How Do I Take a Gravity Sample?

[Frank]

My porter has been in the primary for a little over a week and the airlock has settled down. Is it ok to take the lid off and use a sanitized turkey baster to take a sample? Will this introduce too much oxygen?

If I have to check the gravity over a couple of days to ensure that it is done fermenting, is it smart to keep taking samples from the fermenter?

 

[wildwest450]

That's how you do it. As long as you don't use the baster as a whisk you'll be fine. You could actually be patient and wait at least two weeks. Chances are it will be done then.

 

[Jknapp]

Checking with your hyrdometer to see that you've hit your FG (and it has stabilized) is really the best way to tell if fermentation is complete.

The other method is waiting until a 'safe' amount of time has elapsed, so you can be relatively sure the beer is done fermenting. A standard rule of thumb is 3 weeks (1 in primary, 2 in 2ndary), but different beers may require more or less time. But then, this is only a rule of thumb. The hydrometer is science.

Yes, opening the fermenter does introduce the potential of exposure to infection, but if you are using the Hydrometer testing method, it is the only way.

The little bit you disturb your beer while checking won't have any impact on it in terms of oxygenation. Be delicate and don't get crazy with splashing in there. You can use your sanitized turkey baster. I use a wine thief, but it is essentially the same thing.

Just make sure to adjust your hydrometer reading for the temp of the beer. Most hydrometers are calibrated at 60F, so if you test at 70F, you'll need to do a quick adjustment. There are a number of online temp adjustment tools online, as well as in book form - like in How To Brew by Palmer.

 

[Frank]

Thanks for the responses. I think I will give it until this weekend before taking a sample.

Somebody please tell me that brewing teaches you patience.

I eagerly await everyone's response...

 

[Jknapp]

Its a funny thing, Frank...

At the same time I'm giving you info on taking gravity readings vs the 'safe' time method, I'm agonizing over whether to bottle a batch of Ed Worts House Pale tonight. I brewed it 16 days ago and I have a party coming up in a couple of weeks.. If I bottle in the next 2 days, it might be ready for the party..

I have neither waited the 3 weeks nor taken gravity readings.. Patience, what is that??

 

[wildwest450]

Thanks for the responses. I think I will give it until this weekend before taking a sample.

Somebody please tell me that brewing teaches you patience.

I eagerly await everyone's response...

Maybe after you've drank 10 to 15 gallons of green beer, you may learn patience. I didn't learn it until I had 20 gallons on hand and couldn't physically drink it fast enough. Then you'll see how good a properly aged beer can taste.

 

[ChshreCat]

I've learned that when you bulk age beer, it seems to get ready faster than if you bottle early and then wait for it to age in the bottle. So, that's helped me to learn not to bottle too soon. I can bottle early and then wait 6 weeks for it to get good, or I can give it another week in the fermenter and it's ready to drink after 3-4 weeks in the bottle.

The pipeline also helps you with your patience. I have bottles of my chocolate stout, and my brow ale, and my APA and my IIPA to drink, so I'm not in that much of a rush to get my saison in the bottle.

 

[Zen_Brew]

Its a funny thing, Frank...

I'm agonizing over whether to bottle a batch of Ed Worts House Pale tonight. I brewed it 16 days ago and I have a party coming up in a couple of weeks.. If I bottle in the next 2 days, it might be ready for the party..

Ed's House Pale Ale is a fairly simple recipe and comes into it's own fairly quickly. Generally, the less complicated the recipe, the quicker the beer is ready. If it is 16 days old now you can bottle it and it will be just fine after a couple weeks in the bottle.

 

[Jknapp]

Thanks for noticing Zen Brew! I didn't want to hijack the thread, but I was kinda fishing for someone with experience to give me the heads up on whether or not to bottle it.

I know patience yields the best beer, but I.. can't.. keep.. my.. hands.. off it!

 

[Frank]

Well this is the first beer in about a year and the first in my new fermentation chamber and second extract + specialty grains batch. Not to mention that my goal is to make all the beer for my wedding in a year.

So yeah there are a lot of factors making me impatient. And I can't even relax and have a homebrew because I don't have any!

 

[Arkador]

Once you have 4 or 5 beers to choose from, the next brew can be allowed proper time to mature.

make a couple quick beers, like a Wizen or Wit. They can be bottled in about 2 weeks, and consumed as soon as they are carbonated. That way you will have beer to drink while you practice patience.

 

[imprez25]

Arkador- I agree, I'm on my 7th batch now, with 4 ready to drink and one in the fermentor. I have forced myself to buy beer for the last two months, just so I didn't drink my homebrew. Now I can let my new beers age properly before I even try them, as I know now what a "green" beer tastes like compared to one that has come of age.

 

[brrman]

Not to mention that my goal is to make all the beer for my wedding in a year.

I did the same think, Frank - made all my wedding beer, about 5 kegs worth... It was soooo hard not to touch it, but I brewed it early enough that it was aged very well by the time the wedding came around and the beer was fantastic.

I was content to drink commercial beer for a a while until my wedding beer was brewed and I could concentrate on adding once again to the pipeline.

 

[FlashRedGLS18T]

Not to mention that my goal is to make all the beer for my wedding in a year.

That will be really cool.