coopers home brew trouble 2

hi all posted my first message yesterday and got some really good tips and help ,in my first message i wrote about me being a fist time brewer and the the problems i ran into with my coopers micro brewery and real ale kit ,,i had an air leak and my airlock wasnt bubbling ,but my brew was still fermenting ,i also stupidly dropped some water from my airlock into my brew when i took my first hydrometer reading ,i was also worried about my brews fermentation as it looked as if the foam on top of my brew had dropped to almost nothing and the hydromeater reading looked as if it stopped at 1020 on day 9,but as i said i got some help and all should be ok ,,my only question now is, i was told in one of my replies that i should keep my brew sitting for at least 3 weeks ,,can i do this with an air leak ,??? i have also keep checking my hydrometer reading and it seems to be dropping slowly but i have been checking the smell and taste ,,the smell is really nice but the taste is quite bitter ,,,so will the bitter taste go away if i leave the brew sitting for the 3 weeks ?????? any help on this would be really appreciated ,,thanksa lot people .....peace out

hi all posted my first message yesterday and got some really good tips and help ,in my first message i wrote about me being a fist time brewer and the the problems i ran into with my coopers micro brewery and real ale kit ,,i had an air leak and my airlock wasnt bubbling ,but my brew was still fermenting ,i also stupidly dropped some water from my airlock into my brew when i took my first hydrometer reading ,i was also worried about my brews fermentation as it looked as if the foam on top of my brew had dropped to almost nothing and the hydromeater reading looked as if it stopped at 1020 on day 9,but as i said i got some help and all should be ok ,,my only question now is, i was told in one of my replies that i should keep my brew sitting for at least 3 weeks ,,can i do this with an air leak ,??? i have also keep checking my hydrometer reading and it seems to be dropping slowly but i have been checking the smell and taste ,,the smell is really nice but the taste is quite bitter ,,,so will the bitter taste go away if i leave the brew sitting for the 3 weeks ?????? any help on this would be really appreciated ,,thanksa lot people .....peace out

Your brew should be fine with the air leak, but best to try to fix it.. Do you have access to another airlock you can swap the leaky one out with? Also, three weeks is just fine and yes, your brew should mellow out..I can't tell you how many times I have tasted from the primary and went "yuck" only to bottle and end up with great beer.. As the yeast ferment, they are still giving off compounds that are not pleasant tasting.. No worries.

First things first: RELAX.
Everything you are concerned about will work itself out in the 3 weeks or so plus a little time in the bottle.
The beer has been producing CO2 and that has pushed the oxygen out of the carboy. If you can brimg yourself to quit molesting it, everything will be fine
1.020 is not uncommon for extract. If you are that low now, the fermentation will be done in 3 weks, there really isn't any reason to keep checking.

thanks for your help mate ,,good man ,,peace out

thanks man ,,,i had a look through the lid of the fermenter and there doesnt seem to be any foam left on the top of my ale ,,is it still fermenting ????and after the 3 weeks will the gravity read below 1010 ????

Don't worry about it. The big kausen (foam) is only present during the most active part of the fermentation so your beer is probably still happily fermentig however, just like any party that lasts 3 week, it has lost some of the initial flare.
I'm guessing that the recipe says your FG will be below 1.010? It will most likely get there, if it doesn't however, don't think too much of it. There are some great pale ales out there with 1.010+ FG. Think of it this way, rather than reproducing the coopers ale you'll have created something slighty different. Congrats! You're a brewer!
Relax a bit mate! You'll find that some mistakes will make great (if unexpected) brews!

Enjoy brewing and let us know what the final result was!

Jasa

great reply mate ,,you just told me everything i needed to know ,,its just with it being my first brew im panicking ,everything should turn out fine in the end ,,ill keep you posted ,,peace out

The airlock that came with my Cooper's kit had some pretty large seams from the moulding process, which prevented it from making a good seal with the grommet. As the others have said, the lack of bubbling isn't a huge deal, but if you want it to bubble, try sanding down the sharp edges. You could even lube it and the fermenter lid o-ring with keg lube, or some other food-grade lubricant to get a good seal.

You should be okay, though, as long as there isn't a straight-line path between the fermenting wort and the nasties trying to get in. Airborne yeasts and bacteria don't have wings, they just drift around on motes of dust.

i just checked my airlock after reading you reply and ive got the same problem as you ,the edges of the airlock do need sanded down a bit ,and no doubt thats where the air leak has came from ,,thanks for the reply mate youve been a big help ,,,,peace out

When your beer is in the fermenter, the easiest thing is just to not touch anything. Dont take samples, dont take readings. Just leave it be. If you must, peak at the krausen every few days for a brief moment. After 2-4 weeks, your call, bottle or keg away.

thanks for the help mate ,,,you say check the krausen on my beer ,,but it has dropped to almost nothing ,,is this ok ?????

it is ok. leave it alone and you'll have beer.

thanks for the help mate ,,,,cheers