beer line cleaning

[Pdaigle]

should I always add some starsan after passing some beer line cleaner?

 

[ajdelange]

If StarSan is a blend of nitric and phosphoric acids as I believe it to be then yes. Circulate it for a good long time as you are after beer stone.

 

[jddevinn]

You should always sanitize after cleaning.

 

[brewprint]

I don't.

My lines will soak in oxyclean anywhere from a couple of days to a week. Then I use hot water and run it through. Oxiclean is actually a sort of sanitizer and I'm sure the beer line cleaner is the same.

No problems or off flavors here. I will say that I've had off flavors in beer lines before that I believe to be beerstone. After an oxi soak they're gone.

I just don't think that the extra step of star san is necessary but it certainly wouldn't hurt.

 

[oceanic_brew]

I really should clean my beer lines more often. I complain about bars not doing it and yet only clean mine once every couple months.

I usually pull the whole tap assembly apart and soak it that in its own container of oxi-clean. Then I soak the line separately. After a night in that stuff I'll just rinse and I'm good.


I have a keg that I specifically use as a vessel for no-chill brewing. To wash that I usually rinse-oxy-rinse-sanitizer. In between each step ill hook up the gas in and push out to through my beer lines. It's not a complete soak but I'm sure it helps a little with my laziness.

 

[jddevinn]

• I get a 5 gallon bucket
• hook up my CIP pump to one of the taps and put it in the bucket, with a 1/2" to keg post adapter so I can hook the beer line QD yp
• hook a drain line to the faucet if just cleaning one, if not daisy chain them together http://www.brewhardware.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Ball_Lock_JumperPost
• PBW Wash ~15 minutes
• Rinse, a minute or so, change the water then another minute or so
• BLC wash if necessary ~15 minutes
• Rinse, a minute or so, change the water then another minute or so
• Starsan solution wash

Why bother cleaning the line if you are not going to sanitize? Would you skip sanitizing a keg???!!

 

[day_trippr]

Keg /= Beer Line

I generally don't bother with actual sanitizer with my keezer. I flush the system from QDs to spouts with water, circulate BLC solution for 20 minutes, then flush with water...

Cheers!

 

[FloppyKnockers]

You clean your beer lines?!?

 

[jddevinn]

Is it just me being paranoid :beard: that once the QD is pushed down on the keg then the beer in the line is in contact with the beer in the keg and everything should be sanitized? Some of my taps (like the cider I don't drink) may go a week between uses and months on tap!

 

[kombat]

I really should clean my beer lines more often. I complain about bars not doing it and yet only clean mine once every couple months.

"Only" every couple months??? I think you're doing just fine, bro.

I'm on more of a "can't remember the last time I did it, it's probably time to do it again. When the kegs kick" kind of schedule. It works out to once a year or so.

 

[day_trippr]

Is it just me being paranoid :beard: that once the QD is pushed down on the keg then the beer in the line is in contact with the beer in the keg and everything should be sanitized? Some of my taps (like the cider I don't drink) may go a week between uses and months on tap!

If you cleaned the beer line before tapping a fresh keg, there shouldn't be any beer in the line, just water. And if the keg is pressurized before it's tapped, the flow can only go "out".

Obviously, if one taps a keg and suspects (immediately, or later) it's infected, then I'd definitely recommend sanitizing after a thorough cleaning. So far thats never happened here...

Cheers!

 

[brewprint]

Why bother cleaning the line if you are not going to sanitize? Would you skip sanitizing a keg???!!

Personally I don't believe that it's that critical. Oxiclean or pretty much any kind of sanitizer does a good job.

I believe in sanitizing everything before fermentation.

 

[Murphys_Law]

I usually fill a keg with hot water and pbw, put it under pressure and run that through. Then rinse well, fill with star San and repeat the process.

 

[jddevinn]

Keg /= Beer Line

I generally don't bother with actual sanitizer with my keezer. I flush the system from QDs to spouts with water, circulate BLC solution for 20 minutes, then flush with water...

Cheers!

I don't.

My lines will soak in oxyclean anywhere from a couple of days to a week. Then I use hot water and run it through. Oxiclean is actually a sort of sanitizer and I'm sure the beer line cleaner is the same.

No problems or off flavors here. I will say that I've had off flavors in beer lines before that I believe to be beerstone. After an oxi soak they're gone.

I just don't think that the extra step of star san is necessary but it certainly wouldn't hurt.

Personally I don't believe that it's that critical. Oxiclean or pretty much any kind of sanitizer does a good job.

I believe in sanitizing everything before fermentation.

Looked at Micromatic website and their cleaning instructions don't include a sanitization step ¯\_(&#12484_/¯ guess it's not needed..... but it only takes a minute or two and doesn't use any materials since I always have a keg of Starsan, will probably keep doing it

 

[brewprint]

Looked at Micromatic website and their cleaning instructions don't include a sanitization step ¯\_(&#12484_/¯ guess it's not needed..... but it only takes a minute or two and doesn't use any materials since I always have a keg of Starsan, will probably keep doing it

Yeah it seems like it's overkill but certainly wouldn't hurt anything. I do sanitize a keg but that's probably overkill as well.