Corny keg question - leave beer in liquid out line between use?

[Tunabeast]

I've got about 3m of 3/16 beer line hooked up to a party tap on my corny keg. I might have a drink from it every other night. Sometimes less frequent than this. Is it OK to leave this line hooked up in between uses? Worth putting the first few ml to the drain to ensure beer served isn't stale?

Also what's the maximum duration you'd suggest leaving between cleaning the line, would a month be too long?

Thanks

 

[The Baron]

It depends on your OCD I have left beer in the line for weeks all I do is pull the first bit if it has been weeks and throw it however If it gets longer I do unhook the lines and flush through and leave starsan in overnight then pull this through. If you was running a pub you would need a better hygiene regime than this but I find it works ok for me as a homebrewer. All about how anal you are no doubt you will get answers that insist you flush all the time but that does waste a lot of your precious beer. You pays your money and takes your choice

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I usually throw the first pull away and clean the lines when the keg is emptied.
Most of my line, bar the final 30-40cm, is in the chiller with the keg.

 

[The Baron]

Yeah Thats me too Bigcol i have left my beer too long in the lines sometimes but as it is usually in the kegerator it has always been fine. To answer the OP I have left my beers in over a month so that should be ok unless as I have said you are anal about it

 

[simon12]

For whats in the line if it tastes OK drink it if not chuck it. For line cleaning I suggest after each kegs finished unless you think your getting bad beer from not doing it (unlikely).

 

[Tunabeast]

Thanks all, will leave line coiled up in the fridge and give it a taste before deciding whether to chuck or not

 

[Honk]

I have the same setup and usually run the first 50 ml or so into a separate glass, then drink it anyway, so far what's in the line has always been ok to my tastes.
Now and then if I have a spare empty keg it will have starsan in it so I might run some through if I'm not likely to use for a while.
Line gets cleaned with oxiclean whenever I empty a keg then rinsed through with starsan.

 

[xozzx]

Another here for only cleaning between kegs. I just pour as normal and dont throw any away. Once a keg is finished I flush a liter or so of PBW then same again with starsan. If I dont have another keg ready to go on I leave the line filled with starsan.

 

[The Baron]

Wow everybody seems to be of a similar opinion where are the anal police not one comment as of yet

 

[james1988]

Same as the above really. I only ever bother cleaning the lines when I finish a keg which is normally around 5-6 weeks depending on the strength of the beer.

James

 

[simon12]

To be honest if I had another keg ready I might not even bother cleaning the lines every keg.

 

[xozzx]

To be honest if I had another keg ready I might not even bother cleaning the lines every keg.

The main reason I do this is to push cleaner through the dip tube of the liquid out when cleaning the keg. Also, the taps can get a bit sticky and a flush through will get it working nicely again.

 

[LeeH]

I leave mine in, use beer line cleaner/pbw after every keg.