Gravity Reading

[Abrewba]

Brewing my first beer... Primary fermentation should be done soon... I am getting ready to take a gravity reading, which after a lot of reading and you tube videos... I feel comfortable doing...

My question is really about the before and after extracting the beer for a reading...

If using a glass carboy... Do you just remove the airlock, extract beer, and cover the opening with foil? Then sanitize the airlock, put it back in, and done?

If using a plastic fermenting bucket... Same thing but cover the bucket with foil and sanitize the lid and airlock before putting it back on?

Thanks for your help!

 

[flars]

Brewing my first beer... Primary fermentation should be done soon... I am getting ready to take a gravity reading, which after a lot of reading and you tube videos... I feel comfortable doing...

My question is really about the before and after extracting the beer for a reading...

If using a glass carboy... Do you just remove the airlock, extract beer, and cover the opening with foil? Then sanitize the airlock, put it back in, and done?
I use carboys. I spray the air lock bung and mouth of the carboy with Starsan. The wine/beer thief is sanitized inside and outside. I pull the bung with my left hand and hold. I take the sample with the thief in my right hand. Reinsert the bung and air lock after removing the sample. No need to resanitize air lock assembly because it didn't touch anything. I dip my hands in the sanitizer also.

If using a plastic fermenting bucket... Same thing but cover the bucket with foil and sanitize the lid and airlock before putting it back on?

Same as with carboy. Sanitize your tools. sanitize the lid and top of bucket. Remove the lid. Hold it while taking the sample. Replace after removing the sample.

Have you sample tube at the fermentor ready to receive the beer so you don't need to move away before resealing the fermentor.

Thanks for your help!

The main thing is to sanitize the area of the carboy or bucket that will be opened to remove the sample. If you don't contaminate the airlock or lid there is no need to sanitize again.

 

[TopherM]

The wild yeast and bacteria that will infect a beer aren't flying ninjas just waiting to attack your beer.

To infect your beer, first off, they need to be physically present in your room. Not many people have high concentrations of wild yeast and lactobacillus flying around in their spare bedroom if you are of average cleanliness.

Second off, yeast/bacteria are little animals, not ubiquitous mysterious fairies that see a beer and dart straight for it. They have to physically (and kinda accidentally) land in your beer in enough quantity to reproduce into a large colony (hundreds of millions individuals) to infect the beer.

Anyway, point being, it is TOUGH to infect a beer if you are just paying attention. Sanitizing at every step, covering the mouth of the carboy, etc. like you say above is great, but you don't even have to be that careful. Take off the stopper/airlock, pull the beer for your gravity reading, and stick the stopper/airlock back on. The small % of yeast and bacteria that may be flying around in your room aren't going to all fall in the beer, get on their cell phones, and invite all their friends in the time it takes you to take a reading.

Keep anything that actual TOUCHES the beer sanitized, and you'll be just fine. The chances of you getting an airboure infection in the beer in your house is very very very low.

Good luck!

 

[MonsterBrew]

I would advise just taking off the lid/stopper, then remove a sample with the sanitized beer thief into a test jar. After that, close the lid and take your reading and put the airlock back on. You will not need to sanitize the lid/stopper again as the beer will be not be damaged since it is just for a few minutes. If you do use a test jar, remember not to dump it back into the batch.

-Jeff

 

[Abrewba]

Thanks for the pointers everyone... Time to have at it...