Carboy is huge - Can't reach in for a hydro reading

[Hovercar]

A week ago saturday I made a 5 gallon batch of 1.090 pumpkin ale and pitched 2 packets of S-04. Foolishly, I put it in a 10 gallon carboy, and can't reach down far enough to take a gravity reading (carboy shape is round and wide, so the beer is too far down for the thief).

That said, the Krausen fell after a few days, and now there is a steady, slow production of small bubbles coming up to the surface of the beer. I'm guessing I should leave it on the yeast for at least another week or so, but I want to get it to a 5-gallon secondary so I can actually take hydro readings. Is 2 weeks too early to move a high-grav beer to secondary? Should I assume it will need longer on the yeast due to the OG? This lack of hydro readings is driving me nuts.

 

[paraordnance]

I usually don't bother with gravity readings untill kegging, just leave it in primary for 2 more weeks and you will be golden

 

[rycov]

leaving it longer definately wont hurt it. you want to make sure its done before you transfer (or whats the point of secondary) and with a high og it could take a little longer than normal.

 

[Zeal]

Do you have an auto siphon that will reach it, I use that in my carboys to take Gravity readings. Just put the flask up the the auto siphon and in a few pumps its full.

 

[ciphin78]

Okay, I'll say it... (head space issues aside) Why bother with secondary? Just leave it for a few more weeks and then keg or bottle.

+1 to "you will be golden"

 

[Hovercar]

Okay, I'll say it... (head space issues aside) Why bother with secondary?

Because as I stated in the OP, I currently have no way to access the beer and take a hydro reading. A smaller vessel would make that possible. I don't bother with secondaries, but this is obviously an extenuating circumstance. It's a spiced beer and I want to get it to bottle as soon as it's done fermenting.

Do you have an auto siphon that will reach it, I use that in my carboys to take Gravity readings. Just put the flask up the the auto siphon and in a few pumps its full.

Hah, this is brilliant! Thanks, I'll give it a shot in a few more days. That'll save me the trouble of a transfer.

 

[Zeal]

Hah, this is brilliant! Thanks, I'll give it a shot in a few more days. That'll save me the trouble of a transfer.

No Problem I had the same issue. I find a little ingenuity in homebrewing goes a long way. I also just recently rigged up a blow off tube using a bottling wand and 1/4in vinyl hose it was brilliant as well.

 

[Elweydoloco]

Take some of your poly tubing for bottling sanitize it push it into the pumpkin ale cap the other end with your thumb throw it in your thief til you have enough to take a reading?

 

[meteorbrews]

i put some tubing onto the end of a turkey baster..... just remember to squeeze the ball BEFORE you put it in the beer.... unlike squeezing it in the beer... like me.

 

[djfriesen]

If you don't have an auto siphon, fill some tubing with water, attach it to your racking cane (I assume you have one that will reach the bottom of your 10 gal carboy), start a siphon into a bin, then start to fill the flask once the water in the tubing is gone and only beer is coming out. Be sure to sanitize the racking cane and tubing, as you would probably want to let the wort run back into the fermenter, so as not to waste it. If you hold the bottom of the racking cane against the side of your carboy, you can minimize oxidation. Also, if you don't have a tubing thumblock, I would suggest getting one. Makes controlling you siphoning much easier, and you don't have to do something unsanitary like using your thumb on the end of the tubing