19 replies to this topic

[Nick Bates]

Ive kegged 3 batches of beer now, im going to be kegging another on Sunday as well. My first all grain got kegged it was great till about the last gallon or so, I had a root beer in there prior to it and I started tasting the root beer flavor in the beer. I cleaned the root beer out very good I used Oxiclean Green top, then ran hot water threw, then filled keg with Star-San ran it threw the lines. Is there a better way to clean a keg? and the lines? I would hate to waste another gallon of brew due to flavors like root beer and or prior beers that were in the keg. By the way I soaked it in Oxiclean over night as well.

[MtnBrewer]

Replace the lid o-ring to get the root beer smell out. Possibly the dip tube o-rings as well.Other than that, I soak my kegs in PBW and then rinse. For lines I use BLC and then rinse A LOT.

[BrewerGeorge]

Root beer never goes away without replacing the soft parts as Mtn suggests. If you want to make root beer, you should dedicate a keg to it only.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Root beer never goes away without replacing the soft parts as Mtn suggests. If you want to make root beer, you should dedicate a keg to it only.

I can confirm this. Even after years after attempting to clean I have an o-ring that still smells like root beer that I keep around just to prove a point to people who don't believe me.

[Nick Bates]

thats crazy, damn root beer haha. I will be replacing all the o-rings before kegging my next brew for sure. Should I worry about the pressure relief valve at all?

[gnef]

Don't forget that poppets also have gaskets. I don't know how much they would be able to influence the flavor, but if you replace all the other gaskets and still have issues, you may want to look into replacing the poppets.Did you pour your beer using the same lines that you had poured the root beer through? If so, that root beer flavor may not leave those lines (it stays in the lines for a LONG time). I have separate kegs for sodas labeled, and also a separate line on my kegerator just for sodas (just one for the wife).Beerline is cheap enough to replace without too much trouble.You can also try to do a 2x or 3x concentration of star san, as star san in higher concentrations can help remove odors.

[Nick Bates]

yikes I think my soda makin days are over lol. I used a picnic tap to dispense my last homebrew. But I was gonna hook the next home brew up to my Tap tower which had the rootbeer running threw it, so it may not hurt to replace the lines in my tower now that you mention it. I never even thought about the poppets, anyone else think I should replace them? THanks all...

[djinkc]

I like a root beer once in a while but not enough to make 5 gal. Everything I've read is that is is almost impossible to get the smell/taste out. What's the ingredient that does this? Just curious. Fortunately, I've never bought a keg that held it previously.

[MolBasser]

Caustic.MolBasser

[djinkc]

Caustic.MolBasser

My 3 gal cornies are usually empty. I'm guessing one of them would be a good way to run caustic through my stuff. Other than it likes to slough any tissue it touches are there other concerns with it, as in Stainless? I'm guessing storage would be bad, plus I would hate to simply forget what was in the keg. Since I finally bought some heavy duty gloves I've found straight BLC is pretty good for the little beerstone buildups I get sometimes.

[MtnBrewer]

What's the ingredient that does this?

Caustic.

I thought this juxtaposition was kinda humorous.It used to be sassafras roots but they found out it causes cancer so now they use some synthetic I think. Imagine that...

[Nick Bates]

I just may spend the 25 bucks and get another used corny keg haha. Do all types of soda do this to kegs? or just rootbeer?

[gnef]

Ginger ale can be strong as well, but nothing I've made compares with root beer, it stains the lines more than the other sodas.

[MtnBrewer]

I just may spend the 25 bucks and get another used corny keg haha. Do all types of soda do this to kegs? or just rootbeer?

Why don't you just designate one keg for soda and the rest for beers?I don't make sodas so I don't know which ones are worse than others. As far as I know, all of them leave some amount of residual aroma but root beer seems to be the worst by far. Some of my used kegs were for serving lemonade at one time and that smell hung around until I changed out the lid o-rings too.

[Nick Bates]

Why don't you just designate one keg for soda and the rest for beers?I don't make sodas so I don't know which ones are worse than others. As far as I know, all of them leave some amount of residual aroma but root beer seems to be the worst by far. Some of my used kegs were for serving lemonade at one time and that smell hung around until I changed out the lid o-rings too.

after all the tips you guys have given me that is what I will be doing, along with changing the o-rings.Thanks guys for all the tips.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Don't forget that poppets also have gaskets. I don't know how much they would be able to influence the flavor, but if you replace all the other gaskets and still have issues, you may want to look into replacing the poppets.Did you pour your beer using the same lines that you had poured the root beer through? If so, that root beer flavor may not leave those lines (it stays in the lines for a LONG time). I have separate kegs for sodas labeled, and also a separate line on my kegerator just for sodas (just one for the wife).Beerline is cheap enough to replace without too much trouble.You can also try to do a 2x or 3x concentration of star san, as star san in higher concentrations can help remove odors.

The poppets aren't as bad generally. I also didn't replace the PRV.

[BrewerGeorge]

... What's the ingredient that does this? Just curious. Fortunately, I've never bought a keg that held it previously.

My guess would be wintergreen.

[Stout_fan]

As a boy scout we used to find this stuff in the woods, dig up and chew on the roots.Guess I'm done for. Amazing, the things you learn here!

[MtnBrewer]

My guess would be wintergreen.

I would have said licorice but it sparked enough curiosity for me to consult the oracle. Artificial sassafras flavoring is often combined with other flavors including: vanilla, wintergreen, cherry, tree bark, licorice root, sarsaparilla root, nutmeg, acacia, anise, molasses, cinnamon, clove and honey.

As a boy scout we used to find this stuff in the woods, dig up and chew on the roots.Guess I'm done for. Amazing, the things you learn here!

Same here. As kids we dug up a metric assload of those things.

[No Party JKor]

I'm almost positive that it's the wintergreen oil that hangs around on the rubber parts.