Help with metallic kegged beer

[Elliott 22]

Hi guys I am new to kegging and need some help,
I made a pilsner from a kit which I have done before but this time under pressure and then closed transferred, now set at 15psi and first pint tasted decent although a little bit of yeast and now very metallic, what could I of done wrong? Also it is a new reconditioned keg?

 

[Dads_Ale]

How did you clean the keg before you used it?
Am I right in assuming it is a corny keg?

 

[Elliott 22]

How did you clean the keg before you used it?
Am I right in assuming it is a corny keg?

I used chemsan and yes a corny keg

 

[hughjamton]

I get this on and off, not everyone can taste it.
I can taste it, the missus can't, my son can, her son can't.
I used to taste it on some commercial beers as well, particularly lagers, never in a cask conditioned beer.
It tends to be when the beer is first poured.
If you leave the beer for 5 minutes does the taste go?
It's not every beer, and not all the time.
I'm convinced, in my case at least, it's the co2, maybe how much is actually in suspension.

 

[Dads_Ale]

I used chemsan and yes a corny keg

That may be part of the issue as chemsan is not a cleaner, just a sanitiser. You would need to give the keg a good clean with something like chemclean, PBW or equivalent to remove any residues from the surfaces.
Did you fill the keg with chemsan and if so how long did you leave it soaking. As it is an acid I don't like soaking anything in it for an extended period, same goes for the cleaning products.

 

[Elliott 22]

That may be part of the issue as chemsan is not a cleaner, just a sanitiser. You would need to give the keg a good clean with something like chemclean, PBW or equivalent to remove any residues from the surfaces.
Did you fill the keg with chemsan and if so how long did you leave it soaking. As it is an acid I don't like soaking anything in it for an extended period, same goes for the cleaning products.

I know really silly of me, i was so concerned with doing my first closed transfer I got to the transfer point and realised then
I sterilised the kegs for about 15mins then closed transfer one to the other

 

[Elliott 22]

I get this on and off, not everyone can taste it.
I can taste it, the missus can't, my son can, her son can't.
I used to taste it on some commercial beers as well, particularly lagers, never in a cask conditioned beer.
It tends to be when the beer is first poured.
If you leave the beer for 5 minutes does the taste go?
It's not every beer, and not all the time.
I'm convinced, in my case at least, it's the co2, maybe how much is actually in suspension.

I left the beer for 5 mins and was definitely still there, I’m thinking it’s either my lack of cleaning and only sanitising My fault.
Disturbing the yeast cutting my beer lines as was coming out far too slow and then flat due to restriction of the 3/16 beer line or over carbing carbonic acid but the beer wasn’t gushing or over foaming

 

[ecirpian]

Hi guys I am new to kegging and need some help,
I made a pilsner from a kit which I have done before but this time under pressure and then closed transferred, now set at 15psi and first pint tasted decent although a little bit of yeast and now very metallic, what could I of done wrong? Also it is a new reconditioned keg?

Did you ever get to the bottom of your metallic taste? I get it on and off, but I have one batch in a new kegland corney that I’m about to pour away. I’m wondering if leaving too much chemsan behind could taint with a metallic taste, I cleaned mine with chemclean and then chemsan. I’ve posted on a couple of groups to see if anyone has found the root cause, would be good to know if you solved the problem. Cheers

 

[Elliott 22]

Did you ever get to the bottom of your metallic taste? I get it on and off, but I have one batch in a new kegland corney that I’m about to pour away. I’m wondering if leaving too much chemsan behind could taint with a metallic taste, I cleaned mine with chemclean and then chemsan. I’ve posted on a couple of groups to see if anyone has found the root cause, would be good to know if you solved the problem. Cheers

I did manage to get rid of it eventually
Not sure what the exact problem was.

I did also have what seemed like a infection for a while, so not sure exactly what happened, but to get rid of the metallic taste bar keepers friend.

I cleaned it and repassivated with bar keepers friend in case there was any rust inside (use non scratch spunge on the inside of keg, keg posts etc)
Also dismantle keg and soak in chemclean in case anything nasty in there!

i have also switched mainly to vwp for cleaning and sanitising and rinse very well keeping contact time ideally down to 10mins.

which has made a huge difference, and then just before fermentation I’ll swill some chemsan round my fermzilla and then dump, but haven’t been using it in my kegs.

hope this helps and if there’s anything else message + let me know how you get on.

 

[ecirpian]

Thank you, I don’t like unsolved mysteries. I guess I’ll tip the batch and give it another good clean. Never used bar keepers friend, I’ll look into that

Someone suggested putting soda water in, which I think I’ll do before ruining another batch.

I switch between VWP and Chemsan, I don’t use VWP in my firmzillas though. Might avoid using it in corny now too.

cheers

 

[Elliott 22]

Thank you, I don’t like unsolved mysteries. I guess I’ll tip the batch and give it another good clean. Never used bar keepers friend, I’ll look into that

Someone suggested putting soda water in, which I think I’ll do before ruining another batch.

I switch between VWP and Chemsan, I don’t use VWP in my firmzillas though. Might avoid using it in corny now too.

cheers

Personally I use vwp in both and just rinse very well and have had much less problems
Just keep contact time under 10 mins in metal

 

[matt76]

My guess would be you need to passivate the keg - see this old post from @foxy , he links to a beersmith article that outlines a few ways to do it - I used the Starsan method on all my new kegs as that's what I had on hand and I've never had this issue

 

[ecirpian]

My guess would be you need to passivate the keg - see this old post from @foxy , he links to a beersmith article that outlines a few ways to do it - I used the Starsan method on all my new kegs as that's what I had on hand and I've never had this issue

Cheers, I’ll certainly give it a go