hey there... rookie brewer here and i've got my primary going in a 5 gallon carboy and was wondering how i would check my s.g. the fluid is filled to the bottom of the neck, and i don't want to lose my hydrometer, if i can't reach it.
Shouldn't lose it unless all you have plain water. The best way is to use sterilized syphon tubing and draw off a sample into a hrdrometer jar and test there. Then drink the sample when you're done :)
Actually, this is a better idea than my idea of using a syphon since you have the beer up to the neck. My current batch is too low to reach with a turkey baster (~4.5-5 gallons in a 6.5 gallon carboy).
Get a 2-hole stopper that fits your sample tube top. Attach two pieces of small tubing to the two holes. Place the stopper into the sample tube. Sanitise one hose, drop it in the carboy, and suck on the other, holding the sample tube below the top of the beer in the carboy. When you have enough sample, pull the tube from the carboy, continuing suction so the liquid flows into the sample tube. Very safe, works through small hole in bucket lids, and no waste or drippage like a baster.
The first time I tried this, I didn't have a stopper, and just wrapped a wad of saran wrap around the two hoses, and pressed the wad over the top of the sample tube, for the same results.
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