Kegged beer has detergent aftertaste

Hi gang -

I’m rather new to kegging, and I have a problem that has me scratching my head. The first beer I put into a keg (A chocolate/cherry stout) turned out great and went fast. Afterwards, I cleaned it out with some PBW (used 1.5 tbsp per gallon) and hot water, then rinsed it out with equally hot water, let it dry.

The next batch I put into the keg was an IPA, which I noticed had an unwelcome hint of detergent flavor in it. I figured maybe I didn’t rinse it out enough, so the next two times I needed to put beer in kegs, last Friday, I used the same ratio of 1.5 tbsp PBW/gallon of hot water, let it soak for a half hour, and then I really rinsed the crap out of those kegs, then let them sit upside down for an hour or two, then sanitized with some EZ clean, then filled them with a pale and a cream ale respectively, turned on the CO2 and went to bed.

Tried them out today, and again, there is that detergent aftertaste in the beer, both batches. GRR! Has anybody run into this problem? Am I doing anything wrong? People seem to swear by this PBW stuff, should I be using something else to clean my kegs? Could there be something else lending this off flavor to my beer?

Any sage advise would be most appreciated!

Easy clean is a… cleaner. Although they may bill is as a sanitizer. It is almost identical to PBW.

Are you cleaning and pushing rinse water through the dip tubes?

Did you rinse the EZ Clean like you did the PBW? As Nighthawk says, it is a cleaner. You should use StarSan or something similar for sanitation.

[quote=“Nighthawk”]Easy clean is a… cleaner. Although they may bill is as a sanitizer. It is almost identical to PBW.

Are you cleaning and pushing rinse water through the dip tubes?[/quote]

+1. I rinse SEVERAL times with hot water after washing the kegs, and then fill & rinse with starsan. Also make sure you’re adequately washing & rinsing your dip tubes as well as your dispensing hardware & tubing.

Easy clean also sanitizers…what d’yaknow. A product that serves more functions than its intended purpose.

I’d check your serving lines and diptubes also but I’ve noticed a similar solventy taste as you describe in bottled beer. I’d suspect green beer or possibly poor handling during transfer (autosiphon?).

your using way to much PBW, they directions tell you to use way to much, also you need to rinse with hotter water than you are soaking.
EZ clean is NOT a sanitizer, just go get some star san or iodophor

Thanks for the as always awesome advice, guys. Moving forward, I think I might switch to EZ Clean for the cleaning part, rinse it multiple times, then sanitize with starsan.

You guys rock!

FYI, Easy Clean is no where as near an awesome cleaner as PBW.

[quote=“grainbelt”]your using way to much PBW, they directions tell you to use way to much, also you need to rinse with hotter water than you are soaking.
EZ clean is NOT a sanitizer, just go get some star san or iodophor[/quote]
You are correct, it’s not a sanitizer, but it does sanitize. :roll:

[quote=“mvsawyer”][quote=“grainbelt”]your using way to much PBW, they directions tell you to use way to much, also you need to rinse with hotter water than you are soaking.
EZ clean is NOT a sanitizer, just go get some star san or iodophor[/quote]
You are correct, it’s not a sanitizer, but it does sanitize. :roll: [/quote]

nope

[quote=“JacquesC”]Thanks for the as always awesome advice, guys. Moving forward, I think I might switch to EZ Clean for the cleaning part, rinse it multiple times, then sanitize with starsan.[/quote]Use PBW at one tablespoon per keg, two if it’s cruddy, and be sure to run a brush through the diptube. Rinse, then sanitize with StarSan, then run the StarSan out through the beer side to make sure you thoroughly clean that diptube (StarSan is acidic, PBW is a base).

“Soapy” can often be traced to high pH in the finished beer - have you checked the pH?

[quote=“grainbelt”][quote=“mvsawyer”][quote=“grainbelt”]your using way to much PBW, they directions tell you to use way to much, also you need to rinse with hotter water than you are soaking.
EZ clean is NOT a sanitizer, just go get some star san or iodophor[/quote]
You are correct, it’s not a sanitizer, but it does sanitize. :roll: [/quote]

nope[/quote]

Google to the rescue:

It depends on how you define “sanitize”. In the USA, it’s a legally defined term: to be sold as a sanitizer, an agent needs to be able to kill 99.999% of germs in 30 seconds of contact time. EZ Clean kills germs, so it is a sanitizer of sorts. But it falls short of five nines, so it can’t be labeled as one.

[quote=“bunderbunder”]

Google to the rescue:

It depends on how you define “sanitize”. In the USA, it’s a legally defined term: to be sold as a sanitizer, an agent needs to be able to kill 99.999% of germs in 30 seconds of contact time. EZ Clean kills germs, so it is a sanitizer of sorts. But it falls short of five nines, so it can’t be labeled as one.[/quote]

Awesome. Finally, a definitive answer on that for the “is EZ Clean a Sanitizer” question! :cheers:

[quote=“bunderbunder”]
Google to the rescue:

It depends on how you define “sanitize”. In the USA, it’s a legally defined term: to be sold as a sanitizer, an agent needs to be able to kill 99.999% of germs in 30 seconds of contact time. EZ Clean kills germs, so it is a sanitizer of sorts. But it falls short of five nines, so it can’t be labeled as one.[/quote]

Can you provide a link to this?

In the podcast with Charlie Tallie on March 29, 2007, he mentions that the EPA standard is a 2 minute test. He states that you only need 30 seconds with his product, or bleach/water/vinegar. But the label is marked 2 minutes because he is required to put what the test standard is. It’s at the 39 minute mark.

http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?p ... radio-2007

[quote=“Silentknyght”][quote=“bunderbunder”]

Google to the rescue:

It depends on how you define “sanitize”. In the USA, it’s a legally defined term: to be sold as a sanitizer, an agent needs to be able to kill 99.999% of germs in 30 seconds of contact time. EZ Clean kills germs, so it is a sanitizer of sorts. But it falls short of five nines, so it can’t be labeled as one.[/quote]

Awesome. Finally, a definitive answer on that for the “is EZ Clean a Sanitizer” question! :cheers: [/quote]

definitive answer? nope… listen to the podcast posted below and any other one with the fivestar on any of the other brewing podcasts