Interior keg wall (keggle conversion ?)?

Northern Brewer General
1

'ello

Came in possession of a 15gal keg recently which i converted to a brew pot. i think its an old summit keg.

the question i have is about the coating that appears to be on the inside walls of the keg.

rather than finding a perfectly smooth SS interior wall when i cut it open, there’s a “rough” surface - similar to a fine grade sandpaper. and it appears that if i really scratch into it i can get it to come off, revealing a perfectly smooth surface below.

anyone know what it is? do you need to sand/buff it out or can you brew with it as is?

any wisdom would be appreciated it.

Thanks!

2

What happens if you roast it with a blowtorch?

3

if i had one i would try that…
boiled water in it already and it holds up. takes a DEEP scrubbing to get it come up.

i should say the keg had some old beer in it so the beer was in direct contact with the sides of the keg. i guess i just expected a smooth interior wall. what have other people found when cutting open their kegs?

4

Just a shot in the dark, but maybe it’s beer stone. Try removing it with some distilled vinegar.

5

I would try soaking it for a couple days in PBW then a scrubbing with a white nylon scrubbie (non-scratch). That will get it clean and if the stuff doesn’t come off after that, I would consider a longer second soak and repeat :cheers: .

6

thanks for the input! did some digging and it seems like beer stone might be the answer. going to give it a long, thorough PBW soak and go from there. will post results.

7

When I acquired a keg to convert, I had the very same thing. I brewed several batches before I discovered PBW. As near as I can tell, it had no effect on my beer. When I did discover PBW, that did the trick. Make sure you use hot water and don’t hold back on the PBW.