kegs in series question

[tracey]

I am getting mixed messages on the "hygiene" aspect of running kegs in series. Are there any state laws or issues with running beer through a line and into the next keg, etc? Does it contaminate the other kegs?

[Scott Zuhse]

There are no laws against kegs in series. The issue with this set up occurs when the series system is not emptied for some time. Since the partial keg at the faucet location has to be moved back to the gas keg location when serviced, this beer in the partial will go right back through the system. If this continues week after week, you could imagine how the beer will taste over time.

The series system should be emptied weekly. Always have a back up keg available. When the series empties, simply uncouple the faucet keg and couple the back up. You will be back in business. Once the entire series requires servicing, the fresh partial (back up) at the faucet keg location can then be moved to the gas location and then a new fresh back up is made available for the next time the series empties.

[tracey]

Okay. Have received the ATP meter and swabs. Is there any data on standard thresholds? I have spent hours on the web looking. I have found some European studies but they refer more to brewers than dispensers and are not current data. I really want to assure the hygiene of the beer and would like to check data before and after cleaning as well. Tracey

[Scott Zuhse]

Different type beers will give you different RLU readings. Best practice might be to record numbers with the brand from a system you know is clean. Use these numbers as a base line. Clean water normally should not exceed 300 RLUs. I'll get back to you with more info.

[tracey]

http://www.hygiena.net/docs/atp_myths.pdf

On page three (at the above link on ATP) it mentions that I would get different readings from different manufacturers of device and/or swab. Good to know!!! Here is what I think I need to do. When setting thresholds, I need to always use the same brand of swabs from you for consistency. From that, I will log all readings based on type of beer pre- and post-cleaning, and make every attempt to do these tests at exactly the 2 week mark. Once the thresholds are identified over a few months, I should be good to go and can load pass/fail data into the meter. Unless you have found someone who has already tracked this info??? That would save me a bunch of work And then I found out that the line material, age and age of o-rings/gaskets also makes a difference in regards to the biofilm supporting the microbial growth. I thought line cleaning would be easy.... I am not a scientist!