Inn Doctor

Beer line cleaning

The most important, yet one of the most hated jobs for Landlords or Landladies alike is beer line cleaning. Probably because it takes up, what most publicans have little of…“Time”. As a result this is often neglected and can be catastrophic to a business.

While cleaning beer lines is straightforward, it may confuse someone who hasn’t done it before or not for a very long time, and hopefully this article will prove helpful for them. I have ten customers who I clean lines for, so I am well aware of the problems associated with line cleaning.

If you can’t set aside at least two and half-hours of your time a week to clean lines and equipment, then you should employ someone who will. Near enough isn’t good enough. And if your beer doesn’t taste good, then you will lose customers or even worse, drive them to the supermarkets. Not to mention wastage through fobbing.

As a Technician, who has been doing the rounds for many years, I would often be told “this bitter is so bad I have to clean the line every four days”. If that is the case, then the line isn’t been cleaned properly in the first place. Or the Indian Restaurant, who isn’t particularly bothered with his beer, until you happen to mention that, when his customers have bad stomachs next day they will blame his food.

keg couplers in cleaning main

Before handling cleaning fluid you should have the necessary protective gear. PVC gloves (I prefer the gauntlet type), goggles and a PVC apron. If you get cleaning solution into a cut or rash on the skin it really stings and if you get it splashed in your eye it hurts like stink!! Be careful with the neat stuff as it can be absorbed through the skin and this could lead to blood poisoning.

To begin, just because the customers do not go into your cellar does not mean it should be neglected. Cleanliness is just as important down here as it is in the bar. So the first job when you remove the keg couplers from the container should be to clean them in a bucket of warm water with cleaning fluid solution mix. Also, clean the cleaning sockets on the wall (cleaning main) that the keg coupler fits into. When you are done, wipe the boards down with a cloth. Nothing looks worse than beer stains everywhere.

Inbev Coupler in its Cleaning Socket

All the keg couplers should be inserted into their relevant cleaning sockets, with the gas to each container turned off. Why turn the gas off? – Cleaning sockets are usually made of plastic and sometimes this does not provide a very good seal, and can result in gas seeping into the cleaning system causing the taps to spit and blow, and fob detectors, floats to drop. Gas to the gas pumps should be left on.

Turn off the gas to the containers

Turn off the coolers both remote and under counter. “Why turn the coolers off I have been cleaning lines for years with them left on”, I hear you say? Answer – beer has a lower freezing point than water so could freeze in the line whilst cleaning. If you have any of the newer “glycol remote coolers” turn off at least an hour before cleaning, but I would turn them off the night before to be on the safe side. There is nothing worse than having to turn off the remote cooler and wait hours for the line to thaw especially if you have cleaning fluid trapped.

50 Litre (10 Gallon) Cleaning Bottler

Rinse out any water that is in the cleaning container, water that has been in there a day or so becomes stagnant (I have seen cleaning containers with algae before now). Then fill the container with clean cold water. Use cold water for two reasons: hot water will freeze quicker than cold, because there is less oxygen in the water and if you use a pressure container, hot water increases the pressure within that container so it then becomes a safety issue.

Most cleaning systems now have a gas pump to power the cleaning solution/water through the lines. Making sure the pump inlet pipe is inserted in the cleaning container. Switch on the gas pump and bleed any air/gas bubbles that is in the cleaning main through any one of the cellar-buoy / fob detectors – doesn’t matter if you set all the fobs to the clean setting, there always seem to be a couple of fobs where the float drops and you have to go back down the cellar to bleed them again.

15 Litre window cleaning bucket is ideal for T bars

Placing a bucket under the taps, remove the sparklers and diffusers. Then flush the lines with water till all traces of beer are removed. By clearing all beer and debris from the line first you wont waste any cleaning fluid, if not, you could use twice as much.

Make sure you have the right mix for the size of container

There are a lot of different types of cleaning fluid out there, some good, some bad. I would go for one that is recommended by one of the main brewers, then you know it will have been tried and tested and is good. Cheaper will not necessarily mean you will be saving money, more likely you will use a lot more. Carefully follow the manufacturers instructions mixing the right amount for the size of your container.

Bleed Fob detector to fill the glass with cleaning fluid

The cleaning solution can now be drawn through the lines if you are using a clear, line cleaning solution you will be able to tell when the line cleaning solution has reached the tap by using litmus paper. When all lines are full of cleaning solution, return to the cellar and bleed cleaning solution, through the fob detectors. This makes sure the top of the fob is also getting cleaned. If you have electrical pumps you should bleed them as well.

Bleed electric pumps if you have them

After about 15 minutes repeat the process drawing fresh cleaning solution through the lines. You will be able to tell when clean, cleaning solution is in the line by using a glass; the solution will be of a milky appearance until the fresh solution comes through. Or if you are using a dye based cleaner until the cleaner retains a purple or blue colour (the same colour that is in the container, before it is used).

Clear line cleaning solution of a milky appearance indicating there is still yeast present in the line

If the system is heavily soiled you may want to repeat this process a couple more times, but do not leave in longer than recommended by the manufactures instructions on the cleaning fluid container.

When you are happy that all the lines are clean, you can now begin flushing the cleaning solution out of the lines taking any yeast debris that is left.

Thoroughly rinse out the cleaning container a few times until all traces of cleaning fluid have been removed, and fill with clean water.

Dye based cleaning solution indicating line should now be clean

Now flush out the system with water, drawing at least two gallon (10 litres) through each tap. Cleaning solution breaks up and loosens the yeast that is attached to the walls of the pipes; it doesn’t dissolve the yeast like a lot of people think. That is why it is a good idea to remove the sparklers and diffusers before cleaning as they could get blocked.

Don’t forget to bleed water through the fob detectors and the bleed points on the electrical pumps if you have any. When you have thoroughly flushed out the system, check with litmus paper to make sure there is no cleaning solution residue in the lines. Now you can drain the cleaning container and switch off the cleaning gas pump.

Litmus Papers

Connect the keg coupler back on to the beer container, not forgetting to switch the gas back on to the container; I like to draw beer through the fob detector first. This way I know water is not getting trapped in the system, while at the same time setting the fob detector to the serve position.

Then replace the sparklers etc. Turn on the tap and until beer comes through. Now you can switch the coolers back on.

Check that the beer looks and tastes good and pat yourself on the back.

A job well done!!!

Looking after beer isn’t rocket science, a lot of call outs to brewery tech services can be attributed to yeasty lines. If you have just taken over a pub and the lines are in a terrible condition you may not get all the yeast out for the first couple of cleans. But perseverance will get you there and when you do get your lines clean, keep them that way.

If you clean the line thoroughly as time goes on you will get to a point where there will be hardly any yeast to remove at each clean. This is when you have reached a pinnacle with your line cleaning. Of course if you require a Blitz clean to speed up things you can get in touch with people like myself who specialise in restoring lines to their original condition.

Cheers and happy stress free beer line cleaning

Paul Jones has worked in Dispense Technical Services for over 25 years with beer and soft drinks. As well as employed by major breweries such as Carlsberg-Tetley and Ansells and for a brief spell with Innserve. Now works out of Newtown, Mid-Wales trading as Pub-Tek

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If you look through the pages of Inndoctor you will see the importance we place on good beer line cleaning procedures in the cellar. The basic methodology is quite simple and is covered in some detail on this site.

However there is an area which we believe we have not covered and that is the question of leaving beer lines soaking in beer line cleaning fluid over night. It seems plausible to think that a good long soak will get rid of all the yeast and bacteria in one easy hit. Not so.

Equally the old chestnut of using hot water to clean beer lines is another recurring question.

The reasons for not doing either of the above mentioned are quite simple and I will explain further.

Firstly let us take a closer look at the beer line itself. The inside of a standard beer pipe has a special microscopic lining which is designed to stop the beer becoming tainted with polypropylene tastes as it passes through. This lining is quite fragile and leaving it in contact with beer line cleaner for extended periods can strip it away,  allowing a plasticised taste to form in the beer. Equally hot water and beer line cleaner should not be used for the same reason. Hot water can damage beer cooler components, tap seals and pumps as well. Another reason why prolonged soaking of beer lines does not work is that after 15 to 20 minutes the beer line cleaner losses it’s affectivness and becomes less potent. Overnight soaking can also lead to beer coolers freezing the product coils, stopping service and requiring a breakdown call.

All brewers recommend the practice of leaving beer lines soaking overnight is avoided. Once damaged, beer pipes cannot be repaired and have to be replaced, costing hundreds of pounds.

So the simple answer is, read the label on the beer line cleaning fluid container and stick to the instructions. If for some reason you feel your beer lines are badly contaminated with yeast and require a deep clean, contact your brewery technical services for their advice.

As the old saying goes  “familiarity breeds contempt”.

Cleaning Fluid

Whilst visiting a beer cellar recently one of our contributing technicians came across a safety issue   that affects us all. As he was doing his technical thing with the spanners he noticed the landlord was cleaning the beer lines. Fine no problem there he thought but then he could not help  notice the way in which the landlord was chucking beer line cleaner casually around the cellar as though this stuff was harmless.

The technician felt he had to give him a gentle reminder about how dangerous beer line cleaner can be.

He told him about a case were a a female landlady had spilt line cleaner on her foot  and had not bothered to wipe it off. She became seriously ill with blood poisoning, the cleaner having been absorbed through her skin.

Needless to say the landlord saw the error of his ways.

So lets just remind ourselves once more …..Beer Line Cleaning Fluid is Dangerous.

Use it with care and observe good health and safety practices at all times.

It's snowing

Here at Inndoctor we are fed up listening to the same old doom and gloom. If we hear another reference to “50 pubs a week closing”we will lock ourselves in our virtual cellar and get virtually plastered. Anyway the thought arises that despite the “50 pubs…………” thing, we believe that as the economy recovers some, not all closed pubs, will be seen as a viable business again.

With pub chains, chains being a very appropriate word for these companies, dumping pubs, and more freehold premises coming on the market, now might be a time to grab a bargain. As Inndoctor concerns itself with the practical beer dispense side of things, we wondered about the problems of reopening a pub that has been closed for some time.

A major priority would have to be reinstating the neglected beer dispense system. Gone are the days we suspect of just picking the phone up and ringing the brewery and demanding new beer lines and taps.

Like everyone else, even the mighty brewers are watching their pennies. The answer might be a polite go away. So what are you to do? Well most brewers offer a one off special clean , to restore beer lines, which we believe to be very expensive. The cost we feel is pitched to discourage people from neglecting their beer lines in the first place.

You are planning on opening quickly, money is tight, the paint is still drying in the gents toilet and the new carpets have been fitted, but your beer quality is poor. What can I do? Well shop around on the Internet is the answer. We have discovered one or two companies that will do a full Beer Line Rescue service for a great deal less than the brewers. The brewers can sometimes charge up to £25 per beer line, a lot of money if you have a large pub. Our research shows that small independent companies will do this Beer Line Rescue service for a great deal less, saving you lots of cash when you need it most. Typically they will charge you between £10 and £15 pounds per line.

Beer quality is paramount whether you are opening or reopening a pub. It is false economy to neglect cleaning your beer lines. Get your beer quality right and you are starting on the right footing. Anyway the beer lines are clean in our virtual cellar……we hope. We just might have to do a virtual beer line rescue.

1.0 Pre Rinse

• 1.1 Switch off inline flash coolers.
• 1.2 Fill water cleaning container with water.
• 1.3 Turn off gas supply to keg couplers.
• 1.4 Connect keg couplers to cleaning main and press to open position.
• 1.5 Turn on cleaning main gas pump.
• 1.6 Unscrew sparklers from dispense taps and immerse in a receptacle containing diluted detergent.
• 1.7 Place a receptacle under each dispense tap.
• 1.8 Flush through system until all traces of beer are removed.

2.0 Detergent Soak

• 2.1 Measure the correct quantity of pipe cleaning liquid into the detergent cleaning container, if seperate detergent container is available and fill with cold water, mixing thoroughly.If only one container is available reuse water container.
• 2.2 If using a cleaning main with 2 containers, turn the selector cock from water to detergent container.
• 2.3 Fill the system with detergent solution.
• 2.4 If a fob detector or beer monitor is fitted, the manual vent valve must be opened for a few seconds to allow detergent solution to flow down the vent pipe.
• 2.5 Allow dispense equipment to soak for 15 minutes.
• 2.6 After 15 minutes pull fresh cleaning fluid through system again.
• 2.7 Rinse out cleaning fluid container thoroughly with fresh water and refill with fresh water or use seperate fresh water container if available.

3.0 Final Rinse

• 3.1 If using a cleaning main with 2 containers, turn the selector cock from detergent to water container.
• 3.2 Flush out the system with at least 2 gallons of water per dispenser.
• 3.3 Flush through system until all traces of detergent are removed.
• 3.4 Check with litmus paper supplied with cleaning fluid if available.
• 3.5 If a fob detector or beer monitor is fitted, open the manual vent valve to rinse detergent from the vent pipe.
• 3.6 Turn off gas supply to cleaning pump.
• 3.7 Reconnect keg couplers to beer containers in use.
• 3.8 Turn on gas supply to beer containers.
• 3.9 Switch on inline flash coolers.
• 3.lO Flush through system until all traces of water are removed.
• 3.11Rinse sparklers in running water and refit to dispense taps.
• 3.12Drain and rinse cleaning containers, and replace caps.
• 3.13Pull through to beer and test for clarity and taste.
• The outside of the beer pipes may be cleaned with a warm damp cloth.

Here are some of our recommended beer line cleaning products:

Prosan Plus A good all round cleaner for use with lightly soiled systems.Product uses special tracer dye that indicates the presence of yeast.
www.proton-group.co.uk

Protinate A very good product designed for use with heavily yeast contaminated systems.
www.proton-group.co.uk

Bactosol A good all round cleaner for use with lightly soiled systems.
www.johnsondiversey.com

CHASER an effective and proven total beer dispense system cleaner/steriliser. Rapidly breaks down yeast and protein .Avoids beer stone deposit. Suitable for use in all hardnesses of water. Maintaining effective hygiene to ensure quality of both Cask / Keg beers to the Glass. Acknowledged by International Breweries
www.klenzan.co.uk/

More safety information and advice on line cleaning
www.solihull.gov.uk/Attachments/ Beerline_cleaner_info_sheet.pdf

Keg beer is pasteurised so it shouldn’t be cloudy.

Check if your lines need cleaning, put on a new container and draw off two or three pints until you know that the new product is coming through, the beer should now be clear. .

Check again after about an hour. Draw off a pint, if the beer is now hazy, then it is almost certain you have yeast build up in your lines. This is causing the fresh beer to become infected, when left in the lines for any length of time. You may be cleaning the lines every week but are you adhering to the correct instructions.

If after an hour the beer is still clear, then you may have a faulty keg. Notify the brand owner, and they will check it for you.

You can check for yeast build up by getting a torch and shining it through the beer pipes. If a brown stain can be seen then you have yeast build up. You should contact your local Tech Services for advice.

1.0 Pre Rinse

• 1.1 Switch off inline flash coolers.
• 1.2 Fill water cleaning container with water.
• 1.3 Turn off gas supply to keg couplers.
• 1.4 Connect keg couplers to cleaning main and press to open position.
• 1.5 Turn on cleaning main gas pump.
• 1.6 Unscrew sparklers from dispense taps and immerse in a receptacle containing diluted detergent.
• 1.7 Place a receptacle under each dispense tap.
• 1.8 Flush through system until all traces of beer are removed.

2.0 Detergent Soak

• 2.1 Measure the correct quantity of pipe cleaning liquid into the detergent cleaning container, if seperate detergent container is available and fill with cold water, mixing thoroughly.If only one container is available reuse water container.
• 2.2 If using a cleaning main with 2 containers, turn the selector cock from water to detergent container.
• 2.3 Fill the system with detergent solution.
• 2.4 If a fob detector or beer monitor is fitted, the manual vent valve must be opened for a few seconds to allow detergent solution to flow down the vent pipe.
• 2.5 Allow dispense equipment to soak for 15 minutes.
• 2.6 After 15 minutes pull fresh cleaning fluid through system again.
• 2.7 Rinse out cleaning fluid container thoroughly with fresh water and refill with fresh water or use seperate fresh water container if available.

3.0 Final Rinse

• 3.1 If using a cleaning main with 2 containers, turn the selector cock from detergent to water container.
• 3.2 Flush out the system with at least 2 gallons of water per dispenser.
• 3.3 Flush through system until all traces of detergent are removed.
• 3.4 Check with litmus paper supplied with cleaning fluid if available.
• 3.5 If a fob detector or beer monitor is fitted, open the manual vent valve to rinse detergent from the vent pipe.
• 3.6 Turn off gas supply to cleaning pump.
• 3.7 Reconnect keg couplers to beer containers in use.
• 3.8 Turn on gas supply to beer containers.
• 3.9 Switch on inline flash coolers.
• 3.lO Flush through system until all traces of water are removed.
• 3.11Rinse sparklers in running water and refit to dispense taps.
• 3.12Drain and rinse cleaning containers, and replace caps.
• 3.13Pull through to beer and test for clarity and taste.
• The outside of the beer pipes may be cleaned with a warm damp cloth.

Here are some of our recommended beer line cleaning products:

Prosan Plus A good all round cleaner for use with lightly soiled systems.Product uses special tracer dye that indicates the presence of yeast.
www.proton-group.co.uk

Protinate A very good product designed for use with heavily yeast contaminated systems.
www.proton-group.co.uk

Bactosol A good all round cleaner for use with lightly soiled systems.
www.johnsondiversey.com

CHASER an effective and proven total beer dispense system cleaner/steriliser. Rapidly breaks down yeast and protein .Avoids beer stone deposit. Suitable for use in all hardnesses of water. Maintaining effective hygiene to ensure quality of both Cask / Keg beers to the Glass. Acknowledged by International Breweries
www.klenzan.co.uk/

More safety information and advice on line cleaning
www.solihull.gov.uk/Attachments/
Beerline_cleaner_info_sheet.pdf