Cleaning and sanitizing kegs

[LoganO]

I just cleaned and sanitized 6 kegs and pushed a full keg of starsan from keg to keg. Since the are sanitized and purged with c02 are they OK to be stored and fill when needed? I might not need to fill some of them for a few months is there any need to sanitize them again before filling them?

[bambrew]

I don't usually sanitize until right before I put the beer in. If it's a few months I would definitely sanitize again just to be safe. As long as the keg was cleaned thoroughly, it should store fine without having to worry about anything growing in it.

[LoganO]

That sounds good I was getting tired of cleaning them every time I needed one and figured it would save some time. I figured with them being clean and purged with co2 and having the starsan pushed out they should be good.

[Bugeater]

This is exactly the routine I use for my kegs. Just did it today on 4 kegs. I don't worry about resanitizing them after they have been sitting for a couple months. Since I store them pressurized, nothing is going to get in. If the pressure is gone when I go to fill it, I will then check my gaskets and resanitized. If it is still holding pressure, I go ahead and fill.

Now that I think about it, that isn't quite accurate. I do keep one keg full of star san all the time. Generally when I fill a keg I push that star san into a previously sanitized keg and and fill the one in which the star san was just in. As such I do sanitize just before filling most of the time. If my keg of star san is pretty low, then I will go ahead as in the first paragraph.

Wayne

[ajdelange]

I clean them and cap them (with a red cap indicating they have been cleaned and are ready to fill) but just wouldn't feel secure unless I sterilized (actually, sanitize is more accurate) them just before I filled them which is what I do.

[ApresSkiBrewer]

+1 on storing them pressurized... its good to know that your keg can hold pressure before you get your beer in, and realize it doesn't. Also, aside from keeping out air, the anaerobic environment is a rough environment for some (but def. not all) of the beer spoiling bact. we are worried about in the first place.

If it's within 4-6 weeks, I usually don't worry about re-sanitizing the keg before filling (obv. if it maintained pressure).

[TheMadHopper]

I've heard lots of talk about the procedure of transfering Star San from keg to keg. I just don't understand how it could possibly be effective. Once the solution comes into the keg, it will fill to the point that it reaches the dip tube. It then would go straight out the dip tube, never reaching higher than an inch from the bottom of the keg. Seems like a great way to sanitize the tubing and other works in the keg, but what about the rest of the cylinder? Am I misunderstanding the procedure here?

[Bugeater]

I've heard lots of talk about the procedure of transfering Star San from keg to keg. I just don't understand how it could possibly be effective. Once the solution comes into the keg, it will fill to the point that it reaches the dip tube. It then would go straight out the dip tube, never reaching higher than an inch from the bottom of the keg. Seems like a great way to sanitize the tubing and other works in the keg, but what about the rest of the cylinder? Am I misunderstanding the procedure here?

The missing parts are simple. You invert the keg once or twice to wet the entire inside. Also during the transfer the Star San foams up and foam will come through the open pressure relief valve, sanitizing that as well.

Wayne