Kegs - Use and Cleaning

[daryl]

For those of you who keg, do you separate your kegs by how they are used?

For example, if you use a keg for Sarsaparilla, does that exclude the use of that keg for other beverages for fear of your mild brown tasting like Sarsaparilla?

Similar question for kegs used for Sours or beers that use bugs? Do you keep those isolated going forward?

The area for contamination seems quite small, limited to the poppet o-rings, the lid o-rings, and maybe the o-rings on the posts.

What is your experience, how do you manage this?

The same questions could be posted for beer lines....but I infer from that discussion, that this is little worry with the new glass-lined tubing.

Thoughts, feedback is always appreciated.

[andrewmaixner]

rootbeer-type beverages a thing that I absolutely separate, including the serving lines -- you'd have to replace every non-stainless piece to get the wintergreen component out of it.
Same goes for peppers, I've learned that it lingers in the plastic/rubber/silicone.

for Ciders (or an occasional same-style low-effort-beer reuse), when it's going right back into the keggerator, I occasionally reuse a keg without a full cleaning (maybe a quick rinse to remove trub + starsan) -- it's a self-stable food-sanitary environment, same biologicals, and refrigerated.
Obviously this would give a commercial enterprise an aneurysm to even contemplate.

I mark brett/pedio kegs with red tape and clean + sanitize between uses.

[daryl]

So you keep your brett/pedio kegs separated? Or, do you just make sure those units are thoroughly cleaned between uses?

Will Starsan and SaniClean take out those bugs?

My kegs might sit empty for awhile and then I schedule a cleaning when I have 3 or 4 or more dirty kegs.

I pump a PBW solution through them for about 10-20 minutes, followed by a 5 min rinse, followed by a 5 min rinse of SaniClean.

SaniClean seems to have some odor removing properties, I might need to experiment with that.

Thanks Andrew.

[Matt F]

I have never made soda but the common theme is do not mix soda and beer unless deep clean and replace all the seals.

Sours, probably safest to do the same. I have mixed clean and sour without issues so far with a thorough cleaning but may be pushing my luck. Once beer is in the keg I usually keep it cold which would keep some bugs quiet even if they were in there. I have three 5 gallon kegs and one 2.5 gallon keg that have had sour beer in them and I keep them identified as such. I only use them for clean beers if I need them.

[tony b]

I've only done kettle-soured beers, so I haven't been worried about cross-contamination issues.

My only experience with soda kegs is when I bought them used online. I can say that certain flavors, like rootbeer and Dr. Pepper, are a pain to get rid of the smell, even after heavy cleaning (PBW & StarSan) and replacing o-rings and gaskets. So, I'd think it best to segregate any rootbeer kegs from beer kegs. YMMV

[andrewmaixner]

So you keep your brett/pedio kegs separated? Or, do you just make sure those units are thoroughly cleaned between uses?

Will Starsan and SaniClean take out those bugs?

My kegs might sit empty for awhile and then I schedule a cleaning when I have 3 or 4 or more dirty kegs.

I pump a PBW solution through them for about 10-20 minutes, followed by a 5 min rinse, followed by a 5 min rinse of SaniClean.

SaniClean seems to have some odor removing properties, I might need to experiment with that.

Thanks Andrew.

yes, I Mark them with red duct tape and reuse them for the same purpose, not for sach beers.
I would replace all of the seals on a Brett / pedio keg before I put a clean beer in it. you might get away with it just fine if it's all kept cold and you are in a major time / equipment crunch, though.

The live lacto strains I use are very hop sensitive, so I don't worry at all about those in keg or lines.

A wash with a proper cleaning agent, replacing seals, and sanitizer, is as sanitary as you can possibly get short of major heat. I would not worry at all about putting a clean beer in a mixed fermentation keg after that regimen.

I do the same thing, where I leave multiple kegs and clean them all at once with the keg washer. They are closed, food sanitary oh, and just sit there till I'm ready to do a few.

I realize now that this is kind of like cooking, where once you have internalised all of the compatibilities and incompatibilities, you can play fast and loose within those parameters, haha

[Schwerkraftbrauer]

I used to clean a keg asap when it was kicked, anymore i do it when i have time. It was cleaned and sanitized before beer was in it and is filled with nothing but CO2 so no bugs can grow within reason.

One of the bigger things I've started doing since I don't clean kegs right away is I use the spent CO2 in the kicked keg to do a closed transfer with a hoppy beer. Basically making sure every bit of liquid is out of the keg and then hooking up The Outpost into the fermenter as it drains so it sucks in CO2 and not oxygen. And the beer obviously goes in a CO2 purged keg.

Does anyone have experience of racking a beer directly into a kicked keg? I realize you'll have a little bit of yeast sediment and perhaps maybe a little bit of residue flavor from previous beer but I don't see where it would be a problem going from a lighter non hopped beer to a darker beer.

[jjpeanasky]

Does anyone have experience of racking a beer directly into a kicked keg? I realize you'll have a little bit of yeast sediment and perhaps maybe a little bit of residue flavor from previous beer but I don't see where it would be a problem going from a lighter non hopped beer to a darker beer.

I've done this for similar types beers, but I haven't left the keg empty for long. For example, a blonde ale kicks on Monday, I'd put a wheat ale or pale ale in there on Tuesday at the latest.

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