Taking hydro readings

Maybe stupid question or I'm just paranoid...
I gave five batches in the basement right now, three are in buckets. I want to take hydro readings to see where they stand but I'm afraid to take the lids off... How do you guys do it? Here's my issues:
I'm going to stir it up getting the lids off
I'll have to do this a few days in a row to see if it's done so only compounds the issues
And I'll be exposing the beer to the elements each time..

What if I were to drill a hole in the lid the size of a #10 stopper (put the stopper on) and use that to take readings with a thief? Any ideas??
I guess with 25 gallons down there I just worry

Don't you lids have holes for the airlocks?? Usual method is just to remove the airlock and stick a wine theif/turkey baster in there.

Even if you have to remove the lid, it is no problem. Just don't open the lids with the windows open.

They do but the holes are quite small

You should be able to take the lids off without stirring up the contents... Am I missing something?

This is why I hate to take hydro readings during fermentation. It's easier with a carboy because the thief fits in the hole at the top, but a bucket lid can be hard to get off. Really, taking a reading is not really that difficult or risky, but most of the time it's not necessary.

This is where experience and airlock bubbles work just fine. Assuming you had bubbles at one point, if the bubbles are done, then the beer's probably done dropping gravity. That's the same thing you're looking for the hydrometer to tell you.

How long have your beers been fermenting?

You don't have to take readings a few days in a row. Wait until visible signs of fermenting are done, maybe even longer. Your first check should really just be to see whether you have a stuck fermentation.

Are you planning on using secondary for these? This is one of the arguments against secondary vs. long primary. When I primary for 3-4 weeks, I usually just assume fermentation is done by bottling day (big Belgians might be an exception). No need to constantly check FG.

I was just thinking of getting two readings to be sure it's done, I'm still not 100% sure if I'm going to put them in a secondary, prob just go strait to kegs and let them finish there.
Two of the lids I have are super hard to get off, they've been in different times, not ready yet.

I assume you don't have spouts on these buckets, that's what I use to draw a sample. You could easily install some plastic ones for the future. It's really convenient, one of the reasons I still use a bucket rather than carboy. No need to take lid off, I don't even take the airlock off now, I just drain the sample slow enough for the bubbles to go backward through the airlock without pulling up the liquid.

mrussell345 said:

I was just thinking of getting two readings to be sure it's done, I'm still not 100% sure if I'm going to put them in a secondary, prob just go strait to kegs and let them finish there.
Two of the lids I have are super hard to get off, they've been in different times, not ready yet.

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Your lids likely have holes or indentations all the way around the side that you can cut to give you more flexibility and make removing the lids much easier. Just a thought.

mrussell345 said:

I was just thinking of getting two readings to be sure it's done,

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That is the safe way to do it. My second reading is usually on bottling day, which is perhaps a bit cocky because it assumes it's done. If it has dropped a few points in the weeks since the last reading, I don't care... I assume it flatlined since then.

As someone mentions above, after you've been brewing a while, you feel like you know when it's done.

I'm my opinion you are doing the right thing. It's great to have insight into where your beer is in the process in order to understand it better.

With that said the efforts of removing the lid shouldn't stir it up that much. Even if fermentation is complete, you'll probably want to give it time for the yeast to clean up which will allow it to settle anyway.

Just turn off the fan, close the window, and follow good sanitation practices and you'll be fine. I think the insight into the process outweighs the risks.

Great, thanks for the feedback. I'm a noobie still, did about 20 gallons last year but starting up like crazy and have 25 in right now.

I did one batch where I drew samples off the bottling bucket(was using it as a fermenter), and feel like that's the reason that everything I run through it to bottle, gets tainted. I'm sure I didn't clean it good enough afterwards and having the wort sit in the spigot after sampling and it dries up, makes it really difficult to effectively clean.