Specific Gravity Check

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bmberger21

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I don't normally check the specific gravity towards the end of primary fermentation (i.e. 3 days into ferment), but this wlp002 had me nervous. I didn't pay much attention to its attenuation profile and realized its not much of an attenuator. All that said I checked the gravity with a wine thief and hydrometer. After checking I was nervous I disturbed the natural cap of CO2 and decided to blow CO2 from my kegging equipment into the dead space of my fermenting bucket. I guess my question is, was this ok to do and would this be sufficient to keep out any oxygen that might have leaked in during the gravity check to prevent oxidation while the beer finishes fermenting? I plan on keeping it in there for at least another week.
 
Your beer is fine. People open their fermenters all day and post about it on the forums. Does it increase your chance of infection? Sure, but chances are low.

Yes putting CO2 back in the fermenter was probably a really smart idea as well... RDWHAMB
 
I've blown CO2 into the headspaces of fermentors after taking samples or after lifting the lid. Try not to remove the lid, if possible. The downside is it takes quite a bit of CO2 to reduce the air (oxygen) to acceptable levels to prevent oxidation. Not perfect, but better than nothing. Blowing in CO2 to combat possible infection won't do much, the beer has been open and exposed to air already. Starsan should take care of sanitizing the critical areas, though. Always sanitize well before lifting the lid, and wipe the rim well with a Starsan soaked cloth after the lid is removed. Clean and sanitize rim and lid before replacing.

My last batch of 1.071 Pale Ale using WY1968 ended up at 1.024. I moved it to a keg, yeast and all, and after purging the headspace I bubbled CO2 through the liquid out dip tube to rouse the yeast a few times a day. All to no avail.

I did notice, after re-using that yeast a couple times it tends to attenuate better, but also stays cloudy longer. I guess the lower flocculent yeast population takes more presence with reuse. After re-using 4 times I couldn't get clear beer anymore, but it would attenuate like an American ale yeast.
 
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