Youngs Microbrewery - Not Airtight - Please advise!!

[djcslip]

Hello!

Very new to home brewing (1 week to be exact!) so PLEASE, be gentle

I have a Youngs microbrewery.

I have installed everything, and begun the beer making process, however, i noticed a slight leak from the tap seal.

I have tried to seal it up - but am unable to do so because of the pressure in the keg.

What i would like to know is, can i leave the beer to complete the process with the little leak, or is it ruined? Should i cut my losses and try again?

Any help would be very much appreciated....

[Frothy]

Not to worry everybody panics because us lot overcomplicate everything so much - there's little to go wrong with a kit. This is one of those kits that you ferment & dispense the beer all from one pressure keg right? If so I'd hearily recommend investing in one of these -> or a 20L bucket with an added airlock & tap for fermenting & just use the pressure barrel for drinking from.



Rule of thumb with the system you've got is if you need to muck about with it- it's best to do it whilst the beer is still rapidly fermenting - i.e. within 3 days of having added the yeast. This way the active yeast protect the beer from much contamination & will continue to generate some CO2 to repressurise your keg. Definately recommend getting an artificial carbonation system if you havent already because it's a lot less hastle when you start drinking.


Daab you beat me to it
Frothy

[djcslip]

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did as you said, and no leaks - woohoo!!

I'm off to Holland for a week with work, and was dreading coming back to find my beer ruined!


Thanks for the advice, no doubt i'll be posting again soon!

[SteveD]

Beer must be transfered from the bucket to the keg via a raking can and siphon tubing

Raking can? Naughty Daab! Don't confuse the poor man. He'll be wandering around the garden centre searching for one and getting funny looks.

What Daab the Wise means is 'racking cane' which is a rigid straight tube of plastic or stainless steel which fits onto the end of a length of siphon tubing and is designed to enable you to siphon off the beer easily while leaving the sediment behind. It makes siphoning 100% easier than trying to do it with tubing alone.

However, better still, go the 'bucket with a tap near the bottom' route as explained by Daab.

[djcslip]

Hey Guys...

Need some advice (surprise!!!)

I'm making my first brew from a kit, (all concentrate and stuff)

Instructions say to leave for 2 weeks with heater belt on - then cool down for a week to allow to clear.

Jumping the gun a bit, i drained a little beer off (belt due to come off tomorrow) and it tastes like, um, something not very nice!!

Should i leave the heat belt on for another week - or should i assume that the beer is spoiled because of my earlier problems?

thanks for any help!

[djcslip]

more of a solvent taste.

The reason for the belt is that the brew is in the garage (no room in the house!)

Is there an alternative that will regulate the temperature better?

[djcslip]

Nice one - Think i'll give it another week or two before i call it a wasted effort!

BTW,

you normally notice the fastest replies/ best advice comes from people when they are passionate about the subject.....

Judging by the speed of replies here - you guys are real dedicated to beer....