How do you clean and sterilize a beer ke to use for a still?

[ly44889]

Making a still out of a beer keg and want to make sure its clean and sterilized. Any advice on what i should use that won't effect the mash?

[cede]

Clean it with pbw or any good soap.
Sterilize ? You are going to boil for hours !
I do not see the need of any sterilization.

[rgreen2002]

Clean it with pbw or any good soap.
Sterilize ? You are going to boil for hours !
I do not see the need of any sterilization.

+1

Some will put things inside the keg with water/soap and rattle them around if you have solid materials (for some ungodly reason) stuck to the keg. Think nuts/bolts or a length of chain. You will be boiling water/vinegar/alcohol in is so the cleaning and sacrifice runs will be sufficient

Since you are in the building phase, this is also a good time to advertise for a cleaning port on your keg still as well...

[cede]

Some put a chain scrubber into the boiler an shake vigorously to remove solid stuck particles. Never had to do that with the soap I use.

[heynonny]

If the keg has never been opened, (removed valve spear etc) all you need to do is rinse. If it was opened when you got it, then I'd use soap etc, who knows, some jerk mighta pissed in it! Your 1st sacrifical run would take care of this.

[ly44889]

Thanks everyone. A cleaning port is a good idea. I've had the keg for a while and it has sat empty for a few years. I recently took it apart.

[pfshine]

I have found that the hole already in it is fine if you have a pressure washer or a rag on a dowel in a drill. I stopped trying to reach in through the 4" triclamp when I figured if I pushed my forearm in any further I wouldn't get it back.

[cede]

I stopped trying to reach in through the 4" triclamp when I figured if I pushed my forearm in any further I wouldn't get it back.

I just tried with a ferrule, and almost got caught too !