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Keg Cleaning: nitric instead of caustic

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  • Keg Cleaning: nitric instead of caustic

    Howdy folks,

    Here's a question. I stepped out of the brewery for a few days and when I came back was notified that all kegs had been cleaned on the keg washer with a heavy duty non foaming nitric acid descaler instead of the usual hot caustic. (the newbie was really anxious to clean i guess) Is this OK? I want to go ahead and run them through a caustic cycle just to be sure.

    Cheers,

    Conan

  • #2
    Check inside

    Open a few up and see if they got clean. Some brewers run both caustic and nitric/phos. Some alternate, and some use nitric/phos/x puma (birko chemical) see the article in "new brewer" or their presentation for MBAA. I think birko should send me some free xpuma the way I keep giving them shout outs!

    So if they are clean inside after inspection then...well they are clean right? You could go all out and do a swab test and see if the pass culture counts too.

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    • #3
      Your newbie likely did a better job removing accumulated beer stone than all the previous washes. Give him/her a raise!

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      • #4
        I'm with Moonlight. Your employee did what you might want to do on a regular basis. Hot caustic seems to bake on the brown beerstone. I use acid once every two or three keg washings to be sure that beerstone is removed. Five-Star acid #5 or #6. It's common practice to mix up your cleaning techniques. Good luck!
        Phillip Kelm--Palau Brewing Company Manager--

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        • #5
          JoeV (or anyone) -- what issue of the New Brewer was that in? I'd like to read about it, as we're facing similar problems. Some of our older keg spears look like a big piece of chalk.

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          • #6
            July/August 2008. We recently switched to this method, seems to be working great and we aren't mixing up a new batch of caustic in the kegwasher every week, just checking the solution for strength and clarity, topping off if necc. Also using it in the brites under pressure, breaking down for a caustic wash and purge every 3-5 cycles.
            Paul Thomas
            Brewer
            Sockeye Brewing
            www.sockeyebrew.com

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            • #7
              Woudn't acid washing be effective as long as it's a bright beer all of the time? I can see if there's a lot of organic solids that needs to be scrubbed that you'd want to use caustic, but as far as filtered beer residue, isn't phosphoric a-ok? Someone correct me if I'm off base.

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              • #8
                I just switched to Nitric/X-Puma as well after talking to Dana at Birko for a bit. I've had better luck with his products than anything else and if you do have issues he is more than willing to talk you through the problem and help you redesign your chemical regiment if needed.

                I always run my kegs through acid rinse and then Cell-R-Mastr every other cleaning.
                BJ Knoke
                Hub City Brewing Company
                "The Largest Microbrewery In Stanley, Iowa"

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                • #9
                  Thanks for the replies folks! Hope the newbie isn't reading this - January is not exactly the best month when looking for a raise.....

                  Conan

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