Opening secondary to retrieve bung, reseal with carboy cap and purge o2?

[Kyle05STi]

Hello my fellow fermenters,

I pushed a bung into my first ever batch of cider and it's been floating in there since I racked it to secondary on 1/1/17 (started on 11/18/16):

I've been reading a lot of threads on if a rubber stopper will transfer flavor and opinions seems to be split down the middle, leaning toward yes - but only if it's in contact with the liquid. I really don't want my first batch to taste like a rubber stopper (if it doesn't already) so I think I'm going to try to retrieve it. I'm planning to use a clean and Starsan soaked pick from my automotive pick set to grab hold of it and pull it up.

Doing this would also give me the chance to pull a sample with a sanitized thief and measure the gravity (I topped off with just under half a gallon of apple juice after racking) and also to taste and make sure there's no rubbery notes. I did drink a sample when I racked it so I have a point of reference.

The 3-piece airlock keeps sucking vodka in as well. After topping off I moved it upstairs and got it up for 70-71* F for a while to get fermentation going again, and after seeing bubbles rising to the top (no airlock activity though) for 2 days I moved it back downstairs where it's hanging out around 63-64* F. The lower temp is causing the airlock to pull vodka in.

I want to retrieve the bung, but I'm worried about introducing o2. here are the options I've come up with:

1. Fish stopper out. Pull sample with sanitized thief to measure gravity, put most back in, keep a few ounces to taste. Install carboy cap with airlock, but also temporarily hook it up to an active fermentation so that the co2 being pushed out fills the carboy, fixing my temp-related suckback issue and also purging the o2 that I will surely be introducing into the mix by opening the secondary.

2. Fish stopper out. Pull sample with sanitized thief to measure gravity, do not put any back in. Top off with 8oz of apple juice and some yeast nutrient, hope that enough co2 in generated from the little bit of fermentation that I don't have to worry about purging the o2.

3. Leave it alone; hope it doesn't pick up a rubber taste as it sits in secondary until ~March.

What option would you recommend?

 

[MarkKF]

I only use three piece airlock during vigorous primary fermentation. I switch to an S shaped airlock in the secondary. It works both ways.

 

[Kyle05STi]

Thanks Mark, I do have a few s-shaped airlocks as well. I tried one briefly but it was sucking back as well.

I also edited my original post to clarify my question.

 

[MarkKF]

Thanks Mark, I do have a few s-shaped airlocks as well. I tried one briefly but it was sucking back as well.

I also edited my original post to clarify my question.

An S lock if used correctly should pass gas in both directions without sucking the vodka. I see mine change directions with temp. changes while aging.

 

[Kyle05STi]

An S lock if used correctly should pass gas in both directions without sucking the vodka. I see mine change directions with temp. changes while aging.

I'll have to try one again, I carefully sanitized and filled the one I tired, it looked like it was going to pull all of the vodka in. Maybe I didn't give it enough time to reverse bubble?

Update on the OP:
I grabbed some Starsan, sanitized the pick, pulled the airlock and had the bung out in about 3 seconds. Used a sanitized thief to pull a sample and it measured at 1.000. It was at .996 when I racked to secondary but I topped off with almost half a gallon of apple juice. I expect it to finish under 1.000 again. Little bubbles are still floating up so I opted not to mess with anything, re-sanitized the bung and airlock and put it back together. Left an ounce or two to sample, it has a little bit of a rubbery smell (might have just been yeasty, hard to tell when my brain is assuming rubber) but it tasted fine. Hopefully as it ages that will all dissipate, and there will be enough co2 to protect it.

Thanks everyone!