Funny Taste after 3 weeks

[Seabeevet35]

Quick question. I am new to kegging and just finished my first keg. I have a keezer set up with temp on kegs regulated at 38 deg f. I was getting down to the last gallon on a 5 gal corny keg. I had noticed it about a week before. When the beer began to warm it took on a rather astringent taste. It was mild at first and only when the beer had warmed considerably. Now I know you're supposed to clean the lines every 2 weeks but I figured I was close to the bottom of the keg so I went an extra 5 days. I had sterilized everything with Starsan prior to putting into service. I didn't have any beer the last 2 nights but tonight I tried to have one and it was totally undrinkable. Is it because I didn't clean the lines often enough? Something else maybe? Any help is appreciated.

 

[nvs-brew]

did you buy your set-up new or second hand?
that does sound strange... did you do anything like dry hop the keg?
ive had my system running about 4 months, always sanitise before/after a keg is finished, only used line cleaner once and havent really had to much of a issue..
i know shortly i gotta do a big clean of stripping back and clean and re-assemble

 

[Seabeevet35]

everything was bought new except the freezer. All lines and taps were new. I just cleaned everything very thoroughly and found zero evidence of contamination. At least that I could see. Everything worked fine but the been just totally went to hell

 

[nvs-brew]

well i think it may be your beer, not your keg set-up...maybe its the line cleaner, thats ment to be rinced out very well..
as mentioned im pretty slap-dash when it has come to my keg setup, and ive had no major issues.. give it another try with a new beer and see how you go...
and also, drink quicker, dont let it go warm hahahaha

 

[zachattack]

I don't know of anyone that cleans their lines every 2 weeks. For many people it's every 2 kegs...

It sounds like you have another problem. Maybe the beer has a slow infection? Maybe your lines are leaching plasticky off flavors into the beer? Would you describe the astringent flavor as plasticky? That's a fairly common problem with standard PVC lines, especially when they're new. Some people are more sensitive to it than others. Barrier tubing will help.

You can try dumping the first couple ounces of beer, then see if the taste is still there.

 

[Seabeevet35]

I wouldn't describe the taste as plasticky. But just a real medicine like bitterness. I had pulled a half gallon growler worth of beer out and it all had the same taste. I sterilized everything again and put in my new batch. So far it's ok. Thanks all for the help and ideas. I guess it may have been a slow infection. I can't come up w anything else

 

[anthropod]

Carbonic bite? Was it over carbonated? To me carbonic bite can sometimes taste astringent. The slow infection theory sounds correct, but I thought I would throw out my experience. I had a keg that got cranked up and was way over carbed. It tastes kinda astringent to me. I fixes the carb level, and it tasted much better. But those are my crazy taste buds.