Cleaning Beer Lines Keeps Your Brew Fresh
Anyone who owns a kegerator knows the importance of keeping it sanitary. Each time that you take a draw from your kegerator, the lines are slowly building up with beer stones as well as yeast, both of which leads to a very unsanitary condition.This surface is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria and mold. At the least, this can lead to an off taste in the beer and at the worst it could cause serious problems for anyone who drinks beer that has passed through these lines.
This is why cleaning your beer lines is a vital task for every kegerator owner. This will make sure that both you and your friends are always drinking beer that is pure and safe. The problem is that most people do not know how exactly to do this and do this effectively.
With every kegerator, there is a certain amount of responsibility and maintenance that is required. Fortunately, cleaning your beer lines is a very quick process and is great to ensure that your lines are sanitary and functioning properly.
There are many different cleaning kits available for purchase, but they will almost always recommend the same cleaning schedule. If you do not use your kegerator on a consistent basis then you should make sure to clean the lines before each use.The easy thing to remember is that it is impossible to get your lines to clean.
This process is not difficult or complicated once you know what you are doing.The bonus is that with the right cleaning kit, you will be provided with everything that you need. With these kits you will get a container filled with a combination of water and a cleaning solution which will be used to clean and sanitize your lines. The pump on the kegerator should be used to force the cleaning solution through the lines and will help you to remove the buildup that exists in your lines.
Make sure that you are soaking your lines with the cleaning solution as recommended by the kit.
Additional components such as, the faucet and tap should be soaked and rinsed as well. You may also want to use a brush to scrub them as well. If you are stuck only cleaning the lines, then you are still pushing clean beer through a dirty tap and you gain nothing from cleaning the lines, as you are still ruining the beer.
When your kegerator is apart from the lines, take some time to do some other basic maintenance as well. Take this time to inspect all of the o-rings and make sure that their seal is working correctly.Also take time to make sure that the coupling washer, friction washer, and the shaft seat are working properly as well.You should also use a lubricant, food grade lubricant if possible, to coat the probe o-rings and the keg coupler.
However, if you fail in this regard, then you will understand what bad beer really tastes like.
You can easily avoid the embarrassment of serving rancid beer to guests and avoid possible health concerns as well. All you need to do is use proper maintenance techniques as well as keeping to a strict cleaning schedule will ensure that you will always have the best tasting beer available.
Danny is a home brewing enthusiast and writes on a variety of subject related to beer. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/home-brewing-articles/cleaning-beer-lines-keeps-your-brew-fresh-999431.html
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