Sanitize or not sanitize?

[abrewhal]

I'm looking to take a sample from my hefeweizen which is currently sitting in a secondary fermentation carboy, which I transfered after 1 week sitting in the primary

It's currently 9 days in but FG was already hit by the second day

OG: 1.051
FG: 1.016
Fermentation chamber: bucket (primary), carboy (secondary)
Yeast: Mangrove Jack's M20 Bavarian Wheat Yeast
Grain Bill:
5lb - Pilsner
5lb - White Wheat
0.5lb - Carapils
1lb - Flaked wheat
Hops:
0.5oz hallertau mittelfruh @ 60 min
0.5oz hallertau mittelfruh @ 5 min
1oz lemondrop @ 5 min

The first time I took a sample was 1 day before transfer (on the 7th day using a sanitized ladle, the brew tasted and smelled like @ss and was almost undrinkable. I figured it could be due to H2S presented in the brew and combined with a bit of starsan on the ladle
But this time I am planning to take another sample to see if it still tastes like @ss from the carboy without sanitizing the thief so starsan is not going to affect the taste

Do you think this is a good idea?

 

[VikeMan]

But this time I am planning to take another sample to see if it still tastes like @ss from the carboy without sanitizing the thief so starsan is not going to affect the taste

Do you think this is a good idea?

Not a good idea. Sanitizing your ladle with Starsan solution won't affect the taste. But not sanitizing it could.

 

[rburrelli]

If you are putting an object into the beer sanitize it. It will not affect taste. Unless you are pulling a very very small sample, like a teaspoonful.

 

[Deadalus]

Since you have correlated the smell and the taste as @ss, I think you should just sniff the airlock for the @ss smell first to avoid another unnecessary taste. Only then should you sanitize the thief for further taste testing.

 

[Bassman2003]

Yes, "done on the 2nd day" and tasting like @ss are not good signs! You might want to inspect for an infection.

 

[IslandLizard]

FG was already hit by the second day

As @Bassman2003 already hinted to, above,^ that's way too quick. Something is off.

What temperature did you ferment at?
How did you measure your gravity?

 

[abrewhal]

It was fermented at 65F then jumped to 70F by second day
The bucket was unfortunately not fully sealed (air was leaking out)
Ignore the data after 3/12. That was when I took the RAPT/TILT pill out of the fermenter during transfer to secondary
As you can see, SG was pretty much flat after day 2

 

[abrewhal]

This is a picture taken just now, I have the carboy sitting in a swamp cooler with a aquarium heater for temperature control

 

[kevin58]

Why did you transfer to a secondary vessel?

 

[IslandLizard]

As you can see, SG was pretty much flat after day 2 [Graph]

I would not rely on that graph for gravity readings. Anything that physically happens to your RAPT/TILT or interferes with its mechanics will skew readings. Large krausen formation or large CO2 outputs come to mind.

Also, dry yeast (either sprinkled or re-hydrated) will take a day or 2 (or longer) to establish herself (lag time, growth phase) before she starts fermenting at full bore.

Dry (ale) yeast fermenting at 68-70F will take a few days to a week to reach anywhere near final gravity, often longer. Not 24 hours.
How many brews have you done/witnessed before?

 

[abrewhal]

Update:
Tasted the brew again, the taste of ass is no longer there and starts to taste more drinkable but it's still quite sour hmmmmmmmm (perhaps acetyl from what I've read?)
Gonna leave in swamp cooler for another week but will most likely change out the swamp cooler water which is starting to look like a real swamp

Why did you transfer to a secondary vessel?

Primary fermentation chamber was a bucket, though it was sealed with saran wrap I felt uneasy when water would pool on top of the bucket so I decided to move to secondary

I would not rely on that graph for gravity readings. Anything that physically happens to your RAPT/TILT or interferes with its mechanics will skew readings. Large krausen formation or large CO2 outputs come to mind.

Also, dry yeast (either sprinkled or re-hydrated) will take a day or 2 (or longer) to establish herself (lag time, growth phase) before she starts fermenting at full bore.

Dry (ale) yeast fermenting at 68-70F will take a few days to a week to reach anywhere near final gravity, often longer. Not 24 hours.
How many brews have you done/witnessed before?

This is my 4th brew, first all grain

 

[IslandLizard]

[...] change out the swamp cooler water which is starting to look like a real swamp

Why would that be?
Or is the fermentation still ongoing, spewing beer into your swamp cooler?

starts to taste more drinkable but it's still quite sour hmmmmmmmm (perhaps acetyl from what I've read?)

Diacetyl, you mean? That's not sour, it has an artificial buttery flavor, like what's poured over popcorn, in the movie theater. Ruins your palate for hours.

This is my 4th brew, first all grain

How does the activity and duration of this fermentation compare to the previous 3 brews?
IOW, how long did you let those ferment for?
And how were the results?

 

[Protos]

Actually, the a$$ smell is pretty uncommon for Weizenbiers, even at the early stages of fermentation when H2S is released.
If I were smelling an a$$ from any of my Weizenbiers, my first suspect would be some actual a$$ bacteria that had somehow found their way from the a$$ into the brew and infected it.
My second suspect would be the "biotransformed" Lemondrop late hops. The ancient gods of Bavaria sometimes choose this way to punish those who taint Weizenbiers with sizeable late additions of catty New-World-style hops. If that happened to me, I'd humbly accept that as a just punishment for me disregarding the traditional rules of brewing this style.

Sanitize your thief, as others have said. Starsan won't affect the taste. Using a non-disinfected thief, you're risking to get a beer smelling like two a$$e$, which could double your current problem.

 

[Bassman2003]

If it is an infection, I would be prepared to clean and sanitize everything that came into contact with the wort post boil. You do not want anything lingering around for future brews.

 

[kevin58]

Get a lid for that fermentation bucket or get a new bucket. They're cheap. Transferring to a secondary vessel is an excellent way to introduce oxygen which will ruin a beer pretty fast.

 

[abrewhal]

Why would that be?
Or is the fermentation still ongoing, spewing beer into your swamp cooler?

No, simply change the water in the swamp cooler for new water

Diacetyl, you mean? That's not sour, it has an artificial buttery flavor, like what's poured over popcorn, in the movie theater. Ruins your palate for hours.

Actually I meant to say Acetaldehyde

How does the activity and duration of this fermentation compare to the previous 3 brews?
IOW, how long did you let those ferment for?
And how were the results?

The previous 3 brews I left for 3 weeks, usually by week 1 and 2 the air lock activity stopped
Result was ok, it was drinkable, not sour, but very light bodied. I used extracts for those batches so I cannot stell if the light bodiedness was from the extract or there wasn't something I didn't do right

 

[abrewhal]

Get a lid for that fermentation bucket or get a new bucket. They're cheap. Transferring to a secondary vessel is an excellent way to introduce oxygen which will ruin a beer pretty fast.

I added sugar during transfer to hopefully negate the effect of oxygenation, not sure if that would help

 

[VikeMan]

I added sugar during transfer to hopefully negate the effect of oxygenation, not sure if that would help

Adding small amounts of sugar to an already fermented beer during transfer operations, in the hopes that the yeast will use up all the oxygen (i.e. 'negate the effect of oxygenation'), is wishful thinking. Not saying that's what you meant, but that's just the way I read the words. The yeast will use some of the O2, but not all of it.

A better solution would be no secondary.