I have noticed that one of the most frequently asked questions by new and old brewers is, is my beer done fermenting? Well, there are a few ways to answer that; varying from pitching more yeast to be sure, comparing the expected attenuation from the yeast manufacturer with the actual attenuation, or moving the beer to a warmer spot. I have never been a huge fan of any of these options because of loss of flavor from overpitching or the creation of esters from warming the whole batch.

The fast or forced fermentation test is a way to circumvent that process to analytically determine what you final gravity should be. The way that I like to go about this is to create a starter that is slightly larger than is needed, and to save about 8oz or so of unfermented wort. I then take a hydrometer reading (or brix), aerate, and then use the extra yeast to overpitch this small batch, and allow it to ferment in a slightly warmer area. You can also aerate this small batch throughout its fermentation because there is no worry about oxidation. After a few days the fermentation will be done and you can take a final gravity reading. This final gravity reading is what you would expect out of your larger batch based the yeast strain, particular batch, and optimal conditions for your yeast.
As a side note, you can also use a variation of this after fermentation has seemingly ended, but you are unsure if it is fully attenuated. All you need to do is take an aseptic sample from you wort, large enough for a hydrometer reading, and place it into a santized beer bottle with an airlock. I then place that sample (which was likely aerated from the transfer) in a warmer area and then check its reading about two days later. By doing this, you can tell whether your brew is finished fermenting.

P.S. This method is also useful in finding the expected attenuation of harvested yeast strains.

Most of what you read or hear says to clean out your keg lines every 2 weeks. I know most restaurants are required to do this, (whether they do or not I can’t say), but that is the recommendation.

Now I feel that at the homebrew / homebar level that is probably overkill, and a way that the manufacturers of cleaning products can scare you into using more product (strictly opinion here). That being said, waiting a year to clean out your keg lines may be on the opposite end of the extreme timetable, if this is you, get them cleaned!

Much like anything else (for me that is) when it comes down to cleaning periodically, procrastination is very easy to set in, and the mentality of “I’ll get it done next opportunity” seems quite relavent.

Now this method is not a replacement for a necessary deep clean that a system may need every now and again with caustics or hard cleaners, but is a very easy way to keep your stuff up to snuff.

 First your liquid lines will require being attached to the quick disconnects by using a barbed swivel nut at the end of each line  http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=4533 this will allow you to exchange quick disconnects. The second thing you will need is a carboantor cap    http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=4537 

This is the assembly process:

1. Disconnect liquid line from keg, then open faucet to remove any pressure from the line.

2. Spin off the liquid quick disconnect (black if ball lock) and spin on a ball lock gas quick disconnect (grey).

3. Fill a 2 liter soda bottle with cleaner of your choice- BLC, PBW, bleach solution, etc

4. Fill another 2 liter bottle with hot water.

5. Screw the carbonator cap to the top of the bottle with the cleaner

6. Attach the quick disconnect to the carbonator cap.

7. With the faucet forward and open, squeeze the bottle to force the cleaner through the line and out of the faucet into a waiting catch basin.

8. Unscrew the cap from the cleaning bottle and reattach to the rinse bottle.

9. Sqeeze the rinse water through the line and out of the faucet into a catch basin.

10. Reattach the liquid QD to the line, reconnect the keg, dump off the first pint or so.

Again, I am not recommending that a thorough routine clean should not be performed, however for those of us who procrastinate but are looking for some peace of mind, this is a cheap, quick way to blast your lines out periodically.