will this work?

[QueenOfBattle]

So Im a One Gallon Brewer, and a complete NOOB. I went to my LHBS and grabbed a Hydrometer and tube and some other stuff needed. Looking at the size of the tube the hydrometer needed kind of worried me because I'm thinking Im only going to get about 10 bottles as is and the thief isnt small enough to grab an easy sample, kind of a PIA to use the racking cane and thumb method. Well after i bought all my stuff I needed (new air lock, rubber stopper, hydrometer and tube) the check out guy puts the stopper on my tube to help me carry all the stuff, i threw the air lock on top just for kicks, and we started talking about how it looked like a mini fermenter. Well the guy said instead of keep drawing out of my primary I might be able to get a gravity reading out of the tube if I kept the airlock on.
Alright everyone without laughing too hard, will this work? I thought if it did, it might cut down on the possiblity of exposing the whole batch to infection.

 

[unionrdr]

It'll likely ferment at a different rate than the main batch. Just sanitize the hydrometer & tube so you can pour it back in after testing. I do that with the wort from OG test.

 

[day_trippr]

Nope, you are going to have to laugh. Won't work without it...

Cheers!

 

[bob1852]

It's called a fast fermentation test.

Here's a write up about it by kaiser, one of our resident beer process brainiacs.

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fast_Ferment_Test

 

[Harrier]

I've heard that this will work just perfectly, allowing you to keep an eye on your sg without taking multiple samples and risking infection. I believe it was called a "satellite sample" or something like that.

 

[Calder]

I think it would work fine. If you keep it in the same place as the fermenter and treated it the same.

You will probably have to spin the hydrometer each time you measure, as CO2 will cling to it and cause it to float higher. So you will not be able to get a continuous reading.

 

[NorthRiverS]

I did that on one of my early brews. I called it my "satellite" fermenter. It didn't work too well because it fermented differently than the bucket. It was just not reliable.

NRS

 

[Dynachrome]

How bad of an idea is this?

Is your fermentor deep enough to float your hygrometer? ...just leave it in there?

 

[Teromous]

Am I the only one who wonders why your LHBS didn't offer you a plastic bag?

 

[midfielder5]

I think it would "work", sure.
I also think you can get a few fermenters for your pipeline and just let each sit for 14 days or so to ensure fermentation is complete before bottling.

I say this because I would only rely on the "side car" hydro fermenter to show FG for the batch, not necessarily when the main 1gallon batch's FG is stable/it is safe to bottle.
I think it will ferment faster than the 1G bottle.
It could help determine ABV% etc.

 

[Harrier]

I would think that it would ferment more slowly if anything, just because it wouldn't be able to maintain the fermentation-generated heat that a large volume of liquid would. That's just a guess though. There might be other factors at play.

 

[eric19312]

Get a refractometer for your OG measurement, uses less than 1/4 tsp. then use your hydrometer for the FG measurement, you can drink that one or if you sanitize the hydrometer and tube bottle it. I think the risk of infecting at that point must be lower than at initial pitching.

You can also use the refractometer to monitor falling gravity during fermentation (to see if it has stopped falling, indicating fermentation is complete) but it doesn't seem to be useful for measuring actual FG.

 

[lakedawgs]

It will ferment out if you pull from the original fermenter that had yeast, no problem. Might not act exactly the same as the bigger batch once all is said and done. Also, you are adding another possibility of infection. If you hydrometer came in a small plastic storage tube try using that instead of the hydrometer vessel shown. It will take much less liquid. Once done with the test, drink the sample.
Good luck.

 

[Revvy]

Normally I usually say it WOULDN'T work, because of the rate of fermentation for a satellite fermenter and a 5 GALLON fermenter are going to be hugely different. BUT it would be an interesting experiment to see just how different the rate is between a 1 gallon fermentation and a smaller sample. In the case of a micro batch fermentation, it might not be all that far off. If anything it may be hours off rather than days....

 

[progmac]

this reminds me of the fast ferment test, which is used to determine target final gravity.

that isn't really your goal though. while we could judge what FG will be with your proposal (assuming you pitched yeast), we couldn't judge when FG will be reached in the main fermenter based on the activity of a sample.

an advantage to fermenting in a transparent container is that you can see what is happening and it is pretty easy to know when fermentation is more or less over. coupled with your contraption above, you could do this...

1) ferment in the contraption in the warmest spot in your house (fast ferment)
2) when activity has stopped, wait 2 days and take a reading
3) when it looks like activity has stopped in your main fermentor, wait 2 days and take a reading. if it matches the other reading, you're done.

this way you would only need to draw one sample.

--------------------------

the above is really more tinkering around than anything. if your goal is strictly not to lose beer, you can purchase a wine thief, which is designed to draw off a sample, measure the FG with the hydrometer in the inclusive tube, and return to the fermentor with a pressure toggle.

 

[Revvy]

You have 2 threads on the same topic?

 

[WoodlandBrew]

With a refractometer you would have a much smaller sample size. It will certainly tell you when fermentation has complete and an idea of ABV. (How accurate is up to debate)

 

[WDT]

Really interesting. I might have to try this.

Good idea OP.

Just pitch your yeast and then when it is going pretty good draw off a sample and watch the gravity drop in the tube.

 

[DocScott]

I tried this recently. The satellite fermented much faster than the main batch. I was at FG in the satellite after about 2 days and I checked my main fermenter and I was at about 60% of that if memory serves. Another 5 days brought me to the same FG. Although it was interesting, I found it minimally helpful and haven't repeated it again.

 

[unionrdr]

I tried this recently. The satellite fermented much faster than the main batch. I was at FG in the satellite after about 2 days and I checked my main fermenter and I was at about 60% of that if memory serves. Another 5 days brought me to the same FG. Although it was interesting, I found it minimally helpful and haven't repeated it again.

This is what I illuded to in my earlier post. fermentation rate isn't the same. I remember threads like this in the past.

 

[QueenOfBattle]

Thanks for all the replies and thoughts! I think im going to see this one through but in the future I'm going to keep pulling samples, might be able to use the bottling wand. Man, hind sight is 20/20

 

[unionrdr]

Thanks for all the replies and thoughts! I think im going to see this one through but in the future I'm going to keep pulling samples, might be able to use the bottling wand. Man, hind sight is 20/20

...but looking back,it's still a bit fuzzy. Someday you too will know my pain,And smile it's black toothed grin...Feeling claustrophobic,
like the doors are closing in,
malt stains on my hands,
& I don't know where I've been.
I'm in trouble for the beers i haven't got to yet...sounds like Megadeath. :rockin:
But yeah,the best way is to just take samples to test.

 

[justkev52]

You will need to get a Refractometer

 

[sweetcell]

another vote for the refractometer. one of the best brewing investments i've made recently.

 

[forstmeister]

Just sanitize your hydrometer and float it in your fermenter when you check gravity. Unless its a carboy with a small neck. In that case you could tie a string to it and sanitize the whole thing couldn't you?

 

[passedpawn]

[Two identical threads merged. Queen of Battle, please don't do that again. If you create a thread and decide you created in the wrong place, report it and a mod will move it for you.]

 

[QueenOfBattle]

You have 2 threads on the same topic?

yea sorry, I posted in the wrong area and couldnt figure out if i could delete it and i kinda needed and answer before i decided to bottle my apologies

 

[Revvy]

Another option is Brewballs.

I don't know if all 6 would fit in there, but you might just in a small batch put the 1.020 and the 1.010 one in there and when the 1.020 drops you know where you're at, and if you wait another week and the second ball hasn't dropped, you can assume that you're done and somewhere in between.

The other thing is, simply don't take a grav reading and leave your beer for a month. Regardless of what size batch you're making, leaving it to clear up will pretty much gaurentee you're not bottling too soon.

 

[QueenOfBattle]

Another option is Brewballs.

I don't know if all 6 would fit in there, but you might just in a small batch put the 1.020 and the 1.010 one in there and when the 1.020 drops you know where you're at, and if you wait another week and the second ball hasn't dropped, you can assume that you're done and somewhere in between.

The other thing is, simply don't take a grav reading and leave your beer for a month. Regardless of what size batch you're making, leaving it to clear up will pretty much gaurentee you're not bottling too soon.

thats pretty awesome! I will deff look into those. I think my best bet is to just let it sit for a month. Does the fact that I brew one gallon brews shorten fermentation?

 

[WoodlandBrew]

Does the fact that I brew one gallon brews shorten fermentation?

Speed of fermentation is dependant mostly on gravity, temperature, and pitch rate. (In addition there is aeration, yeast health, and others, but under normal circumstance they don't need to be considered.) If you pitch the same number of cells into your 1 gallon batch as you would into a 5 gallon batch then yes, it will likely progress faster.

 

[QueenOfBattle]

Speed of fermentation is dependant mostly on gravity, temperature, and pitch rate. (In addition there is aeration, yeast health, and others, but under normal circumstance they don't need to be considered.) If you pitch the same number of cells into your 1 gallon batch as you would into a 5 gallon batch then yes, it will likely progress faster.

Thanks WoodlandBrew. Appreciate the feed back.

 

[WoodlandBrew]

Thanks WoodlandBrew. Appreciate the feed back.

Glad I could help. Hope your beer comes out great.