Cleaning a brett keg

[gbx]

Hello all,

I put a few ounces of oak chips and wyeast brett b in a corny keg a couple of yeast ago. I've filled it with beer and let sit for a 3 or 4 months in my basement, then carbed and put in the keggerator to drink, then refilled without cleaning and repeated the process. Its worked out pretty good and have done 5 beers in it. I recently had a porter in it and I want to refill with the orval clone I brewed a couple weeks ago. Id like to clean it out to remove any of the old yeast and sediment from the dark beer but I don't want to mess with the Brett. Any thoughts on how to do this?

My current thoughts are:
1. just rinse with cooled boiled water

or

2. collect the wood chips in a sanitary way, clean and sanitize the keg as normal then re-add the wood chips (with the healthy brett still living in the wood)

Whats a better option for cleaning but still keeping an active brett culture?

Thanks

 

[IslandLizard]

2

 

[iijakii]

Hello all,

I put a few ounces of oak chips and wyeast brett b in a corny keg a couple of yeast ago. I've filled it with beer and let sit for a 3 or 4 months in my basement, then carbed and put in the keggerator to drink, then refilled without cleaning and repeated the process. Its worked out pretty good and have done 5 beers in it. I recently had a porter in it and I want to refill with the orval clone I brewed a couple weeks ago. Id like to clean it out to remove any of the old yeast and sediment from the dark beer but I don't want to mess with the Brett. Any thoughts on how to do this?

My current thoughts are:
1. just rinse with cooled boiled water

or

2. collect the wood chips in a sanitary way, clean and sanitize the keg as normal then re-add the wood chips (with the healthy brett still living in the wood)

Whats a better option for cleaning but still keeping an active brett culture?

Thanks

Definitely #2. That's one of the main great things about oak. They really harbor the cultures so you can do whatever the hell you want with the fermenter/keg and just plop those back in and be golden.

 

[gbx]

Thanks for the replies. I tried option #2 but I couldn't get the wood chips out. I swirled the last pint of porter around and dumped it through a colander but 90% of the oak stuck to the bottom and sides of the keg. It was surprisingly clean in there considering I hadn't opened it up in 2 years so I skipped cleaning and siphoned in the new beer.

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

Please let us know how it comes out down the line.

 

[Ramitt]

Interesting, no problem with tbe chips plugging the dip tube? I wonder how an oak stave with a hole drilled in and tied off with floss, like keg hopping, would do.

 

[gbx]

Interesting, no problem with tbe chips plugging the dip tube? I wonder how an oak stave with a hole drilled in and tied off with floss, like keg hopping, would do.

no, i haven't had any problems. They are just free to float around and I've put 5 batches through it without issues. Before the Brett B I had whitelabs brett C for 3 batches with no issues either (aside from the realization that I don't really like brett C) I should find some oak to knock or I'll be disassembling the keg a couple pints in As a fake barrel, its worked out pretty well. I'm not a big fan of funky beers but this requires almost no extra equipment - I ferment clean with sacch only in my normal fermenter and the keg and a party faucet are my only "brett" equipment.

 

[Ramitt]

Excellent idea, I plan to steal it from you, thanks.