I made my first batch of beer a week ago from a pre-hopped extract kit and now I want to bottle it. The problem is that my brew bucket has this translucent drum tap on the side but the bottom of it was encrusted with a layer of sediment. I opened the tap up and took a sample but it was light brown and mvery hazy. I took a sip and it tasted like some of those prison style brews I made in high school. I ended up opening the lid to make sure the whole batch wasn't like this and saw that it was all nice and dark brown on top. This sediment was clogging my tap, and since it is my only option for bottling (no siphon, no tubing, no local homebrew store, no money, etc.) I thought it was a good idea to sterilize my big plastic spoon and mix it up to remove as much sediment as I could from the tap, then rest the bucket on and angle where the side with the tap is higher. So I did. Now I am wondering how long it will be until this junk is settled enough for me to bottle my brew. I know this beer isn't going to be wonderful, but I would like to get it ASAP to allow me to use the bucket for other things. How long would you wait if you were me, and also how long is the shortest time I should wait before bottling. As I understand it, there will be sediment in the bottles, but it will settle once left in the fridge for a while, right? If I bottled right now would the sediment harm me, or ruin the flavor so much that my beer was undrinkable? Thanks a lot, this forum is great and I look forward to participating in it. This is my first post!