First brew - tap leaking, uh oh!

[Moshmeister]

Hi all,

I'm 24hrs into my first brew (Coopers Stout with the Coopers starter kit) and I've noticed that the tap is very slowly leaking!

It's about a drop every 2-3 hours so very tiny but my concern is that there is not a 100% airtight seal down there so I may be at risk of infection and the whole thing will have to be chucked.

I've already asked for a new tap but does anyone think this is a risk for this brew?

Thanks

Mosh

 

[Moshmeister]

Apologies - I should have mentioned that the leak is from the part of the tap where the beer would come out of and not the seal or anything, i.e. it's as if the tap is not 100% closed.

 

[Hello]

Are you fermenting in a bottling bucket?

 

[Moshmeister]

Fermenting in the Coopers FV - the plastic one that comes with the kit.

 

[Hello]

Oh I see now. I guess personally I would stick a baggie around it and let it drip into that. I would dip the baggie in star san first though just because I am paranoid.

 

[Moshmeister]

I'm just letting it drip into a cup. It's not really that I'm worried about to be honest (I'll probably lose about 1ml of beer over the whole process!) it's that it could be more prone to infection.

What do you think.... should I be worried?

 

[vinylrooster]

I wouldn't be worried if it were me. I think the chance of infection is fairly negligible.

One option is to get a Tupperware filled with star San (or any sanitizer or cheap vodka) and submerge the part of the tap that is leaking. I'm not familiar with the tap placement of this bucket, but you may have to place your bucket on some sort of makeshift pedestal to get enough clearance for the Tupperware.

 

[vinylrooster]

I immediately thought of a better answer....

Get some tubing that fits over the end of the leaking tap and run that into a cup filled with sanitizeror vodka. I'm imagining it being like a blow off valve, but attached to your tap.

 

[Moshmeister]

Thanks for the advice guys