New to kegging - Having flavor issues

I think it is correct

 

Maybe you can take a short piece of new hose and add a cheap beer tap to take a sample shot , it will be very foamy but you`ll be able to determine if the off-flavor comes from the tube system or is in fact the beer the culprit.

 

Currently I am using the Bev-Seal Ultra tubing with my Perlick 650ss faucets. As mentioned, I get some off-flavors for the beer that sits in the line... So I always purge a very small amount before pouring a glass. This is the third tubing I have used, all of which give me similar type of flavors. I think I am just very sensitive to the oxidization or whatever occurs in the tubing.

That being said, my line lengths are 1ft or less thanks to my flow control faucets. So I purge maybe 1oz (if that) if beer sat in the line more than a few hours. Once that stale beer is out, it's perfect. No issues at all with off flavors.

 

I always dump an ounce before pouring a draft. Sucks but beer in the line is bad even inside my kegerator. Also why is using regular vinyl tubing for gas a bad idea I've never had a problem

 

I can safely say with the experience of literally 1,000+ feet of bev tubing installed in the field that you are the first and only person I have heard of or dealt with who is having taste difficulties attributed to the tubing. We have dozens of accounts. Tubing issues are unheard of.

Given that you are dispensing homebrew I am very confident that your problems are entirely brewhouse related. Modern beverage line is remarkable stuff. It works for everyone else. Honest.
Cheers.

 

@billandsuz

Read again... It's just the "staleness" that comes from the beer sitting in the line for a day or two. Once that ounce or whatever is poured off, it's perfectly fine. No off flavors.

Your accounts pour gallons daily per line... Far different from me that may pour a 5oz pour on Monday and not touch that tap again until the weekend. That beer that sits in the line for days tastes far different than the beer coming out of the keg once I purge that line off.

 

Nope.
Beverage line is an extension of the keg system. The only thing that might be causing stale beer in your line is a temperature issue, and that can be addressed separately. But if you don't have foamy first pours, rule that out. It is not caused by the line. You may have beer problems, but I am confident my experience with hundreds of systems using bev line is enough to state categorically the problem for you ain't related to the barrier tube. Sounds arrogant but true.

Beverage line is beer inert. Period. It has nothing to do with the frequency of pours. Believe me on this, it is something I have studied, something I need to know and have first hand experience with. It has nothing to do with how long the beer sits in the line. I am telling you, your problem lies elsewhere. Modern bev line is the virtual equivalent of glass. It is called barrier for a reason *.

You are the only person that has problems with barrier tubing causing taste problems I can guarantee this as a fact. You are the only person that has problems with barrier tubing causing off flavor. Ignore this nugget of information as much as you like, I am not trying to be stubborn or prove a point.
Cheers.

*the state of the art tubing, been around for the last 3 or 4 years, matches glass perhaps 90%. But flexible.

 

I appreciate the info.

No foamy first pours, I also have a fan recirculating air within the chest freezer to equalize temp. Not sure what would cause the off flavor then... Perhaps reducing the differential temp control? Right now it's set point +2F before it kicks on again to cool.

Using the John Guest fittings. Clean and sanitize my lines/shank/faucet with BLC and Starsan.

Any ideas? Same result on all four taps with four different beers.

 

Unfortunately, flavor issues from homebrew can be from a lot of things.
Do you drain hot wort in any plastic lines? Hot liquid and plastic anywhere in the chain will cause issues.

 

Nope, use the high temp stuff for everything. No plastic lines.

Also, FWIW... Commercial beers I put on tap the same thing. Not just homebrew.

And wouldn't "contamination" of lines or poor handling alter all the beer, not just what sits directly in the line for long periods of time? I mean, absolutely no off flavors beyond that first half ounce or so. Even if I let the beer sit and warm up, doesn't matter the temp. My beer tastes great, as long as I purge that few day old beer out of the line!

 

I haven't had any plastic or stale flavor issues using cheap food grade PVC tubing (designed for beer) with an 8 foot line. However, I will give this PVC free barrier tubing a try next time and have no doubt it will make my homebrew even more amazing!

https://www.morebeer.com/products/ultra-barrier-pvc-free-beer-tubing-316-id-foot.html

70% less permeable than regular PVC tubing

https://d2jug8yyubo3yl.cloudfront.n...745D/b81c76bd-aadd-46e8-909c-bc4d1db7d2b2.pdf

Not going with the antimicrobial version since I replace my lines once a year and haven't had problems with contaminated lines.

 

So this batch was made with a new conical for the first time and put in a new keg for the first time. How well did you clean each?
I wouldn't just soak new things, I'd do a bit of scrubbing too, and I would do it a few times.

 

I'm not sure what to tell you. The beer tasted good all the way up until it came out of the tap the 2nd time.. And now it's getting worse with the chemical taste?
Do you know what was in your keg before you got it? What did the inside look like?
Are you sure you got all the pbw and starsan out before you transferred?

Maybe your beer is just bad.

Or, if you have been letting this keg settle this whole time(no moving around), make sure that all the crap that's dropped to the bottom is flushed out until the beer clears up. Hopefully it clears up and tastes better. I know the first few times I kegged, I got more sediment in the keg than I should have.

 

I am using a keg from a friend that hadn't used it in years. When I got the keg, it was closed and pressured with nothing in it. I mean, I released the pressure and opened it for the first time in years. No liquid was in it.
Anyway, my first batch of beer is now gone, but the last few glasses and some of the earlier had a metallic taste and minor metallic scent.
I cleaned the keg last night and when I put my nose in the keg, I get the metallic scent very strong. I've let PBW sit in the keg overnight, and still smell metal.

I was planning on putting my next beer in the keg today, but I'm worried that I'll waste a batch by doing so.

Has anyone experienced this? Is there a coating on the inside of the kegs that can wear off or something?

I'd love to buy a new keg, but my wife would not love that, so we'll see where that goes.

 

It is possible, I am not sure though, the keg has been sanitized using bleach , rest of this bleach could have been there for a long time until evaporated. Bleach reacts with metal producing corrosion, maybe this is the smell you sniff and taste in your beer.