How Cleaning Kits Help Maintain Beer Quality And Hygiene

Why do you need a beer line cleaning kit?

Cleaning your draft beer system is essential to the health of your kegs and can affect the quality of your beer if you don’t pay attention. Flushing old beer out of the line makes room for new beer. Homebrew beer is unfiltered, which means brewer’s yeast will pass through the system. Even if your sanitation measures are up to par, mold, bacteria, and wild yeasts can still get in.

But keeping your water lines clean has another benefit. Over time, disconnects, beverage lines, and taps can accumulate a layer of calcium oxalate, also known as beer stone. Beer stone breeds spoilage bacteria, which can form tiny nucleation points that cause beer to gush out and affect the durability of the foam. In severe cases, white floating particles can even appear in the beer.

How often should beer lines and equipment be cleaned?

Hygiene in draft beer systems is critical and affects the taste of beer. To ensure proper operation of keg fillers, beer lines, taps and keg connectors should be cleaned after each beer fill or at least every two weeks.

Enemies of beer

• Yeast

White or gray surface growth found on beer system components (taps, keg connectors and drains) that are exposed to air.

• Mold

Brown or black surface growths found on exposed beer system components (faucets, keg connectors and drains).

• Beer Stone

If the system is not maintained, gray or brown (calcium oxalate) can build up and flake off, eventually making its way into pints and affecting taste.

• Bacteria

Beer spoilage bacteria can ruin the flavor and aroma of beer. While these microorganisms pose no health threat, they can create a buttery flavor called diacetyl, or a sour vinegary flavor called acetic acid.

All of these enemies of beer can be prevented by cleaning the lines regularly, but if left unchecked, they can lead to unhappy customers and lost sales.

What cleaning kit should I buy?

When you are looking for a beer cleaning kit, it is crucial to find cleaning agents and solutions that are specifically formulated to treat beer systems.

• Gravity Cleaning Kits

Gravity cleaning kits are one of the most economical solutions for keeping your lines clean. These kits use gravity to deliver the cleaning solution into the system and out through the keg coupler.

• Hand Pump Kits

The main difference between a hand pump cleaning kit and a gravity cleaning kit is the method of use. While gravity cleaning kits use the force of the ground to deliver the solution into the beer system, hand pump cleaning kits use a pump to force the cleaning solution into the beer system through the vent. This creates pressure in the system to help remove any yeast, mineral, and bacterial deposits that can affect the flavor of your beer and cause excessive foaming.

• Pressurized Kits

Pressurized beer line cleaning kits tighten in a similar way to a beer keg, making it easy to get the solution flowing through your draft beer system. This allows for quick user maintenance, with cleaning times of less than 15 minutes.

How to clean and maintain clean lines?

Professional bars circulate cleaning solution through each beer line for several minutes, but this is not practical for most beer lovers. For the home enthusiast, a simple soak and rinse is sufficient. The general method is very simple.

1. It is recommended to post a record of pipe cleaning and repairs in all keg coolers.

2. Use warm water to squeeze the beer out of the lines.

3. For well-maintained pipes, you can use a 2% alkaline solution for routine cleaning; for old or severely damaged pipes, you can use a 3% alkaline solution. Contact your chemical manufacturer to determine the amount of chemical required to achieve the recommended concentration. If you use a non-abrasive cleaner, such as an acid cleaner or a silicate cleaner, be sure to use the cleaning concentration recommended by the manufacturer. For best results, keep the cleaning solution temperature between 80°F and 110°F during cleaning.

4. Using an electric pump, circulate the alkaline solution at a steady flow rate (which should exceed the flow rate of the beer) for at least 15 minutes. If using a pressure tank cleaner (not recommended), the solution needs to stay in the pipes for at least 20 minutes before flushing with clean water.

5. Repair and manual cleaning of taps; manual cleaning of joints.

6. After cleaning, flush the pipes with cool, fresh water until the pH matches that of the tap water and there is no visible debris in the beer pipes.

Don't forget to replace the beer pipes. The more beer you brew and drink, the more often you need to replace your beer pipes. For most people, replacing them once a year is sufficient.