Blue stuff coming out of the keg??!

[amcclai7]

I have kegged my first batch of beer! I've bottled for 5 years and still plan to do so but a friend of mine gave me a keg so I went for it. The keg had not been used in several years but appeared to be very clean inside. I let it soak in a PBW solution and when I poured the water out it had a very distinct blue tint. I did the same process again with star-san and there was still a very slight blue tint to the water that came out.

If I drink this beer am I going to die? I have cleaned copper before and the water used to clean it always has a blue tint because of the sulfur deposits being removed. Might this be whats going on? If so then its no big deal b/c trace amounts of sulfur are not toxic.

Thoughts?

 

[Yooper]

When you soaked the keg, did you remove the posts and clean out the diptubes?

Obviously, the blue stuff is coming from somewhere!

 

[TopherM]

You need to take the popits, posts, and tubes apart and soak them in PBW in the keg overnight. THEN rinse and sanitize prior to use. Nothing is going to "stick" to the stainless steel and rubber washers.

Either way, you aren't going to die

 

[Mike_kever_kombi]

Either way, you aren't going to die

False. Everyone does. Just may not be from blue keg goo

 

[TopherM]

Eh, if you believe the Bible, Enoch and Elijah didn't die. Then there's the immortal jellyfish species that lives forever; or at least it doesn't die of old age...they still have a nasty habit of being eaten by predators.

But yeah....cleaned, santitized blue tint isn't going to hurt anyone.

 

[IslandLizard]

Not sulphur. Many copper salts are blue.

Maybe the kegs are brazed, using a copper component in the brazing material.

 

[amcclai7]

Thanks for all the replies. I probably should have clarified that I am keg conditioning so right now no tubing or gaskets are attached to the keg and I didn't sanitize or soak them at the time so whatever the blue stuff is it is coming from the keg itself.

Its a 5 gallon corny if that makes a difference.

 

[Yooper]

How well did you clean under the posts and in the dip tubes? The post come off and should be well cleaned and sanitized before using.

 

[amcclai7]

How well did you clean under the posts and in the dip tubes? The post come off and should be well cleaned and sanitized before using.

Probably should have researched this more before attempting (which I usually do) No, i did not remove the dip tube. I did soak the keg in PBW, rinsed it with water and soaked in star-san. Should I pull out the dip tube and throughly clean it before serving? That worries me a little bit because I am keg conditioning and I don't wanna lose the carb. Its a London Pride clone and I was hoping to serve it under the lowest PSI possible and preserve the natural carbonation, i.e, Cask style.

 

[coravetz]

You should go back and ask your friend what he used to clean the keg with. Could the blue be oxiclean by chance? How long has the keg sat since your friend last used it? If not a while and not the cleaner, stick your hand down in the keg and feel the sides for built up residue, scratches or pits. You may need to use a brush to remove this or you'll be doing lots of rinsing.

...and seconding the prior posters, pull the dip tubes and posts. Run a brush through the tubes if you can and remove the posts, popits, valves/lid and other items scrub/soak in PBW, starsan and rinse really well.

 

[amcclai7]

You should go back and ask your friend what he used to clean the keg with. Could the blue be oxiclean by chance? How long has the keg sat since your friend last used it? If not a while and not the cleaner, stick your hand down in the keg and feel the sides for built up residue, scratches or pits. You may need to use a brush to remove this or you'll be doing lots of rinsing.

...and seconding the prior posters, pull the dip tubes and posts. Run a brush through the tubes if you can and remove the posts, popits, valves/lid and other items scrub/soak in PBW, starsan and rinse really well.

I already checked it for scratches and pits. its in good shape. It had not been used for several years prior to this use but had no beer nor beer residue in it so it had obviously been cleaned after the last use. I agree I should pull the dip tubes and posts, but there is beer already in the keg. To make matters worse I am keg conditioning so I don't wanna disturb the carbing process. I guess if worse came to worse I could just put the Co2 to it and carb that way, but I really wanted a cask style ale (its a London Pride clone) At this point I need to way the risks each way.

Not cleaning vs. loss of carb Thoughts?

 

[coravetz]

If you already have beer there it's going to be contaminated by now, so you're stuck either way and moving it doesn't make sense at this point. I'd wait and try a sample when you're carbed. If you still see blue, smell sour or you get a tingling on your lips or tongue you most likely have soap or something else for contamination. I don't know of a low-tech test to see if there are other contaminants other than sight, smell and taste. Maybe someone else here has an idea.

 

[sudbuster]

I have kegged my first batch of beer! I've bottled for 5 years and still plan to do so but a friend of mine gave me a keg so I went for it. The keg had not been used in several years but appeared to be very clean inside. I let it soak in a PBW solution and when I poured the water out it had a very distinct blue tint. I did the same process again with star-san and there was still a very slight blue tint to the water that came out.

If I drink this beer am I going to die? I have cleaned copper before and the water used to clean it always has a blue tint because of the sulfur deposits being removed. Might this be whats going on? If so then its no big deal b/c trace amounts of sulfur are not toxic.

Thoughts?

Well all I can say is you should have taken the keg apart and scrubbed the livin' bejesus out of it. Rinse well and reassemble then give a Star San treatment. Lately I have begun boiling my kegs. Fill with water,open vent, drop into HLT fill HLT and turn on the heat. boil for at least ten min with steam coming out the vent. If the plastic bottom comes off, so much the better. Just use a rubber mallet and beat the bottom flat so it sets ok on the floor. Pretty well takes care of sanitation worries and also allows keg pasteurization.

When your blue London Pride is done, a proper keg cleaning is the order of the day no doubt. Good luck and cheers..