John Boyce of Mighty Oak brewery in Maldon tells me of a way he’s found to stop the spout on a tap dripping. For those of you unused to gravity beer you drive a tap into the cask then attach a pouring spout. After filling the glass with ale you turn off the tap and take it away… …but sometimes the spout isn’t properly empty and a glob of beer splashes into the drip trays. This wastes beer and makes a mess.

All you do is drill a 3mm hole at the apex of the curve in the spout. This is small enough not to spew beer out of but large enough to admit air after the tap has been turned off and break any air-lock effect.

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