So.... I have a kegerator foaming issue. I have a dual faucet kegerator and let me just say, the way the tower is configured, it is a SUPER PAIN IN THE A$$ to change out the beer lines. I mean I really really hate doing it. I did it about 2 or 3 months ago and it took me hours to get it done. That said, I would really rather not change out the lines if I could help it.
Problem:
Foam in the beer glass. The glass is half foam.
Situation:
The current beer is homebrew NEIPA and was slow pressurized at 10 psi and has been on there for weeks, so it is balanced. The lines, as stated above, were changed out 2 or 3 months ago and both taps and pieces were disassembled, scrubbed, cleaned and sanitized. A 10 gallon batch (2- 5 gallon cornie ball locks) of a different NEIPA was run through (5 gallons on each side) and it poured perfectly! The kegs were emptied through dispensing and nothing was cleaned at this time, mostly due to my laziness. The kegerator remained on (cold) and the kegs stayed in there with the lines hooked up. A few weeks later I took the kegs out, cleaned them, sanitized them, pressure filled them with new NEIPA, hooked them back up to the system and force carbed them. I poured the first glass about 5 days later and noticed that the taste of the old beer was in my glass. (duh, there was old beer still in the line) I have dispensed almost one whole cornie keg now and every glass has been half foam. It is sort of annoying but it is tolerable UNLESS I am trying to give someone a growler, which then makes it completely unusable in my opinion.
Question:
Assuming that the ONLY PROBLEM is that the lines/faucets are dirty due to beer/beer dregs/CO2 sitting stagnant in them for a few weeks, will cleaning them be enough to rectify the situation or do you think they need to be replaced?
My thoughts:
1. As I stated prior, I really hate changing the lines out, but cleaning them really is a pain too. This is mostly due to the positioning of my kegerator and a few other factors, but just know it is a pain but much easier than changing the lines.
2. Yes I realize I could clean them and see if it works then if it does not work then go ahead and change them. That is logical and obvious. I have limited time at home and would like to try and minimize the time I spend on this issue, if possible. I am looking for people that have more experience than I do that may be able to save me a step.
3. OH WELL... I can deal with it, but it just stinks.
4. Yeah, I guess I am lazy and I should have just cleaned them after the keg kicked. Lesson probably still not learned but it is acknowledged.
Secondary Questions:
1. I have a Mark II keg cleaner. I was thinking I could/should just run hot water with PBW through that and in turn through the beer lines. Should I assume I would need to then run Hot water through it to remove residue?
2. Should I then sanitize the lines with 5 star?
3. I have starsan too, but I bought the 5 star too so that I do not have to deal with the foaming that starsan has. Is this a correct assumption?
4. Other than keeping up with regular cleanings and sanitization of the beer lines to prevent having to replace everything again, are there any other tips you could share with me to make this less painful in the future?
5. Are there better cleaners or sanitizes to use or are the ones I have sufficient?
6. Can I leave the 5 star in the line between kegs while sitting idle and if so, how long and will this be bad in some way?
7. I believe 5 star states that it needs to "air dry". That is not really something I can do unless I just hook up a keg and throw some Co2 at it to push the CO2 through the line and I did not plan to do this. Should I rinse it with water (seems counter intuitive), should I dry it in this way with the CO2 or should I stop being so ridiculously OCD, leave it alone and end the post already!
As always, thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts and experiences.
Problem:
Foam in the beer glass. The glass is half foam.
Situation:
The current beer is homebrew NEIPA and was slow pressurized at 10 psi and has been on there for weeks, so it is balanced. The lines, as stated above, were changed out 2 or 3 months ago and both taps and pieces were disassembled, scrubbed, cleaned and sanitized. A 10 gallon batch (2- 5 gallon cornie ball locks) of a different NEIPA was run through (5 gallons on each side) and it poured perfectly! The kegs were emptied through dispensing and nothing was cleaned at this time, mostly due to my laziness. The kegerator remained on (cold) and the kegs stayed in there with the lines hooked up. A few weeks later I took the kegs out, cleaned them, sanitized them, pressure filled them with new NEIPA, hooked them back up to the system and force carbed them. I poured the first glass about 5 days later and noticed that the taste of the old beer was in my glass. (duh, there was old beer still in the line) I have dispensed almost one whole cornie keg now and every glass has been half foam. It is sort of annoying but it is tolerable UNLESS I am trying to give someone a growler, which then makes it completely unusable in my opinion.
Question:
Assuming that the ONLY PROBLEM is that the lines/faucets are dirty due to beer/beer dregs/CO2 sitting stagnant in them for a few weeks, will cleaning them be enough to rectify the situation or do you think they need to be replaced?
My thoughts:
1. As I stated prior, I really hate changing the lines out, but cleaning them really is a pain too. This is mostly due to the positioning of my kegerator and a few other factors, but just know it is a pain but much easier than changing the lines.
2. Yes I realize I could clean them and see if it works then if it does not work then go ahead and change them. That is logical and obvious. I have limited time at home and would like to try and minimize the time I spend on this issue, if possible. I am looking for people that have more experience than I do that may be able to save me a step.
3. OH WELL... I can deal with it, but it just stinks.
4. Yeah, I guess I am lazy and I should have just cleaned them after the keg kicked. Lesson probably still not learned but it is acknowledged.
Secondary Questions:
1. I have a Mark II keg cleaner. I was thinking I could/should just run hot water with PBW through that and in turn through the beer lines. Should I assume I would need to then run Hot water through it to remove residue?
2. Should I then sanitize the lines with 5 star?
3. I have starsan too, but I bought the 5 star too so that I do not have to deal with the foaming that starsan has. Is this a correct assumption?
4. Other than keeping up with regular cleanings and sanitization of the beer lines to prevent having to replace everything again, are there any other tips you could share with me to make this less painful in the future?
5. Are there better cleaners or sanitizes to use or are the ones I have sufficient?
6. Can I leave the 5 star in the line between kegs while sitting idle and if so, how long and will this be bad in some way?
7. I believe 5 star states that it needs to "air dry". That is not really something I can do unless I just hook up a keg and throw some Co2 at it to push the CO2 through the line and I did not plan to do this. Should I rinse it with water (seems counter intuitive), should I dry it in this way with the CO2 or should I stop being so ridiculously OCD, leave it alone and end the post already!
As always, thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts and experiences.