Can the primary fermenter be opened?

The fermentation stopped after a couple of days. I want to check the specific gravity of the brew to see if it's really finished or if I have to re-pitch the yeast.

According to the beer kit instructions, I need to let it sit 4-6 days before bottling but it's only been 3 days. So, will removing the airlock and opening the fermentor risk bacterial contamination if I want to reseal it? Also, is it ok to take a test sip at this stage?

As you can probably tell, this is my first brew.


Cheers everyone!

St. Jon's Wort said:

The fermentation stopped after a couple of days. I want to check the specific gravity of the brew to see if it's really finished or if I have to re-pitch the yeast.

According to the beer kit instructions, I need to let it sit 4-6 days before bottling. So, will removing the airlock and opening the fermentor risk bacterial contamination if I want to reseal it? Also, is it ok to take a test sip at this stage?

As you can probably tell, this is my first brew.


Cheers everyone!

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Get in there and check it. You'll be fine. Make sure to sanitize anything that goes into the bucket (including your hands).

My first brew, I took gravity readings every few hours I was so obsessed.

Now I just check when activity looks slowed down but I'm never afraid to get in there and take a look and get a sample. Your beer is as strong (in terms of fighting infection) as it's ever going to be right now.

Thanks, that puts my mind at ease.


Cheers everyone!

i would NOT bottle that beer after six days. if you're just going to let it sit in the primary, i'd let it go at least two weeks. after your fermentation is "complete" there is still much conditioning going on and your yeasties are still hard at work. let them do their job.

sure, take a sample, get a reading, taste it, throw it at your friend, whatever...just don't bottle too early and you'll thank yourself later

and don't taste more than a couple of bottles until after they've been sitting 3 weeks

then get hammered off your wonderful brew

Since you can't relax and have a home brew, go buy a 12 pack of Sam Adams bottles. They are really good bottles and they come with free beer. Be patient. Wait two weeks, and two weeks in the bottles. (okay, try 1 or 2 after 8 days) In a couple months post a thread on here about how you can make better beer than Sam Adams.

DeathBrewer speaks the truth: if you don't secondary, let it sit 2 weeks in primary, then bottle.
Sanitize religiously.

also, airlock activity isn't a great indicator of the beer being 'done'....stick to the rule of 3 days worth of hydrometer readings staying consistent.

Just checked it, the SG is perfect and it tastes great, flat, but great! Going to reseal it and put it back in the closet.

mrk305 said:

Since you can't relax and have a home brew, go buy a 12 pack of Sam Adams bottles. They are really good bottles and they come with free beer. Be patient. Wait two weeks, and two weeks in the bottles. (okay, try 1 or 2 after 8 days) In a couple months post a thread on here about how you can make better beer than Sam Adams.

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I'm way ahead of you. I got two cases of Sam Adams (one about half-full), a case of Smithwick's, and a case of Guiness extra stout to hold me over for a while.

Sometimes I'll take the OG after pitching the yeast and let the hydrometer sit in the sample while it ferments. Doesn't hurt anything and it can be fun to watch the gravity drop, in slowtime.

david_42 said:

Sometimes I'll take the OG after pitching the yeast and let the hydrometer sit in the sample while it ferments. Doesn't hurt anything and it can be fun to watch the gravity drop, in slowtime.

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I've never thought of that... sounds interesting. Of course the trick for me would be putting it in a place where the kids won't knock it over...

I don't mean to hijack this thread but taking off from the monitoring the SG is a question I've had for some time.

I use a two stage process, the Barons kit I'm making sez 3-6 days primary. Today is Day 4 lots of activity in first 48 hours but no Krausen (but that's an other thread) nothing in the last 36 hours.

Here's the question, Before racking to the secondary do I take a SG reading? Should this SG be the final gravity I'm looking for? Doesn't the SG go down in the Secondary?

Thanks

Rudeboy

Rudeboy said:

Here's the question, Before racking to the secondary do I take a SG reading? Should this SG be the final gravity I'm looking for? Doesn't the SG go down in the Secondary?

Thanks

Rudeboy

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Depends on a number of factors.... the way I usually structure my stages is I don't rack until after fermentation has completed and while I may get a bump or two from swirling up the yeast, it's really just conditioning and floc'ing in the secondary. Some folks will transfer mid-fermentation and sure, it can continue to ferment in the secondary.

The term secondary is really not a correct term, though. For wine, there is indeed a "secondary fermentation" but for beer it should be called the clearing tank, or bright tank. You really want fermentation to be finished before you rack to the clearing tank. The purpose is to condition a bit and to clear. True, you might kick up a few yeasties but usually it's just some off-gassing. It might drop a point or two, but maybe not. You could just as easily expect to stall any fermentation still taking place if you remove it from the yeast cake.

So, yes, check the sg first. If it's finished, go ahead and rack to the clearing tank. If it's not, I'd leave it in primary until it is finished.

Yooper Chick said:

So, yes, check the sg first. If it's finished, go ahead and rack to the clearing tank. If it's not, I'd leave it in primary until it is finished.

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If not much is happening in the Primary and I'm not near the designated SG should I swirl the trub? Repitch?

Thanks

Rudeboy

Rudeboy said:

If not much is happening in the Primary and I'm not near the designated SG should I swirl the trub? Repitch?

Thanks

Rudeboy

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Maybe! I'd check the sg on 3 days in a row- if it's dropping, things are happening. If it's not, but close to finished (and I was using a highly flocculant yeast strain), I'd swirl. If the sg was not close to finishing, I'd repitch.

david_42 said:

Sometimes I'll take the OG after pitching the yeast and let the hydrometer sit in the sample while it ferments. Doesn't hurt anything and it can be fun to watch the gravity drop, in slowtime.

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I did that too, but it had a fair amount of gunk on it after a while, and I was afraid that the gunk might be weighing it down and throwing off the reading. So I stopped doing that.