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FAQ & Troubleshooting
Common questions about draft line maintenance, beer stone, foamy pours, and what to expect when you hire us.
Line cleaning basics
Cleaning & Maintenance
Beer is an excellent food source for bacteria and wild yeast. If you wait longer than two weeks, they build a sticky biofilm inside the tubing that ruins the flavor and creates excess foam. The Brewers Association mandates it — and Pennsylvania state law requires it under 40 Pa. Code § 5.51.
A static soak just sits there. Our electric pumps push the cleaning solution through your lines fast enough to create turbulent flow — it acts like a liquid scrub brush. That's 80 times more effective than soaking, and the difference shows up in every pour.
Beer stone is a stubborn mineral buildup — calcium oxalate — from the calcium and acids in beer. It forms deposits inside your lines that standard caustic cleaners can't remove. Left unchecked, it causes massive foaming, off-tastes, and eventually permanent line damage. The quarterly acid wash is what removes it.
Yes. Bi-weekly cleaning handles organic buildup — biofilm, yeast, bacteria. Quarterly acid cleaning handles inorganic buildup — beer stone. Neither handles both. Skipping the acid wash means beer stone accumulates indefinitely until it permanently degrades your lines.
It depends on your number of taps and line lengths. Most accounts take between 45 minutes and 2 hours. We'll give you a realistic time estimate when we do the free on-site assessment.
Troubleshooting
Foam, Flavor & Pour Problems
The keg likely warmed up during transit. Even slightly warm beer foams excessively. Let it rest in your walk-in for a full 24 hours to reach the ideal 36–38°F before tapping. If the problem persists, it's usually a pressure or CO₂ balance issue — something we check during every service visit.
Beer that's too cold won't form a proper head. Glassware with detergent residue kills foam instantly. Low CO₂ pressure and dirty lines are also common causes. We diagnose all of these as part of a service visit.
Large bubbles in the head usually indicate bad pouring technique, pouring into a dry glass, or glassware that has household detergent or dust left inside. Rinse glasses with cold water before pouring and train staff to angle the glass and pour slowly at first.
Often yes. Bacteria and wild yeast buildup in dirty lines introduces sour and off-flavors that alter the taste of every pour. If the off-flavor persists across multiple kegs and brands, dirty lines are the most likely culprit. An acid wash may also be overdue if beer stone is contributing.
Beer stone and bacterial buildup inside the coupler is the most common cause. It gums up the mechanism and degrades the seals over time. Regular cleaning that includes full coupler disassembly and hand-brushing — which we do on every visit — prevents this from happening.
Still have questions?
If you don't see your question here, call us. We're happy to walk through any draft system issue over the phone — no charge, no obligation.
(267) 282-1002