First Time Lager Help - Leaky Keg

[JJWP]

Need some advice guys.

I've finally picked up a temp controller so I'm working on my first lager, an Oktoberfest. Everything was going according to plan until I went to rack the the beer to a corny keg in which I planned to lager for up to 4-5 months at 34 or so..
So, I get the beer into the keg and hook up the gas only to find that this keg has sprung a leak at the bottom and is spraying beer everywhere. Not good.

I scramble to clean and sanitize a five gallon carboy I have laying around and rack the beer out of the keg into the carboy, where it is sitting now in the temp controlled fridge.

I've been slowly lowering the temp by a couple of degrees a day - it is around 38 presently.

My question is - what are my options now? Leaving the beer to lager in the carboy for several months is not an option as it takes up the entire fridge (I can just fit two kegs in this particular fridge, but not 1 keg and 1 carboy), and I need the space for kegs I have ready to dispense.

I don't mind picking up a new keg if I have to - would it be as simple as just racking again to a new keg and continuing to drop the temp? Anything to worry about here?

Can I bottle instead? At this point I wonder if it would be just easier to bottle and forget about it - how does bottling work for lagers? Do you have to lager first in bulk, then bottle with fresh yeast? Or, can I just bottle now and throw the beer in the fridge until next fall?

thanks for any advice or help,

jjwp

 

[EricCSU]

I would buy a new keg. Rack into the keg so that issue is resolved and you have room in your fridge. That issue is resolved and you can forget about it. Then try to fix the keg. Is this your first time using the keg? Did you break it or were you sold a faulty keg?

Eric

 

[JJWP]

I honestly don't recall if I've used this particular keg before - I think I used it once with no problems... no more than once though.

The leak sprung at the bottom actually - I need to get in there and look with a flashlight - I cannot fathom how a hole could appear there, it should be solid stainless right? (maybe there is a weld down there?)

The negative on buying a new keg is my only option (short term anyway) is to go to the same place that sold me the faulty one.

Anybody have any general thoughts/input on long term lagering (4-6 months) in a keg?

thanks,
jjwp

 

[Potter1]

Anybody have any general thoughts/input on long term lagering (4-6 months) in a keg?

thanks,
jjwp

should work fine, and bulk lagering is the way to go i think