Sanitation Procedure - Hydrometer Readings

[PittsburghBrewer]

Hi all,

I've read lots of posts about taking hydrometer readings. They all emphasize that sanitation is key. I'm trying to nail down exactly what that means.

I know that I need to sanitize the turkey baster/thief I'll be using to obtain a sample. Otherwise, what do people do in terms of sanitation when taking a sample? Do you sanitize the lid of the fermenter before opening it? (I use a fermentation bucket.) Do you use a new airlock, or just replace the old one?

Thanks!

 

[IslandLizard]

Best not to open the lid, there's no need to until you rack it to your bottling bucket.

I remove the airlock and snake a 1/4" OD hose down the grommet hole until it's in the beer. Start a siphon by a quick short suck and drain into a container or your hydrometer jar. When enough, pull the end of the hose that's in the beer out, without letting any of it return. Replace airlock. This is the ghetto version.

You can use a 100-200ml syringe and suck it out the same way or attach a straight SS tube to it with an inch of pvc tubing. That's the luxury version.

When you siphon out 1 or 2 quarts that way, you've discovered the prison version.

If you have CO2 available, you could flush the headspace after your sampling, or flow CO2 in while tinkering with tubes and sucking the sample out. You would need a second hole for that or drill the grommet hole out to the size of a stopper.

Don't take too many samples, let her ride.

Of course you sanitize everything touching your beer. Also around the airlock before you pull it out. I use a small washcloth drenched in Starsan. I always have a small 1/2 gallon bucket (think Margarita Mix) handy, with that cloth inside. It stores my airlock while I take the sample.

 

[IslandLizard]

To answer your second question, before I even attempt to lift the lid, I spray Starsan liberally under the rim and mop around that area with that small Starsan soaked washcloth. Bugs tend to hide there, and your hands are going to be on it. I also spray/wipe the top of the lid with Starsan and around the airlock. If the lid is very dirty or dusty, I repeat that until I'm satisfied with the job.

I then remove the airlock and pry up the lid with my finger tips. You can use a special tool if you want. As soon as the lid is off I wipe the rim and inside top inch of the bucket with the Starsan cloth and lay a spare, clean and sanitized lid on top. Nothing will drop in now until I get to the actual racking.

Note, all this is done on a towel on the floor. Once the spare lid is on, I then lift the bucket onto the counter for racking. You may want to wipe/sanitize the handle too while you're at it.

 

[LLBeanJ]

1. Sanitize a measuring cup
2. Pop the lid (don't remove it, just pull it up on one side so you have access to the beer in the fermenter)
3. Dip the measuring cup and pull a sample
4. Secure the lid

Once the cup is sanitized, the sample pulling process takes maybe 10-15 seconds.

I don't use an airlock, but if I did I wouldn't mess with it. The only thing you need to sanitize is whatever you're dipping in the beer to pull the sample. Obviously, there will be differences of opinion regarding how much sanitizing (lid, around bucket, etc.) needs to take place, but I do just what I described above and have never had a problem, Of course, YMMV.

 

[IslandLizard]

1. Sanitize a measuring cup
2. Pop the lid (don't remove it, just pull it up on one side so you have access to the beer in the fermenter)
3. Dip the measuring cup and pull a sample
4. Secure the lid

Once the cup is sanitized, the sample pulling process takes maybe 10-15 seconds.

I don't use an airlock, but if I did I wouldn't mess with it. The only thing you need to sanitize is whatever you're dipping in the beer to pull the sample. Obviously, there will be differences of opinion regarding how much sanitizing (lid, around bucket, etc.) needs to take place, but I do just what I described above and have never had a problem, Of course, YMMV.

Although this method works well, you lose all the CO2 from the headspace as soon as you lift the lid. I still think mine is simpler and less invasive, keeping most of the CO2 where it belongs.

 

[Sadu]

Although this method works well, you lose all the CO2 from the headspace as soon as you lift the lid. I still think mine is simpler and less invasive, keeping most of the CO2 where it belongs.

What about lagers though?

Sure I watch closely the signs of fermentation and get a good feel for how fast it's progressing but I have been wrong plenty of times and I feel a regular hydrometer reading is necessary if you are going to be ramping temps up for the diacetyl rest. I have experienced off-flavours from ramping up my lager temps too early or too late so I am very careful about this now, which means regular gravity readings.

I use a sanitised stainless measuring cup to draw the sample from the top as mentioned above by another poster and if the fermentation is still active then the CO2 should replace itself.

For ales, there is less to worry about and I'd agree there is no need to take gravity readings until the end if the ferment is proceeding normally.

 

[GHBWNY]

You can use a 100-200ml syringe and suck it out the same way or attach a straight SS tube to it with an inch of pvc tubing. That's the luxury version.

This ^^ Here's what I do: attach a rigid 12" length of 1/4" plastic tube to the end of my 100ml syringe, spray sanitizer on everything, wait a minute, remove the airlock from the grommet (this is a bucket), stick the tube through the grommet hole and draw off 100ml. This perfectly fills my hydrometer tube with hydrometer in it right to the top. Sanitize airlock stem, replace. Get reading, drink sample. Least invasive, most sanitary, no waste.

 

[jddevinn]

Previous answer

A small section of ss tubing screwed to the end of a 100 cc syringe straight through the airlock.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XN9FXS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J26U3R8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[jschein]

Is that thing legal?[emoji482]

 

[Pratzie]

Put some sanitizer in a spray bottle and spray all around the lid before you open. Sanitize a wine thief, pop the lid, take a sample and close the lid immediately.

You won't lose a lot of CO2 as it doesn't magically up and evaporate immediately when you open it. It will also still have some CO2 production to replace what is lost. Ideally the lid won't be open for more then 5-10 seconds anyway. Take your reading, dump the sample and you're good. Some people like to drink the sample to taste (which is fine), others like to throw it back in. I'm one of those people that don't like the idea of putting it back in just in case you contaminated it in any way.

Or use that wicked ass syringe in the pic posted above. Again just make sure u sanitize whatever goes into the wort and also the openings in which you expose the wort to allow the thief/syringe/hose to extract it.

 

[jddevinn]

The issue with opening the lid is if the fermentation IS done then there is no CO2 to replace what left with the lid opening.... and almost all of it mixed with the air and went away.

 

[PADave]

Or just give your yeast enough time to work and don't worry about taking so many readings. I take one hydro reading for FG, and that's while I'm bottling.

 

[GHBWNY]

Take your reading, dump the sample and you're good. Some people like to drink the sample to taste (which is fine), others like to throw it back in. I'm one of those people that don't like the idea of putting it back in just in case you contaminated it in any way.

Agree, don't put it back in. But don't dump it, either. Taste it. It's an opportunity to see how your beer has progressed. It will have a small amount of natural carbonation and the taste will be close to what it will be a few weeks down the road.