Best method for rinsing beer lines

I'm about to kick my first keg from my new keezer build. Was wondering the best method to rinse/clean the beer line once the keg does run out.

Should I run some brew clean through the line or is warm water good as long as I don't let the empty line sit after running out?

I won't be able to connect up another keg up for about 2 weeks (I know it sux). Should I leave some sanitizer in the line until I do hook up another keg? Or drain the line and leave the faucet open and let the line dry out??

The best way is to recirculate Beer Line Cleaner for long enough to scrub everything clean, then rinse thoroughly. But if you don't let things go too long you can get away with just filling the lines with the cleaner, let them sit for 30 minutes, then flush.

I would not leave sanitizer in the lines for prolonged periods - like overnight, even. Especially an acid sanitizer like Star San. Too many reports of clear beer lines turning white for my comfort.

So I'd just leave the lines filled with fresh water with both ends buttoned up, and plan on running sanitizer through when you have something to keg...

Cheers!

best way: hook up a new keg and drink beer.

day_trippr said:

The best way is to recirculate Beer Line Cleaner for long enough to scrub everything clean, then rinse thoroughly. But if you don't let things go too long you can get away with just filling the lines with the cleaner, let them sit for 30 minutes, then flush.

I would not leave sanitizer in the lines for prolonged periods - like overnight, even. Especially an acid sanitizer like Star San. Too many reports of clear beer lines turning white for my comfort.

So I'd just leave the lines filled with fresh water with both ends buttoned up, and plan on running sanitizer through when you have something to keg...

Cheers!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I seem to recall reading threads where folks did leave sanitizer in the beer lines and wondered what effect it could have over time.

BTW, I'm running Bev Seal lines, the semi rigid lines. Don't know if that makes a difference??

HausBrauerei_Harvey said:

best way: hook up a new keg and drink beer.

Click to expand...

I don't think you'll get any argument there!

I've spent the last few months building my keezer and didn't take time out to brew. Now that it's done, it's time to build up my beer supply so this never happens again!

I just ordered a couple more kegs last night...

I fill the kicked keg with oxyclean and warm water. I then hook it up to the been line and left some run through the tap (the pressure from the hot water is enough to push it out). When I rinse the keg out the following day, I hook it up to the line and rinse through the tap again. When I sanitize the keg i do it again. Pretty simple really and only minimal CO2 needed.

Peruvian802 said:

I fill the kicked keg with oxyclean and warm water. I then hook it up to the been line and left some run through the tap (the pressure from the hot water is enough to push it out). When I rinse the keg out the following day, I hook it up to the line and rinse through the tap again. When I sanitize the keg i do it again. Pretty simple really and only minimal CO2 needed.

Click to expand...

Do you leave the oxiclean in the line over night then flush it the next day when you rinse the keg?

day_trippr said:

The best way is to recirculate Beer Line Cleaner for long enough to scrub everything clean, then rinse thoroughly. But if you don't let things go too long you can get away with just filling the lines with the cleaner, let them sit for 30 minutes, then flush.

I would not leave sanitizer in the lines for prolonged periods - like overnight, even. Especially an acid sanitizer like Star San. Too many reports of clear beer lines turning white for my comfort.

So I'd just leave the lines filled with fresh water with both ends buttoned up, and plan on running sanitizer through when you have something to keg...

Cheers!

Click to expand...

I didn't know I should let BLC sit for a bit. Thanks for the tip. I also just stopped letting star san sit in them, but that was a sort of lazy lady fluke.

I haven't personally been interested in using anything that requires special handling (BLC is a rather caustic lye, right? requires personal protective wear?)

I hooked up a cheep aquarium pump via a line and threaded thingy to a liquid post, like this:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f254/diy-beer-line-cleaner-ball-lock-sanke-fittings-417064/#post5482000

Then I just recirculate hot PBW for 10 min (submersible pump in bucket under open faucet), then water, then starsan, then beer.

You can even go all-in and get a liquid post manifold to hook up as many beer lines as you want at the same time, if you want to:

Put my starsan in here a couple quick pumps and I'm done

jbb3 said:

Do you leave the oxiclean in the line over night then flush it the next day when you rinse the keg?

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I've done both. Run oxyclean through the line and then drained via gravity and left it overnight (when i forgot to drain).

The best way to clean a beer line is to get a new beer on-tap and start pouring. That's how I roll.

jbb3 said:

Do you leave the oxiclean in the line over night then flush it the next day when you rinse the keg?

Click to expand...

I've done both. Run oxyclean through the line and then drained via gravity and left it overnight (when i forgot to drain).

I just use one of those hand pump kits and push some BLC through the line (disconnect removed obviously) then do two warm water rinses. While I'm doing that I let the faucet and disassembled disconnect sit in a Rubbermaid container with BLC then rinse them well before hooking everything back up.

By the way, so long as the line is closed and there's CO2 in the lines you don't really need to clean them right away, you can let them sit a few days as they won't dry out so long as it stays closed. Same goes for the kegs. Of course, it's always better to clean as soon as you can, and I wouldn't personally let the lines sit uncleaned for weeks, just saying you don't have to jump on it right away if you don't have the time.


Rev.

jbb3 said:

Thanks for the info. I seem to recall reading threads where folks did leave sanitizer in the beer lines and wondered what effect it could have over time.

I don't think you'll get any argument there!

I've spent the last few months building my keezer and didn't take time out to brew. Now that it's done, it's time to build up my beer supply so this never happens again!

I just ordered a couple more kegs last night...

Click to expand...

I've had my keezer less than a year still. I generally just swap in kegs without cleaning the lines for about 2 or 3 kegs, and every 3ish months when a lot of kegs are empty at once I rinse the lines with hot PBW, hot water, then starsan. I just use a cornie to dispense all three of these through the taps. If a tap is going to be empty for a while I've just left starsan in the line with no issues. I just hook up the keg & pour. The first pint is starstan+yeast which gets dumped.

Cheers,
Steve

I use one of the hand pump pot deals too.

Hand pump for me too. I remove the faucet and disconnect the gas from the keg, but leave the beer line attached. Pump BLC from the faucet end into the empty keg releasing pressure occasionally. A few pump tanks worth of water to rinse and it's clean as a whistle.

You could spend time and money to build a hand pump.... or save yourself and just use what you already have: rinse lines with oxyclean/water/starsan (in that order) from the keg (as you clean it) using CO2.

I'm also in the camp that thinks this doesn't have to be done every single time Especially if everything is previously starsan'd, refrigerated, kept wet, and closed off from oxygen: bacteria won't grow and lines won't get sticky. Things should be cleaned every few months/couple times per year. Buy new lines when they start to look funky (not clear anymore).

I've been using picnic taps for sometime but I just put together my keezer last night.

What I've done is rinse the keg, then fill with oxiclean a little over half way. Then I just grab the co2 line and give it a quick boost. Then I run the oxiclean through it until it's clear. Then let the keg sit overnight along with the beer line. Then I give the keg a shake and turn over the other side. Total time soaking is about 24 hours.

I then rinse the keg several times with water, give a small boost of co2, and then rinse the beer line. Then I drain the beer line of the water. Then when I fill the keg with sanitizer (right before I fill with a new batch) I do the same thing with the line and keg.

The only difference now is that I'll use a small bucket under the tap on the keezer.

Cool... You can always count on the HBT'ers for some great information.