I pull the posts off, fill the keg with PBW and soak everything overnight. Then a good scrubbing, rinse, and let it soak in starsan for a while. May want to replace gaskets if they look suspect.
if there's noticeable mold i'd probably go a little more nuclear than just scrubbing and star san.
if it were me i'd do a (strong) caustic wash and acid wash, with the good stuff (NaOH and Nitric Acid). Not for the faint of heart though. This stuff can hurt if not handled properly.
I bought a corny with some mold in it. Removed the posts and dip tube. I soaked it all in oxy and phosphate free cleaner overnight. It looked good. Rinsed then soaked it all overnight in star san. Filled with beer. Two weeks later moldy tasting beer. Dumped the beer. Disassembled again this time removing all the gaskets and the poppets. Yep mold in the post and poppets. Even after a couple of overnight soaks in pbw the poppets were good but the gaskets still smelled moldy. Replaced all the gaskets. Star san soak, filled with beer. Three weeks later beer is good. Oh yeah don't forget the dip tube brush!
I disassemble kegs after each batch. They are always gunked up. Always. Dip tube especially. It might be sanitary gunk, but that doesn't mean I want to drink it.
There really shouldn't be any gunk in a freshly used keg anywhere but maybe yeast at the bottom...
Try that. Then disassemble and see what's left. I've done it and that is precisely why I clean everything now.
But yes, you won't get infected magically by having gunk in your kegs. If the bacteria isn't in the keg, it doesn't appear by itself.
In fairness, this may have something to do with my experiences too since I use conicals and prefilter my wort going into them at fermentation time as well as cold crashing before kegging...That being said, I cold crash and fine prior to kegging, so the beer is clean and clear going into the kegs. I was never a fan of crashing in the keg precisely due to the cleaning issue.
I disassemble every time and there is always gunk somewhere. When you blow a keg, everything at the bottom is headed up the dip tube and through that poppit. There really is no substitute for actual cleaning.
I usually cold crash before kegging, but rarely fine or filter. Usually mostly IPA's and belgians on tap, so definitely more gunk prone than average.
Obviously, most breweries have clean-in-place systems, so if we are talking about a similarly designed high pressure cleaning system that's a different animal. I'm talking about the traditional "push some cleaner through with CO2"
"Ive honestly never had an issue.. No weird flavors or otherwise by not doing this each time and ive been kegging for almost 4 years now."
Yeah, I never had an issue that way either. No infections or off flavors. Then i read a thread with someone insisting there was still usually gunk left, so I tried it. Yep. Gunk for me. Now it's a mental thing and I clean it even through I never tasted an issue before.
Avoid bleach as it will damage the stainless.
Billl,Try that. Then disassemble and see what's left. I've done it and that is precisely why I clean everything now.
But yes, you won't get infected magically by having gunk in your kegs. If the bacteria isn't in the keg, it doesn't appear by itself.
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