shine a torch through the beer line. Look for anything other than absolutely clean lines - you might see some small whiteish dots or you might see a line of something like limescale along the pipe.

It might also be worth cleaning your lines with colour-changing purple beer line cleaner. This will show if you have bacteria in your lines by coming out pale pink, clear, yellow, green or blue depending how bad it is. If it comes out the same colour it went in, great!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Have a look a this thread I posted a while back…

Thread 'Why you shouldn’t be lazy (or cocky!)'
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/why-you-shouldn’t-be-lazy-or-cocky.97655/

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

… and here for the beer line cleaner and carbonation cap I use

The beer line cleaner is this one:

https://www.buzzcateringsupplies.com/entirepro-purple-beer-line-cleaner-5-litre.html
I deleted my records but I think I bought the carbonation caps from BKT:

https://brewkegtap.co.uk/collections/gas-co2-equipment/products/carbonation-cap-tee-piece-kit

 

[LeeH]

Clean mine every keg, that’s it. Beer always taste fine.

Star San stays in the line after the clean until the next keg goes on.

 

[Larse]

Clean mine every keg, that’s it. Beer always taste fine.

Star San stays in the line after the clean until the next keg goes on.

Exactly what I do.

 

[BasementArtie]

Exactly what I do.

May I ask how long that is for you guys to run through a keg. Mine would be 2-3+ months

 

[Larse]

May I ask how long that is for you guys to run through a keg. Mine would be 2-3+ months

Depends really. I suppose minimum would be a month. Max maybe three months.

 

[Rwilts]

My kegs can last 6 months + (but in that case I would do a 'clean' after 2/3 months.

To be clear I am just sharing my experience, best practice would be to clean properly as described by others.

Big banana did a good video about a year or so ago on his line cleaning process