The beer line that attaches from the keg to handle in brewflo

[Nick Seymour]

So from watching the videos, it's said that if you keep using the same beer lines over and over, it affects the taste of the beer. 

Has anyone thought of giving the beer lines a thorough clean in order to not affect the taste of the next session of beer you drink? 

I find it a bit ridiculous how I may have to keep replacing the beer line for each session I have of beers. 

I may only want a couple of glasses one day and then to have more glasses the next day, I still have to replace the beer line?

[Mike A]

No matter what you'll want to replace lines, Brewart supplied or not, but you can extend their use.  I'm assuming you are talking about the brewflo as well.  The updated kegs & posts just uses line without the curly bit in the middle so replacing this with another generally available line is easy/cheap to do.

As for cleaning, yes you can do this also, there's a few local brew stores that carry PBW (powerful brewery wash) AKA Stella Clean.  If you have a good way to get this into the lines and in contact with them for a few minutes with warm water, that will do a good job, but you'll then need to rinse thoroughly.  Also it will pay to run some StellaSan AKA StarSan no rinse sanitiser just before use.  Both products are very cheap and last a long time.  I'd also give a spray from a pump pack bottle of StellaSan on the posts before attaching the lines also as a good practice.

If you have longer lines then to make cleaning the lines easier I've gone and got myself one of these, and just use any 1.25L/2L bottle:

https://www.kegland.com.au/products/gas-free-ball-lock-line-cleaning-kit-pet-party-pump-combo?_pos=18&_sid=e2fc7bf37&_ss=r

You'll need a ball lock post with either a duotight connector or a barbed connector to connect the line up.  Makes it a lot easier to flush lines and make sure there's good contact with them for the entire length.  You won't need this if you're only using the Brewflo.

I've seen brushes you can buy for cleaning lines as well if you want to go even further.

I'd replace or clean lines weekly, a few days with beer in it and at a cold temp likely wouldn't be bad, but if you smell anything or taste anything off, you should adjust.
I'm more obsessive and tend to at least run starsan through lines & posts after each session, so there's no build-up.  Especially with the cleaning kit, only takes 20 seconds. I intend to clean with StellaClean after every 6-7 sessions & intend on replacing the lines every 6 months to a year.

[Thagomizer]

You can repeatedly clean and sterilize the beer lines, but they eventually need to be replaced.  They are relatively inexpensive and are a minor part of exchanging kegs.  I sterilize each used beer line before replacing it.  I waste a little money by tossing a perfectly good (but twice used) beer line while it still looks pristine and clean.  Micro-grooves and hidden valleys caused by vigorous brushing of the soft hose material can provide sites for bacterial growth.  (Remember that we should not scratch the interior surfaces of our droids?)

Common sense, (of which we all have an abundance), suggests that we can re-use our beer lines, but should use discretion.

I think the worst mistake would be to ignore these beer lines over several (multiple?) kegs.  This could lead to disaster.

Happy brewing. 🙂

[Nick Seymour]

Thanks for the advice Mike and Thagomizer. I think I will consider changing the beer lines once a week. 

 

Sorry for the delayed reply. I have too much drama happening at the moment.