Mold in keg full of beer

I found a little patch of mold floating in my beer poured from my kegerator, two pours in a row.

Has anyone else had this problem? What is the most likely source of the mold?

 

I have to ask the question, are you sure it is mold? New brewers (no offense intended if this does not describe you) often mistake yeast rafts for mold. It is possible that some of these made it into your keg if you were not careful when racking.

Otherwise, if it is mold, and assuming the beer wasn't moldy when you put it into the keg, perhaps the mold is in your faucet? Mold needs oxygen to grow, so it is unlikely that it would grow in your keg. It is quite common for faucets that don't get proper cleaning to develop some mold..

 

I assume you cleaned AND sanitized your keg well before you put beer in it? Could also be in the lines, gotta clean those lines out from time to time

 

I'd be staring inside my keg right now if I were you. Another source is a line that has not been in use for a while and you didn't clean it before tapping.

 

This thread gives me the skin crawling heebeejeebees!

I'm with others, sounds like faucet/line.

 

Either buy Perlick faucets or spray some star San up in there after each session! It's almost certainly from the faucet. This and sticking are the reason many of us use the perlicks.

 

Why do Perlick faucets prevent mold contamination?

 

I would think it has to be in the line or in the faucet. If the mold is floating on your beer after a pour, it would be very tough for it to be sucked from the bottom of the keg, where the dip tube pulls from. typically, mold would float on any surface, so doubtful it was growing on the bottom of the keg.

I always take apart the faucet and clean it in between beers, as well as run some cleaner through the lines.

also, when I know I'm done drinking for the night, I spray some water in the faucet and clean that out with a brush, then hit it with a quick spray of starsan solution inside.

Either way, it seems odd, I've owned the kegerator for almost 15 years and never had an issue with any mold in my beer.

 

The forward seal doesn't leave that tiny puddle of beer exposed to the air.

 

Thanks!

Could the mold be from the dip tube?

I looked in the keg and couldn't see any surface mold?

Also, is there any difference in preventing mold than preventing bacteria? I.e. both like a damp warm environment???

I figure the faucet is the most likely trouble area since it is at room temp, right????