Beginner - 1st home brew kit

[armadillo]

Hi,

I recently bought a Home Brew Beer Kit from Wilkonsons (Fermentation barrel, siphon tubing+clip, hydrometer, 5gal pressurised keg and a tin of beer sugar which unforunately didn't have a label on - does anyone know what brand this may be?).

2 days after transferring the beer to the keg, I noticed a slight leak from the keg's tap (more of a sticky consitency rather than watery). I've since put the keg in the garage to condition for 2 weeks. Do you think the beer will be drinkable?

[BazC]

A lot of brewing ingredients and equipment sold in Wilkos is Youngs so that would be my guess for the make.

I wouldn't worry too much about a tiny leak like that your beer should be fine, try tightening the tap by hand, you may be able to stop the leak completely. For the next brew try a little vaseline on the washer for the tap and cap - that should help the seal.

[colingo]

Hi, i had a similar problem with my keg the first time i used it. I managed to get another turn out of the tap and that sealed it. If yours is just a weep i would leave alone and sort it out when the kegs empty.

[BaronOfBeer]

It doesn't sound like the end of the world. My leak in one of these barrels happened as it pressurised so no air was being drawn in, which is what degrades beer.

If it keeps happening, replace the tap or watch out for barrels on Freecycle or similar - then you don't have to buy another one.

Hope this helps!

[Klaus]

Was doing some minor plumbing at the weekend and used PTFE tape round the threads of tap connectors, to aid sealing. Maybe, once your keg is empty, unscrew the tap and wrap a layer of PTFE tape and then fit back, should do the trick. A roll of the stuff is cheap from most DIY stores, or plumbers merchants.

[armadillo]

Thanks for the tips. I am already eager on making my next batch - I'll make sure to use PTFE tape or Vaseline this time around. I am considering bottling my next brew in Grolsch style swing top bottles. Is it just me or does buying empties from various home brew websites seem fairly expensive? Does anyone know of somewhere I can get cheap but good quality swing top bottles? I am tempted to just buy swing top bottled beer from supermarkets, but so far have been unable to find any stock anywhere. At least this way I get the bottles and get to sample some beer all in one go!

[Klaus]

Shipping empty bottles in small lots is quite expensive, never mind the actual cost of the bottle. I think swing-tops in supermarkets are fairly rare these days. I seem to remember a French lager called Fischer which was sold in swing-tops but I haven't seen that one for years. I have a case of 16 swing-top bottles from Germany which have lasted me for 10 years now, even the rubber seals are still good. Personal import!
Sorry can't be more helpful.

[math]

I believe Ikea sell swing top bottles. Not sure if they're meant for homebrew, but a mate of mine uses them and hasn't had any trouble.

[Mo06]

"I seem to remember a French lager called Fischer which was sold in swing-tops but I haven't seen that one for years."

Hi, I am using Fischer bottles:



They are 650ml so a little bit bigger than a pint.

I by them full here in France & empty them...

They seem pretty robust.

Also these people do bottles:

http://www.brouwland.com

Not sure on the shipping charges.

[Tramorak]

Asda does Grolsch and they frequently come up in their 3 for £5 deal. I keep thinking I should buy some but 2 things stop me.

The bottles are only 450ml and I really don't like Grolsch, although I would drink it if there was nowt else. I would definitely go this route rather than paying for empties.

T.

[Mo06]

"Asda does Grolsch and they frequently come up in their 3 for £5 deal."

My local 'Carrefour' supermarche is doing 3 x 650ml Fischer for €2.70 at the moment. Not bad for less that an Euro a throw.

Problem is, the bottle cannot be poured into a 500ml 'pint' glass in one go...

[Tramorak]

"Asda does Grolsch and they frequently come up in their 3 for £5 deal."

My local 'Carrefour' supermarche is doing 3 x 650ml Fischer for €2.70 at the moment. Not bad for less that an Euro a throw.

Problem is, the bottle cannot be poured into a 500ml 'pint' glass in one go...

That is a lovely problem to have. I am sure if that was my "problem" I would find a bigger glass. (Or a Jug).

T.