Desperate times... (Ever done this??)

Please tell me I'm not the only one.

I'm currently low on cash, got no beer in the house, and it's been a really long day. I've got a couple of beers in Primary downstairs, about a month into the process.

I sanitized a glass, and dipped a pint.

Tastes so good.

Anyone?

You're on your own as far as I know. I'll pull a hydrometer sample here and there but a pint? Not really my thing. But then again this is coming from a guy with four kegs and about 30 gallons in carboys.

Some brewers might call this a racking cane, but I call it a man's straw!

Never out of the primary but have cracked many bottles that aren't even close to be ready due to no brew. Enjoy!

Never just dipped a glass into a fermenter for a beer. But I do drink the extra when I keg. It's atleast 4 or 5 beers worth. It usually does taste pretty good.

Negative... I'll drink a hydrometer sample, or take a sip from the refractometer sample vial from time to time (only after testing) but never as mentioned. I don't think the beer gods would be pleased with stealing a pint that way.

I never have,that's not saying I wouldn't. If I was out of beer and either broke,to lazy to go to town or it is Sunday and can't buy any good beer anyway I probably would.

Would that be called the brewer's share?

Never done it but only because I always have beer. The biggest concern however is that you lose your CO2 head-space and replace it with air, which has oxygen, and now the rest of your beer will be oxidizing while the CO2 builds up again. CO2 is heavier than air, so if you did it really slowly, you might be ok. But you will still get some air in there.

Never but if I'm ever in a situation where I have no beer ready to drink and no money I would dig for some change and go buy a 40oz of Miller Highlife before I resorted to drinking my fermenting beer.

No I have never done that. I like to brew because it's a great hobby but I am don't actually drink much, being the lightweight that I am.
If I am out of beer then I can wait.

I'm ashamed to admit that I did it with my last Zombie Dust clone.

I had beer in the house, but I ran out of keg space while kegging it. I had a quart or so left over in the carboy. I extracted it and ran it through a hop filter to get rid of the trub.

Didn't want to waste it. It was a little crunchy. but it tasted pretty good.

b-boy said:

I'm ashamed to admit that I did it with my last Zombie Dust clone.

I had beer in the house, but I ran out of keg space while kegging it. I had a quart or so left over in the carboy. I extracted it and ran it through a hop filter to get rid of the trub.

Didn't want to waste it. It was a little crunchy. but it tasted pretty good.

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Hmmm, I'm thinking the only crunch I want with my beer is from pretzels or chips!
However, waste not, want not. I admire the attitude.

Real or cask ale..Sounds fine to me.

bosco

I've pulled samples of beer to test how things are coming along in various stages, especially when it's dry-hopping or sitting on fruit or any other addition. Sometimes those samples tend to be around the 5oz range... Nothing wrong with a bigger taste test, you just wanted to make sure the beer was aging properly.

Slipgate said:

Never done it but only because I always have beer. The biggest concern however is that you lose your CO2 head-space and replace it with air, which has oxygen, and now the rest of your beer will be oxidizing while the CO2 builds up again. CO2 is heavier than air, so if you did it really slowly, you might be ok. But you will still get some air in there.

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Massively overstated and does not need to worried about.

A month in primary and no beer in the house?! I would be bottling it right away. Then testing the carbonation every few days.

phoenixs4r said:

Massively overstated and does not need to worried about.

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Why not? After a month, it is beer and does not ferment really at all anymore. So taking a 5 gallon bucket of beer, opening it and removing all the built-up CO2, and then closing it again, with no way to purge the head-space of air, to me seems like oxidation is a certainty.

Now if this was in a 5 gallon carboy with just a little bit of head-space, I would say it isn't as bad, but I don't see any way to avoid oxidation if using a 6 gallon plastic primary.

Well, payday finally hit and I have actual beer to drink. Also, I kegged my beer and it's in the fridge now.

Slipgate said:

Why not? After a month, it is beer and does not ferment really at all anymore. So taking a 5 gallon bucket of beer, opening it and removing all the built-up CO2, and then closing it again, with no way to purge the head-space of air, to me seems like oxidation is a certainty.

Now if this was in a 5 gallon carboy with just a little bit of head-space, I would say it isn't as bad, but I don't see any way to avoid oxidation if using a 6 gallon plastic primary.

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Wouldn't the heavier co2 be inclined to stay down in the bucket where it blankets the beer?

Jayhem said:

Never but if I'm ever in a situation where I have no beer ready to drink and no money I would dig for some change and go buy a 40oz of Miller Highlife before I resorted to drinking my fermenting beer.

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This is what you do when you're desperate. Fwiw, i don't think miller makes 40's. I think they're quarts(32oz).

My first trip to my LHBS, I had a brief conversation with the guy behind the counter about their conical fermenters. I'd heard of them of course, but never seen one in action and asked if he'd had any feedback about their use.
He replied that he had one he liked to do his stout in, and that the best part about it was that the conical shape captured the yeast in the bottom, and then he could pull off samples from the side port. He went on to explain that sometimes his samples got a bit larger as he let the stout continue aging in primary, as he didn't mind it uncarbed, and there was nothing quite so satisfying as walking in the door and pulling a pint of his creation right off the primary.

Second hand information, but you're not the only one

I'll pour the occasional taste out of a carboy.