Do I have a contamination concern

I recently brewed a hobgoblin clone 2/5/2012. I pitched the dry yeast straight to the wart. It took off at 24 hrs and bubbled at a good rate for 48 hrs. Then it all but quit. At day 5 the airlock was sitting with no CO2 in it. I was concern I needed to repitch so I opened my ale pale and checked the Gravity with my refractometer. I was at my final gravity already. I am wondering now if I created a contamination concern between the air in the bucket and the beer since it is no longer co2. Please let me know if I should leave it go for two more weeks or transfer it to a keg so I can get it under co2. Thanks. Sometimes it sucks being a new guy at things when you don't have many answers. Luckily there is great help here.

as long as you were sanitary when you opened the bucket, you're fine. you gotta get in there to take a gravity reading some how, right!
as far as the fast ferment, that's usually a good thing. as long as your temps were in check, fast fermentation usually means healthy fermentation. i always like to leave my beer in primary for a week or two after i have a stable FG reading over 3 days, i find it produces a more developed and a clearer beer.

Don't stick your head into the bucket and breathe in. You will probably pass out from lack of oxygen! co2 is heavier than oxygen so, unless you blow the co2 out of the bucket there is still a co2 layer above the beer.

When the airlock stops bubbling it only means that the beer is no longer producing co2 at a rate that it is passing through the airlock which is only there as a pressure relief valve.

If your sanitation was ok you have no problems.

Soaked the interior and exterior of the pipet with star san prior to the dip. Should be good on the sanatation. As a new brewer I always seem to be overly concerned with things

Listen to your brother, as he told you the same as those above.
He may not be a chemical engineer or even a college grad (yet) but he knows how to brew

Squeeky

Since you've hit your final gravity, just seal that fermenter up and let the yeast clean up after themselves for a week or so. You don't need to really check in there anymore as it's going to do nothing but let in more O2.

Cheers!

jritchie111 said:

......I was concern I needed to repitch so I opened my ale pale and checked the Gravity with my refractometer. ...

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might be a little off topic but the rumor is a refractometer doesnt give accurate numbers after alcohol is produced. Learned this after people were getting floored drinking my 4% abv beer and wondering why I wasn't hitting my numbers. Finally realized error and my 4 was more like 7. Oopsy :cross:

kapbrew13 said:

might be a little off topic but the rumor is a refractometer doesnt give accurate numbers after alcohol is produced. Learned this after people were getting floored drinking my 4% abv beer and wondering why I wasn't hitting my numbers. Finally realized error and my 4 was more like 7. Oopsy :cross:

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You're correct. You need to use a special formula. Or you can use a calculator like the one below:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/refractometer-calculator/