Problem Sealing Barrel

Chris

Hi to all,

About a month ago I started brewing a batch of St. Peters Golden Ale. I transfered it into a barrel, and I've been biding my time, as is often recommended. I came to pour myself a glass yesterday evening and found there to be no pressure behind it, and very flat in the glass.

On investigating I found the seal on the inside of the barrel cap had moved when I was tightening the cap all those weeks ago. I've tried refitting the seal, turning and refitting it, etc. Whatever I do, as I tighten the cap, the seal will pop out of the groove and allow air into the barrel.

I don't think this is a problem with the cap or with the seal, but looking at the barrel opening I notice it is somewhat oval in shape so, on tightening the cap, the forces act on the inside of the seal in some places and on the outside in others. This is what I think is causing the seal to become unseated. Has anyone else noticed this type of problem? Any recommendations for alleviating it?

And for the brew itself: after around four weeks of air getting to this brew will it affect the flavour and longevity? Clearly the carbonation is already affected, is it likely to recover at all?

Kind regards,

Chris

HBO_Staff

The rubber seal should make the seal, if it's on a King Keg then the black rubber should push well into the groove, and that would normally keep it in place as the cap screws down. If there is a fault with the barrel and it won't, it can be returned for a replacement or refund, the manufacturers will replace as there are very few problems with them. The Golden Ale may be OK, it depends on how much CO2 was escaping. If it tastes and smells OK (although no doubt flat) and there is nothing to indicate a problem with it, it may be worth re-priming it with sugar, and then once airtight leaving it to carbonate for a while and trying it again. It's woth a go to see if it can be salvaged

Chris

Thanks for the reply. The problem is with a 'standard' pressure barrel with the 2" cap and the white seal. I'm going to get a replacement seal to see if this helps.

The Golden Ale tastes alright at the moment, but I can't tighten the cap up properly until I replace the seal, and unfortunately I don't have an alternative barrel into which to place the ale for the time being. When I'm ready to go I'll follow your advice about the repriming.

Thanks again,

Chris

HBO_Staff

Hi Chris, we will send you a seal to try if you email us your details on sales@home-brew-online.co.uk as we will have a spare you can try, and if you do it asap we'll send it first class so you have it tomorrow. Sometimes people use two seals to be sure which may be worth trying