How Often Should You Wash & Sanitize Brewery Kegs?
To ensure that the quality of the product remains intact, you must sanitize, clean, and regularly rinse your kegs. You will want to use a high-quality keg sanitizer to remove the stains and odors from your beer kegs. But how often should you wash and sanitize brewery kegs?
Why Keg Sanitation Is Important
Any biological matter left in the keg can result in contamination that affects your beer's taste and smell. It may cause off-flavors or even create a health hazard for your customers. Cleanliness is of utmost importance when working with food or beverage products.
How Often Should You Wash and Sanitize Brewery Kegs?
How often should you wash and sanitize brewery kegs? We will endeavor to explore that question in this section of the article.
Be sure to wash your kegs using a powerful keg sanitizer after every use. If you have been storing them empty for more than a few weeks, wash them with a quality brewery keg sanitizer. You should do this at least once a month.
The time between washes depends on how long the kegs have been sitting empty, how often you use them, how long they sit before being emptied, and what type of keg washer you're using. You can determine whether it's been too long since your last cleaning by looking at the kegs themselves. If you notice any buildup inside or outside the keg, then it's time for another cleaning.
The longer you wait between washes, the more likely mildew or mold will form and contaminate your finished product. If you're brewing once a week or more and use these kegs regularly, wash them every two weeks instead of once a month. This will reduce the chance of buildup that can contaminate the flavor of your finished product.
Sanitize the Outside Too
It's not just the inside of the keg that needs sanitization each time. The outside of the lid and any place where beer may have splashed must also undergo sanitization. This prevents cross-contamination when you go to fill it again. Failure to do this each time can lead to contamination issues with your beer and recurring bacterial infections that might not go away even if your beer tastes fine!
Begin by removing the keg's lid, post, and dip tube assembly. Hold the keg upright and rinse it out with a hose. Then, disassemble all parts of your keg, cleaning each piece individually. Use a superior-quality brewery keg sanitizer to get everything spotless, and then rinse the pieces with water to get rid of any residue.
Takeaway
Kegs containing finished beer must be sanitized, cleaned, and rinsed regularly to ensure that the quality remains intact. While there are a few options for cleaning your beer keg, the best way to clean your equipment is using a keg sanitizer. These powerful cleaners will remove buildup and grime from inside your keg and make it ready for another batch of homebrew.