Kegs going sour: infection from tap?

[Ike]

Hi all. I did a bit of Googling around HBT and found a couple of threads that discuss poor keg cleaning as a source of infection. SO, I promise to double down on my keg cleaning and sanitizing.

BUT, I've had two kegs just lately that have:

- gone sour over the course of the keg
- sat for at least three weeks on the gas before tapping
- tasted absolutely fine (well, not sour at all, at least) on initial tapping
- only happened with beers, no issues with ciders/ginger beer


WRT my beer line: I disassemble and sanitize before and after every use. I tend to replace the lines pretty frequently; my thought process is that, especially when purchased in bulk, replacing the line is cheap insurance. I'm cleaning/sanitizing the keg connections at kegging, then spraying down all connectors with star-san on the initial tap.

I'm worried it has something to do with my beer line and/or connectors and tap since the beer tastes fine on initial tap after such a long conditioning period, then gets progressively worse over time. I'm using standard ball-lock connectors and cobra taps on about a 6', 1/4" line.

One possible flyer: I'm all by my lonesome here (beer wise) and I'm trying to cut back a bit to lose a few pounds, so I'm down to about 5-7 pints/wk. This means it's taking a month or more to get through a keg.

QUESTIONS:

Anyone ever have similar problems?

Is it just that the keg is tapped too long?

Are cobra taps known for letting bacteria to "creep upstream" from the tap back into the keg?

Do I need to replace my beer line/connections every so often if I want to keep a keg tapped this long?

Anything else I'm missing?

Anybody sanitizing their gas supply lines? If so, how far upstream do you sanitize? Just the connector, also the line somehow?


Thanks!

 

[cubalz]

I don't sanitize my lines but I do run BLC into them and replace them every 6 months. I have never had an infection in any of my kegs. Having a beer in keg for a month should be no big deal.

 

[balrog]

I keep my kegs for months before emptying (I like variety so having some of multiple kegged beers is my preference).

I do spray the picnic taps with starsan after a pour as I did have gunk build up on the silicone stopper thingy inside the picnic tap a while back. But the beer never really changes or goes sour.

I will also note that I do not have a keezer, keeping kegs just in my basement.

 

[jtp137]

I notice if the tap sits for a while I get a lot of gunk on the faucet. How often to you clean the faucets

 

[Ike]

I notice if the tap sits for a while I get a lot of gunk on the faucet. How often to you clean the faucets

They're disassembled and cleaned before and after every keg. BUT, as far as cleaning "in process," while the keg is tapped and I'm drinking it... none. I saw another response upstream about spraying the tap with star-san... I am wondering if I could rig up a little container of star-san in the keezer and just keep the tap submerged in it when not in use?

 

[balrog]

I just keep the spray bottle handy and spritz into the tap every time.

Okay, okay. Every so often. Sometimes. More than none.

 

[jalc6927]

The guy I bought my kegs and kegerator from had the same complaint which is why he sold them

I had the scrub the kegs with a PBW and clean the inside of fridge with a mask and tons of 409, and have not had this problem

I also sanitize kegs after each use and run the sanitizer through the tap with 1 to 2 gallons

So if you're sanitizing properly, try purging your c02 tank with fresh gas

Beer should be getting better with age

 

[Ike]

What about the gaskets? The dip tube ones are easy to move around as needed to make sure they're clean. Is anyone else pulling the other gaskets (tappet, relief valve, and outer post gasket) during the cleaning process?

 

[jalc6927]

Yep I dissemble entirely and clean and sanitize before refilling and apply Vaseline on all gaskets before reinstalling

 

[myndflyte]

I too clean my tap after I know I won't pull another one for that day. I just dip a soft wire brush in star san and clean the tap that way. But I don't think a gunky tap is going to make a beer go sour. It sounds like you have a pretty good cleaning regimen for the beer side but have you checked your gas lines? Maybe you got some beer in your gas line that is causing the issue?

 

[Ike]

I too clean my tap after I know I won't pull another one for that day. I just dip a soft wire brush in star san and clean the tap that way. But I don't think a gunky tap is going to make a beer go sour. It sounds like you have a pretty good cleaning regimen for the beer side but have you checked your gas lines? Maybe you got some beer in your gas line that is causing the issue?

I've been doing some research on this as well. ATM when connecting the gas line I spray down the gas connector on the keg, invert the gas connector, fill it with Starsan, then flip it over and connect. That said, I've never completely removed the gas connectors and soaked them since I built the keezer over a year ago, so it may be time.

Everything looks clean, but the red tubing I use for gas line makes inspection a bit difficult. Might be worth replacing with clear lines for the sake of inspection. Thanks!

 

[Ike]

Yep I dissemble entirely and clean and sanitize before refilling and apply Vaseline on all gaskets before reinstalling

Do you remove ALL the gaskets? Even the itty-bitty ones on the tappets and pressure relief? If so, how do you get them off without tearing them to shreds?

Thanks!

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I've been doing some research on this as well. ATM when connecting the gas line I spray down the gas connector on the keg, invert the gas connector, fill it with Starsan, then flip it over and connect. That said, I've never completely removed the gas connectors and soaked them since I built the keezer over a year ago, so it may be time.

Everything looks clean, but the red tubing I use for gas line makes inspection a bit difficult. Might be worth replacing with clear lines for the sake of inspection. Thanks!

I would take the gas lines off and check them.
I bought a used soda regulator off ebay and the whole thing had soda syrup in it despite having check valves on every line.
so i soaked it all in sanitizer. no real problems.

also are you sure your beer is staying cold enough?
i had a keg turn on me because i didn't close the door all the way and it got warm.
tasted horrible after and had to dump it.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Do you remove ALL the gaskets? Even the itty-bitty ones on the tappets and pressure relief? If so, how do you get them off without tearing them to shreds?

Thanks!

I bought a large bag of gaskets for kegs online so i have plenty of spares.
I also have a garden sprayer with a swivel connector so i can attach either ball or pin lock connectors to my kegs and pump sanitizer through them and my beer lines/taps.

i haven't had any problems.
I also have tap covers i use all the time.

but, i'm on a diet now so taps only get used sparingly on the weekend so the taps do feel a little sticky on the first pull.
so i tend to fill the bottom of the glass and toss before drinking because the first beer tastes awful.

 

[balrog]

also are you sure your beer is staying cold enough?
i had a keg turn on me because i didn't close the door all the way and it got warm.
tasted horrible after and had to dump it.

Hm. I keep all my kegs in my basement, no refrigeration, ambient can be low 70's °F, kept for months without skunking, souring, growing arms and legs and doing the macarena, nothing.

 

[myndflyte]

Hm. I keep all my kegs in my basement, no refrigeration, ambient can be low 70's °F, kept for months without skunking, souring, growing arms and legs and doing the macarena, nothing.

Yeah I got to agree here. Getting warm shouldn't skunk the beer, especially if CO2 is on it. If that were the case, then bottles of aging homebrew that have been at room temp for years should be going bad.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Hm. I keep all my kegs in my basement, no refrigeration, ambient can be low 70's °F, kept for months without skunking, souring, growing arms and legs and doing the macarena, nothing.

huh. good to know.
wondering why my keg turned on me then.
it was a commercial keg of IPL and it just didn't taste good after that.

 

[jalc6927]

I buy new pieces that go into poppet on eBay for next to nothing

Change only when needed

 

[KevinMcN]

Were your gas lines and regulator new or used? If they were used they might be dirty. It’s worth checking and cleaning the gas lines and regulator. Mine were all new so I didn’t think about that.
I wonder if the Vaseline is creating off flavours over time. Do others use Vaseline with no issues? I bough a tube of keg lube that will probably last me 20 years.

 

[jalc6927]

Putting Vaseline on gaskets has no effect on the beer

Just keeps gaskets from drying out

The problem is a sanitization issue or gas is bad