Samples from fermenter

[OzzyBrew]

I should probably use the search function, but I'm feeling lazy. I ferment in four different vessels: brew bucket with a valve, a better bottle, a speidel plastic fermenter and occasionally a glass carboy. When I use my brew bucket I only use the valve to transfer to my bottling bucket or corny. When I use my speidel I don't use the valve, instead opting for the cap in the drain area because I don't like how I can't find a good fitting hose for the drain valve.

When I first started brewing I read several posts on this site about not using the drain valve for samples. A lot of people said they don't do that (infection concerns), and a lot said they use it with no problems. Anyways, I decided to not use it for anything outside of transfers just to be safe.

Recently I was given a mini-brew conical fermenter from a friend who used it once for wine and didn't care for it. I guess after all this rambling I would like to know if people with conicals use the racking port for samples, or is infection a real concern by doing so? I am looking at purchasing a ss conical soon, so I want to use this mini-brew as an experiment in conicals and would like to actually use the racking port for sg samples. All advice welcome.

Thanks

 

[prandlesc]

I have a stainless conical and always use the racking port for samples. I take these precautions to prevent any infections. 1) I make sure that the port on the sample valve is always pointed down. This prevents any airborne bacteria from dropping into it. 2) I spray the port with sanitizer both before and after I take a sample. I spray after as a "rinse" of the valve and port, and before (letting it sit a couple of minutes) just in case something happened to get tin there. The other think to watch out for is air getting into the fermenter, or sucking liquid backward through your airlock into the fermenter. I'm really not too concerned about a little oxygen entering, as there's a blanket of CO2 sitting on top of the beer. I pull my airlock and stick an inline air filter into the bung. That's probably overkill, but it gives me some peace of mind. I've used this method for 30+ batches and not had an infection yet.

 

[OzzyBrew]

Thank you sir!

 

[captgus]

For what's it's worth, regarding the Speidel, I had the same issue but found that using a work clamp to create a tighter fit solved the problem. I don't recall the tubing size and I'm not at home to check but it's the same size that I use for my ported better bottle. I also use the valves for both to take samples and have yet to have a problem. I just make sure to give them a good spray with a spray bottle filled with star san immediately after.

 

[Cyclman]

Taking beer samples off the valve is a key benefit of such a setup, sanitize carefully before and after and I think you reduce risk compared to a thief, for example. The bigger concern for me with valves is carefully cleaning and sanitizing them between batches, lots of crannies for baddies to grow if you're not careful.