Kegged beer has off taste

I brewed a batch of a Fat Tire clone and it tasted great going from primary to secondary and from secondary to keg. After a little over a week in the keg at 12 psi, I dispensed a glass and it tastes weird. It has a very strange off taste. Any ideas what could be causing this? These were soda kegs and I didn't replace the o-rings, but it was my understanding that was only necessary if it was a root beer keg. I've since replaced the lid gasket and post o-rings but the taste is still there (I don't have any spare dip tube o-rings or poppets). The beer line is new. I didn't flush beer line with anything before I started using it - should I have?

I did bleed the pressure and open the keg and using a sanitized measuring cup, take a sample directly out of the keg and it doesn't seem to have the same taste.

Any ideas on what's going on?

Thanks!

Sounds like something wrong in the output portion of the process. I'd guess it's probably not in the dip-tube since the kegged beer itself tastes good. If you didn't clean and sanitize your line and faucet I'd think that would be the first place to look.

I clean and sanitize my kegs and dispensing equipment like any other piece of my post-boil gear, you just don't want to take the chance on fouling up all that hard work.

Ok, I've sanitized everything on the dispensing side with Starsan - ran some Starsan through the line and let it sit for a while. Hooked everything back up again and it tastes fine. A day later, the first pour has that same funny taste. I dump that out and pour another glass and it tastes fine. So, it seems like as the beer sits in the line for a while, it picks up a weird taste - sort of a syrupy stale taste.

So, why is my beer picking up this taste as it sits in the line? The line and the picnic tap are in the fridge so it's not getting warm. Everything is new. Thoughts?

I think at this point if it were me I would replace the poppet valve and the o-rings on the post and dip tube. A syrup flavour sounds like pop residue to me. Maybe someone else will have another suggestion.

bradsul said:

I think at this point if it were me I would replace the poppet valve and the o-rings on the post and dip tube. A syrup flavour sounds like pop residue to me. Maybe someone else will have another suggestion.

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Agreed. IF you did not pull everythig apart and thoroughly clean and rinse, there's a good chance you have sme stale soda syrup running off into your beer.

I took everything apart and cleaned (soaked in Oxyclean for a day) and sanitized (soaked in Starsan) before I filled the keg.

bradsul said:

I think at this point if it were me I would replace the poppet valve and the o-rings on the post and dip tube. A syrup flavour sounds like pop residue to me. Maybe someone else will have another suggestion.

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+1...this is absolutely what I would do.

What type of line are you using? I use bottles so I don't know a lot about dispensing from a keg but I've had a simiar problem with a sink faucet.

I had one of those faucets that have the pull out sprayer built in. When the water sat in there overnight, something in the tubing would leach into the water giving it a bad off taste.

If your beer line isn't FDA rated, odorless and tasteless, that could be the problem.

couple things

if you force carb it can take a few days for the acidic taste to fade
clean your taps, lines, and connectors

plus the taste will change almost day to day as it ages. just give it some more time and try it again. If the carbonation level is where you want it, disconnect for a couple days then try again

Well, it's been in the keg almost 3 weeks so I'm not sure it's an age thing. Plus, the fact that it's just the first pour that tastes bad makes me thing it's picking something up in the beer line.

The beer line is 3/16" beverage line so it shouldn't be contributing any off flavors.

I'm down to replacing the dip tube gaskets and the poppets. The lid gasket and post gaskets have been replaced and everything has been thoroughly sanitized.

FWIW..I always keep a "spit" cup nearby.

I never expect the first draw to taste just right.

Here's an update on the situation -

I've replaced the last two o-rings and I've replaced the poppet valves. I'm still getting this off taste!

It seems that the beer that's sitting in the line is picking up an off taste somewhere. If I pour off the first draw and then refill, it tastes fine. But if the beer sits in the line overnight, it tastes weird. I'm at a loss and I'm afraid to keg another batch until I get this resolved.

I don't get it. All of the o-rings have been replaced, the poppets have been replaced. the beer line is true beverage tubing so it shouldn't be giving off any odd flavors. I'm using a picnic tap, but lots of people here seem to be doing this.

I hate throwing out the first glass every time I want a beer. I'm going to end up wasting half the keg because I usually only drink one at a time and my wife doesn't always have one with me. I thought kegging would be less hassle, so this is really disappointing.

Hope someone has a solution for this...

Sounds like it's time to replace the beer line if that's the only thing left you haven't swapped out.

The guy with username "kal" did some tests on various beer lines for their likelihood to leach flavors and a lot of them did.

This is the beer line I have.

http://www.kegkits.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=14-0307-00&Category_Code=HOSE

Seems like it should be ok...but yeah, that's about the only variable left.

Am I correct that beer that stays in the line shouldn't go stale since it's kept cold and is under pressure?

Before replacing the tubing, what about replacing just the picnic tap instead?

Don't assume the beer line is ok. Seriously.

See my post here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=458780&postcount=44

I've tried 5-6 types of line now and am waiting for a couple of more, but will most likely be going with poly barrier type tubing (still waiting on a couple of shipments).

It's very easy to test if it's the beer line: Simply disconnect it completely, clean/sanitize it, flush it, and then leave water in it overnight and taste. A perfect line will taste exactly like your tap water. However, just because line is FDA rated, NSF-51 rated, NSF-61 rated, food rated, beverage rated, etc, etc etc doesn't mean it won't cause some off-flavour.

One of the biggest beer draught system installers in town here has done over 700 installs with generic 3/16" vinyl line (arrowhose type 14) that is fine bar bars but still has an off-taste on the first pint of the day.

Kal