Beer Line Cleaning Is A Lengthy But Essential Process

Undertaking a beer line clean is a somewhat lengthy and boring process, yet all publicans have to do it, and a good publican will do it him or herself since you can't take any risks and leave it to a member of the bar staff. Yes, they may be able to change a barrel, but the beer line clean is a job which has to be done right. 
 

If it is not done correctly you can be in all sorts of trouble because your beer can become "off" and in the worst cases can smell of rotten eggs, which is not exactly a good advertisement for your pub. If you want to keep your customers coming back for more, then your beer has to be top quality, and keeping the beer lines clean is the only way to do it.

Yes, there are other problems which are outside your control such as if the brewery concerned has taken immature beer off the yeast too soon and racked it too early. This can leave acetaldehyde in he beer which can give it a taste of sour apples and an aroma of cut grass. Furthermore, if bacteria such as acetobacter convert it into acetic acid it will taste like vinegar. This may be a case for returning it to the brewery and asking for a refund.

There can also be problems with oxidation of lipids and oxidisation of free fatty acids resulting in what is known as T2N which is usually the result of a time delay on the beer. If the beer has not been properly stored or handled it can result in T2N. It also needs to be kept cold. If the beer tastes like damp cardboard, it is probably suffering from T2N.

However, most of the problems with beer are the result of a poor beer line clean, or one that is not undertaken every week, which is what is recommended. Beer lines can become infected not only with bacteria, but also with yeast, mould, and beer stone, and beer line cleaning is the only way to keep them at bay.  

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