For years, I have wrestled with using my typical 12" wine thief to take samples out of my primaries through a gangly process of tipping the glass carboy up on its edge and grabbing multiple tiny samples as I worked toward filling my hydrometer test jar, all the while afraid of losing my grip on the carboy with it either tipping over on edge or possibly snapping my wine thief. This little ordeal has certainly not encouraged me to sample as much as I probably should.
Last fall, I came across the 29" Heavy Duty Glass Professional Wine Thief on the NorCal Brewing Solutions website. I really liked the idea of having a much longer reach to get samples out of the primary, but I was a bit concerned about the $49.99 price should I break the thing. So, I dropped hints about a Christmas gift...that date came and went. At the beginning of this month, I finally decided to take the plunge.
The Wine Thief showed up just a few days after I placed my order on NorCal's website. A long shipping tube package contained the wine thief and when I unwrapped it and removed it from the packaging material, I was immediately struck by the heavy duty nature of the glass. Think about the thickness of a champagne bottle compared to a beer bottle and you will have an idea of this heavy duty wine thief to the typical glass 12" wine thief. While I certainly would be concerned that a drop to the floor would break it, I think a typical bump up against another piece of equipment or edge of a wall that might break a 12" wine thief would likely do nothing to this heavy duty wine thief.
The 29" wine thief is much longer and thicker than the typical wine thief but still easily fits into the mouth of a glass carboy. I have included a few photos of my SWMBO holding the 29" wine thief and a comparison shot with it alongside a typical 12" wine thief. It easily reaches to the bottom of a 6.5 gallon carboy, as shown in the final photo. I already know I will be taking more samples during my fermentation stages, so it has met the initial reason for its purchase. The top and bottom openings are quite small, which makes it easier to trap the liquid sample, but makes it a little trickier for cleaning. I have been rinsing before use with Starsan and cleaning immediately after use by rinsing with hot water. It is well made and shows perfect symmetry. If I would have been in a store and held this bad boy in my hand, I would not have waited for months to make the purchase--it has a real presence in hand.
Last fall, I came across the 29" Heavy Duty Glass Professional Wine Thief on the NorCal Brewing Solutions website. I really liked the idea of having a much longer reach to get samples out of the primary, but I was a bit concerned about the $49.99 price should I break the thing. So, I dropped hints about a Christmas gift...that date came and went. At the beginning of this month, I finally decided to take the plunge.
The Wine Thief showed up just a few days after I placed my order on NorCal's website. A long shipping tube package contained the wine thief and when I unwrapped it and removed it from the packaging material, I was immediately struck by the heavy duty nature of the glass. Think about the thickness of a champagne bottle compared to a beer bottle and you will have an idea of this heavy duty wine thief to the typical glass 12" wine thief. While I certainly would be concerned that a drop to the floor would break it, I think a typical bump up against another piece of equipment or edge of a wall that might break a 12" wine thief would likely do nothing to this heavy duty wine thief.
The 29" wine thief is much longer and thicker than the typical wine thief but still easily fits into the mouth of a glass carboy. I have included a few photos of my SWMBO holding the 29" wine thief and a comparison shot with it alongside a typical 12" wine thief. It easily reaches to the bottom of a 6.5 gallon carboy, as shown in the final photo. I already know I will be taking more samples during my fermentation stages, so it has met the initial reason for its purchase. The top and bottom openings are quite small, which makes it easier to trap the liquid sample, but makes it a little trickier for cleaning. I have been rinsing before use with Starsan and cleaning immediately after use by rinsing with hot water. It is well made and shows perfect symmetry. If I would have been in a store and held this bad boy in my hand, I would not have waited for months to make the purchase--it has a real presence in hand.
I think this would be a major concern! :smack:
