A flat tire killed my yeast?

[Golddiggie]

The 'control glass' has been proven to be nigh on useless. The volume difference means there's virtually zero correlation to the actual fermenter. IMO/IME, you're better off using other methods to know when fermentation has kicked into high gear and has then reduced. IMO/IME, temperature of the fermenting wort/must is the best method. I have a thermowell going into my fermenters that allows me to send a thermocouple into the middle of the fermenter to get a reading. I simply leave the thermocouple in there, with a stopper at the top of it (to prevent outside temperatures influencing the reading). The thermometer connected retains the high and low readings as well as displays the current. So, I KNOW what's going on in there.

 

[mttaylor1066]

The 'control glass' has been proven to be nigh on useless.

Gold--

I don't use the control glass for any thing other than a "blunder check" for the first few days of fermentation.

If I see sedimentation, krausening and CO2 production in the glass I can reasonably assume I didn't pitch the yeast at a catastrophic temp.

After three days, the glass is useless to me. I drink it.

 

[MalFet]

The 'control glass' has been proven to be nigh on useless.

Most large scale breweries separate a small control samples for exactly these purposes. Forced attenuation tests in particular are a great diagnostic tool.