Help! Thermometer in Carboy

My father and I were trying to check the temperature inside our glass carboy when he dropped the damn thermometer in the carboy itself. It was sanitized beforehand, so I feel a little relieved. But does anyone have any suggestions on how to get a glass thermometer out of a carboy?

I will never give this job to my Father again.... :smack:

Leave it till you rack the beer out

Chew up some bubble gum, put it on a stick....

Just kidding. That's a good question though, and it's unfortunate it's a glass carboy (plastic has a wider mouth )

Now this is just theory, but if you have DME sitting around that might actually be your best bet. DME with a little water will create an abnormally sitcky solution. Perhaps you could dip some sanitized tubing or a sanitized stick in some DME / water (mostly DME) and then go fishing with that? If you can make it connect with the thermometer, hold it on there for a solid 10-15 seconds to get the best "grip" possible and then slowly pull up. Or wait to rack and then carefully slide it out after getting the precious beer out

Just a crazy idea. I don't know of any extremely skinny tongs that you could use. If you had extra long chop sticks and were a pro...

Good Luck Hopacolypse!

Thanks Jipper, great idea! I was also thinking skinny tongs!

I am brewing a saison with the pain in the ass Wyeast 3724. I have to shake my carboy around in order to get my yeast in suspension again. But I'm extremely afraid of breaking my thermometer into it

Yeah - don't break it! Lead / Mercury is not good in beer. Haven't tried it, but I don't think I'd be able to tell you about it if I had!

Good luck again Hopacolypse - hope this batch turns out well for you!

Rack it, pour out the thermometer! Carefully.

I had to get a stopper out of one and did it using the table trick where you shove a cork into a wine bottle and take it out with a cloth napkin (they love it at really nice restaurants when you start doing table tricks!) Think Chinese finger trap.

Suck it into a long straw? Actually, some kind of siphon pump might work.

Does thermo have a loop molded into the top end? Might be able to get a fish hook(no barb) into it.
Otherwise, just rack, but get ready to stop transfer if thermo breaks at any time.