Taking hyrdometer sample from spigot question?

[mrdonbonjovi]

Forward:
1. I come from an engineering background... meaning I over think even the easiest of tasks.
2. I didn't want to resurrect a 2 year old thread on this topic.

Question:
Will taking repeated samples from the bottling spigot cause a possible contamination to my beer?

I would guess to think yes, as most spigots work with a valve meaning there is a joint of some sort that rotates open to allow the flow of beer. When its opened the joint rotates so surfaces on the spigot that didn't touch the beer originally will come into contact with the beer supply. When it closes the residual beer will remain on the "open" surfaces of the valve which just came into contact with the beer. When taking your next sample you will move that surface back into contact with your beer. What if mold or bacteria forms on that surface, which it would likely do.

What do you guys (over)think?

 

[BendBrewer]

Well if you over think, I do to.

I would spray the hell out of the spigot with by sani spray bottle before and after doing this. I always spray the air lock and stopper prior to removing it them on my carboys when racking and taking readings. I even spray the hydrometer and vessel but I know I am being anal.

 

[KevinW]

Definitely not a bad idea to sanitize everything(except your beer of course) but if you are taking a sample from a bucket of beer there should be enough alcohol in the beer to prevent infection.
If you are sampling for gravity I would think that you are close to bottling/kegging/transferring and 2-3 days should not be a problem. I am not a scientist so all I can do is guess!
You could always just take a sample with a thief or racking cane throught the airlock opening. Just my opinion!!