mikecshultz

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In the next couple days I am going to take readings from my beer to see if it has stopped fermenting. However, I feel like each time I take a reading I will be pulling out a decent amount of my beer. My question is, can I put that beer back in the batch after I test it, or has it been too exposed to airborne microbes to be sanitary? I am going to sanitize the beaker, the beer thief, and the hydrometer but I am still worried that the exposure to the airborne microbes will contaminate it and I don't want to contaminate my whole batch. Any thoughts?

CGVT

Recipes 

I don't put it back. I usually drink it.

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grem135

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Drink it

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DrummerBoySeth

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Chug, Chug, Chug, Chug!!! (channeling my inner keg-party frat boy!)

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Revvy

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Drink it.

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Johnnyhitch1

Recipes 

Drink if you want, I take 1 oz samples for a refractometer so i do drink it (or coat the palate for taste)

If as you say everything is sanitized you can pour it back in. Most people do this when they dont have a large enough batch to keep pulling from or its such a high ABV that you dont wanna taste it so "green" risking less of a finished volume.
Avoid aeration if pouring back when pulling samples later into fermentation

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davekippen

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Drink it for sure! You will learn something about how beer tastes

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sirmichael

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Drink up!

MichaelBrock

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+ 1 to drinking it. It wouldn't have occurred to me to even ask the question.

menerdari

Recipes 

Drink it, I do.
A hydrometer sample runs about 3 oz. and you'll do 3 maybe 4 samples by the time you are ready to bottle. That adds up to about 1 12 oz beer.
You still have enough left in that 5 gallon batch (if you are making 5 gallon batches) for more than 2 cases of beer.