The short answer is every 14 days — plus an acid cleaning every few months. Here is what each cleaning does, and what happens when it is skipped.

Beer is food. Every glass leaves behind a thin film of yeast, proteins and sugars inside the lines, and given time that film becomes a home for bacteria, mold and mineral deposits. Clean lines are the difference between the beer the brewer made and the beer your customer tastes.

Every 14 days: alkaline cleaning

The Brewers Association’s Draught Beer Quality Manual recommends cleaning draft lines at least every two weeks with a caustic (alkaline) line-cleaning solution. A proper cleaning circulates or holds the solution in the lines at the right strength and temperature for long enough to break down organic buildup, then rinses until no chemical remains.

Faucets and couplers are part of the job. Both are taken apart, cleaned and inspected, because that is where buildup is most visible — and where worn seals start to leak.

Every three months: acid cleaning

Alkaline cleaning does not remove mineral deposits. Over time calcium oxalate — beer stone — collects in lines and equipment, giving bacteria a place to hide. The Brewers Association suggests a periodic acid cleaning, commonly quarterly, to keep it from building up.

What skipping a cleaning costs

  • Off-flavors that customers notice before you do
  • Foamy, inconsistent pours and product poured down the drain
  • Shorter life for faucets, couplers and beverage tubing
  • Problems that are harder (and costlier) to fix once they set in

Keep it on a schedule

The cleaning interval only works if it actually happens every time. A scheduled program with documentation for each visit takes the guesswork out — especially for operators with more than one location.