Is it safe to keep kegs connected to the beer lines?

[Fremont Brewer]

Hi all,

I'm brand new to kegging. I just got my setup converted an old fridge. Ive got two batches fermenting (Jamil's Evil Twin and Nathan Smith's North Oakland IPA) and can't wait to try them! These will be my very first batches that are kegged, not bottled.

Here's my question:
I am wondering if it is safe to leave the beer line always connected to the keg? I am just a little worried about infection creeping down the faucet, through the beer line in into the beer. The poppets are wide open at that point.

I know you need to clean the beer line every so often. What do you guys do? Do you leave it always connected? Only when you use it? How worried should I be about loosing a batch this way in the keg?

Thanks

[Chupa LaHomebrew]

I think it depends on what your goals are. If you are just drinking your beer from the keg once it's on tap, everything should be just fine as long as you do a fairly regular tap line and faucet cleaning. However, if you are thinking that you might wand to bottle off some of your keg, you should be much more careful. When I'm, planning to bottle from a keg that I'm also serving from, I always sanitize my connections and always keep flow moving out of the keg. I don't leave it hooked up to the tap lines until I'm done bottling, and then it stays on.

[Stinkfist]

Mine are always connected...as long as there is carbonated beer in there....I don't hook it up till it is carbonated though...

[Kbar]

Always hooked up..........

[Fremont Brewer]

Thanks guys. Have you ever heard of anyone keg getting an infection, or are they pretty safe?

[BeerPal]

Thanks guys. Have you ever heard of anyone keg getting an infection, or are they pretty safe?

Any packaging method is safe from contamination, assuming your sanitation techniques are good.

[calpete]

Unless the bugs are already living in the beer lines or the keg/beer itself, you don't need to worry about infection. No yeast or bacteria are going to "swim" up a faucet and through a pressurized beer line from the outside air. And you're far more likely to introduce a bug by repeatedly removing and re-attaching the beer line than by leaving it connected.

Thoroughly and regularly clean and sanitize your kegs, beer lines, and faucets, and you'll be fine. I've even used the same lines for Brett and non-Brett beers without problem (so far, knock on wood). I do, however, tend to drain my kegs pretty quickly--within a month or so--which doesn't allow much time for infections and/or oxidation to become apparent for refrigerated beer.

[CRBrewHound]

always connected, when I want beer, I want it NOW!