what are the steps when using a hydrometer and isn’t there a risk of contamination sticking in something to get a sample of beer to get a reading. how do you remove the bung without having something fall in.
The easy way it to use a wine thief
. Sanitize it before putting it in the fermenter. If you use a pail, you can just sanitize a glass.
This is were StarSan is helpful. It stays usable for weeks/months if you use RO/DI water. A spray bottle is very useful. I only make 1 gallon at a time.
Don’t be overly paranoid about something falling in. As long is someone isn’t running a woodworking shop or grinding sheet metal in the same room, things will be OK.
You can also use some tubing. Put it in and put your thumb over the other end to capture the liquid. Repeat until you have enough.
There will be some CO2 in the beer. Splash the sample back and forth between 2 glasses. Then take your reading. Otherwise the CO2 will “lift” the hydrometer.
Don’t put the sample back in the fermenter.
