[Bel Air Brewing]

So another question on cleaning...

How often do you clean your beer lines in your draft system? Every 4 weeks? After each keg? Every other keg?

I have had draft beer in my house since 1987. The lines get cleaned, but not frequently. Probably every two months.

How much impact do dirty lines have on beer flavor?

[EnkAMania]

I do it after every keg.

[Village Taphouse]

I think there are several conversations about this.  I think it depends on your lines.  The softer, thicker lines will absorb more than the Bevflex stuff that is thinner and harder.  I also don't think that there is one correct answer except "as often as is necessary".  But one thing I do know is that funk can be in your beer lines and make you think that your beer is contaminated or just generally wrong.  Then you may clean your lines and realize the beer is just fine.  I went for maybe six months without issue and then cleaned them twice within a month.  I have four lines running at all times and my taps are in the bar and the draft fridges are on the other side of the wall so cleaning the lines is a bit of effort.  I have an empty keg right now so this weekend sounds like a good time for it. 

[Bel Air Brewing]

I thought my beer had developed on "off" flavor, but after cleaning the lines it was fine.
BLC is what I use. Probably should clean more often, as it is suggested to clean at least every two weeks.

[kramerog]

Flavor impact depends on a lot of factors including what is growing in the line. I have had beers from horribly infected lines with lots of DMS in bars and even taprooms. At home, the infections have been subtle, just a feeling that the beer now is not as good as it was 2 weeks ago.  I usually clean lines when the keg kicks.

[Bel Air Brewing]

Flavor impact depends on a lot of factors including what is growing in the line. I have had beers from horribly infected lines with lots of DMS in bars and even taprooms. At home, the infections have been subtle, just a feeling that the beer now is not as good as it was 2 weeks ago.  I usually clean lines when the keg kicks.

In bars, I always ask if the beer I order is the first pull of the day. The bartender is advised that I would like the second pint out of the tap, not the first one. The beer that sits in the lines is not as good, for some reason.

That's why all the bartenders in Europe allow the beer to run free for a few seconds before placing the glass under the tap.

BTW...I was the winner of the Bartender Beer Pouring contest at the Heineken Brewery in Amsterdam.

[Megary]

I clean the beer line after every keg.

How often does the CO2 line need to be cleaned?  I clean mine...every now and then. 

[Bel Air Brewing]

The instructions say to recirculate the BLC through the beer lines for 15 minutes. Has anyone devised a pump to do this? Maybe an aquarium pump?

[Jimandi Brewing]

I clean my lines once a month whether they need it or not (ha ha!) and I totally agree that the best advice is "when they need it". Don't forget to periodically disassemble and thoroughly clean your taps. I gave the lines a good 15 minutes of recirculating line cleaner only to discover an extraordinary amount of black gunk in the taps which the cleaner missed even though I occasionally worked the taps on and off while the cleaner flowed.

[majorvices]

The instructions say to recirculate the BLC through the beer lines for 15 minutes. Has anyone devised a pump to do this? Maybe an aquarium pump?

No and the set up to do it is really expensive. Just letting the soak has always worked well for me.

[Cliffs]

The instructions say to recirculate the BLC through the beer lines for 15 minutes. Has anyone devised a pump to do this? Maybe an aquarium pump?

I fill a keg with blc and use a few psi to slowly push it through into a bucket under the tap.

[Bel Air Brewing]

Ordered a nice aquarium pump from Amazon. $40.
It was recommended on another brew site.

[trapae]

I clean the lines after every keg. I also push Cleaner through with A 2.5 gallon keg with CO2.

[Brent]

Every three to four months. But I flush with hot water a keg changeover.

[erockrph]

If I have to clean the keg that I'm replacing, I might as well clean the lines too. I typically fill my keg with hot PBW, run about a quart through the line, let them both sit for an hour, then flush again. Then water, then Star San. Every 2nd or 3rd time I change a keg I will use BLC instead of PBW. This works for me because I don't typically have "extra" kegs that are full and waiting for a spot in my kegerator. When a new beer is ready to keg, I usually take the keg that's closest to empty in my kegerator and empty/clean/purge it right when I keg my new batch. I guess I need to drink more