Cleaning a beer dispensing system – keeping the beer line clean

Freshly tapped beer only tastes right from a clean system. Over time, hop resins, protein, beer stone and limescale build up in the beer line, keg coupler and tap – a breeding ground for germs. The result is off-flavours and unsettled foam. Regular cleaning prevents this.

Three types of cleaning

1. Interim cleaning at the tap

With tap cleaning bellows you flush the tap in seconds without removing it: the bellows draw in clean water or a disinfectant solution (e.g. Bevi NeutroDes) and push it through the spout. Ideal for daily care – but it does not replace cleaning the whole line.

2. Chemical cleaning

A cleaning solution fills the entire line and dissolves the deposits. There are two types of cleaner, used alternately on a regular basis:

• alkaline (basic cleaning): against organic deposits such as hop resins, protein and biofilm,
• acidic (intensive cleaning): against beer stone and limescale.

In static cleaning the solution stays in the line for 15–20 minutes. With a cleaning device it is pumped in a circuit for about 15 minutes. Which product is suitable for what is explained in the cleaning agents overview.

3. Mechanical cleaning

Cleaning sponges are pushed through the line with water or cleaning solution and remove stubborn deposits too. Most thorough is both combined – chemical-mechanical cleaning. The right size matters:

Step by step: cleaning the line

1. Detach the keg coupler from the keg and fit it to a cleaning container or cleaning adapter. The cleaning container is connected like a beer keg – so the solution reaches the whole line up to the tap.
2. Flush the line with clean water until no more beer comes out.
3. Prepare the cleaning solution as directed on the pack and fill the line: open the tap until solution comes out, then close it.
4. Leave it for 15–20 minutes or pump it in a circuit for approx. 15 minutes with the cleaning device – ideally together with sponges.
5. Rinse thoroughly with drinking water until the rinse water is neutral again. Check this with pH indicator paper.
6. Clean the tap with the tap brush, the keg coupler and fitting with the keg cleaning brush. Treat moving parts of the tap with tap grease if necessary.

How often should you clean?

• Tap: daily interim cleaning with the bellows.
• Whole line in catering: usually weekly. For commercial dispensing systems the relevant standard is DIN 6650-6.
• Private and mobile systems (rule of thumb): after every keg and before a longer break.
• Alkaline and acidic alternately on a regular basis.

Matching products

• Cleaning agents overview
• Cleaning kits
• Chemical cleaning
• Mechanical cleaning
• Cleaning accessories
• All cleaning products