Oily/greasy keg

[jsmith32]

So I received a "brand new" 2.5 gallon keg from one of the on-line homebrew supply stores. I guess should have inspected the keg immediately when I received it, but instead, I didn't until about an hour before I was going to rack a beer into it.

When I opened the keg, it looked like it wasn't cleaned out after it was manufactured. There was some metal flakes in it and the inside of the keg was covered in a thin film of oil/grease. I hastily sanitized the keg with StarSan and rubbed off the surfaces of the inside of the keg until there were no remaining signs of the residue, and then went ahead and racked the beer into it.

I guess I may have made a bad decision and probably should either have been more careful in cleaning the keg, or maybe even should have contacted the homebrew supply store and complained, but I guess it's too late now.

Has anyone received a keg like this from a supply store before?

Should I have taken more steps to thoroughly clean the keg?

Do you think if there was any remaining residue like this that it would ruin the beer?

Jason

 

[theonetrueruss]

Any stainless item you buy needs to be cleaned well before using, there is usually remnants of manufacturing oil etc that need to be cleaned off.

I hope it works out okay.. I suspect that it will be fine. Sounds like you cleaned it at least okayish.

 

[JRems]

You probably should have cleaned it with dish soap and water to remove the oil. Then a pbw soak then a star San rinse. Does it taste weird?

 

[Golddiggie]

Never had this issue with any of the kegs I've purchased from Rebel Brewer (I've bought several). I have two 2.5 gallon and the rest are 3 gallon kegs. Some were used kegs (3 gallon) that I picked up locally, but the majority are from Rebel..

Who did you purchase your keg from??

 

[jsmith32]

Yeah, I realize now I should have taken my time to clean it out. Oh well. I won't know for a few weeks what it will end up tasting like as I just racked the beer into it today. I have my fingers crossed; it was a decent tasting beer going into the keg.

I got the keg from William's Brewing. I omitted the name of the store from my original post because I didn't know if it is typical/atypical to receive a keg from a store in this type of condition, so my intent wasn't to have it reflect badly on them. It sounds like at least one person that has replied so far doesn't think it's atypical.

Jason

 

[Golddiggie]

I'd reach out to them and tell them how it arrived. See what they can do for you. I suspect they'll make it right without putting you through any pain.

I would suspect that they cannot inspect kegs that are arriving from the manufacturer and should be ready to use. I believe they have a different style keg (in the 2.5 gallon size) than Rebel has. Makes me think it's from a different manufacturer. Personally, I'm sticking with Rebel since the price on 3 gallon kegs is really good (better than most used ones on ebray or CL) and they come ready to be used. I simply sanitize them and that's it.

 

[jsmith32]

Yeah, I may still do that, although I feel kinda stupid doing so since it's been two months since I bought the keg and now there's a beer in it.

In the grand scheme of things, not the stupidest thing I've done this year, though. Throwing (and breaking) my Jeep transponder key onto the driveway in frustration was stupider (and more expensive).

 

[Golddiggie]

I typically inspect any new kegs at least a day, or several days, before I'll be filling them with brew. That's [typically] when I hit them with StarSan and then set them aside (after draining and then purging the air from the keg). I can usually smell any residual machining oil on anything, so it's easy for me to pick up on. Fortunately, all my keg has been 100% free of it.

Seriously, reach out to the guys at Williams. If you don't then they won't know about the issue and more kegs could show up for people like that one. If they know there's an issue, they can yell at the manufacturer about it and get it corrected. You might even get something out of it (more than just a thank-you for telling them)...

As for breaking your vehicle key... That's just wrong...

The latest 'DOH!' moment I've had was on Saturday morning installing the passenger side vent shade on my Ranger... I knew there was an issue with the trim around the window but I figured I could get the thing in anyway. Well, after it didn't fit right, I looked down at my hand and saw red... Damn, cut again without knowing it... Took a nice chunk out of my little finger on a sharp edge (a corner of the vent shade snapped off while trying to put it in). So after a hydrogen peroxide rinse, and Neosporin treated band-aid got applied to the cut I took that vent shade with me to get the oil change and have the shop install it for me. No charge on that (I go to the dealership close to me, and request one person work on my vehicle, since he knows it, and me) too. Of course, I need to go back later this week to get the muffler fixed. The shop that installed it (Flowmaster) didn't use the right hardware so the bracket that holds it in place is pretty much gone. Plus the heat shield was rotted off. I think that place is gone now, not too surprised.

 

[jsmith32]

Thanks for your advice, Golddiggie!

I did contact William's, not because I really want anything out of it, but as you said, it might actually help them keep their future customers (including me) happy.

Automobiles = money pit. Homebrewing is too but is usually way more fun.

Jason