I have 2 of the 30L's. My concern and maybe this is unfounded is that by opening the top you would be releasing the residual CO2 built up in the headspace. I am under the understanding from previous reading elsewhere that this layer of CO2 provides some measure of protection against nasties? And if this is correct I can see a reason not to release it till bottling time. Like I said I may be all washed up on this. It wouldn't be the first case of convoluted thinking about beer home brewing and I certainly wouldn't want to spread a falsehood or fable in this regard. Feel free to weigh in please.
I must confess that I don't bother with gravity checks or readings after I pitch the yeast other than a final reading at bottling time. I do take one prior to pitching the yeast just to know my starting point but then I just give it 2 weeks and watch the chemical process (I am aware that you can't solely go on the visual aspect of fermenting action or lack there of) but I feel that combined with the 2 weeks time frame in middle of range fermenting temperature should get me in the ball park. So far so good. I have to admit that my brews are pretty middle of the road Ales and none of the fancy stuff so far that might require tweaking of the above process.
I have thought about mid fermentation gravity readings using the spigot but I worry about any contamination in the spigot being introduced which might reveal itself at bottling time and also I wonder about the validity of a reading on what comes out of the spigot, possibly more trub/yeast than beer and skewing any readings. I guess you could draw off enough to clear and then take a sample and hope for an accurate indication of what lies above the trub layer.
By the way, I saw in a video a ways back someone taking pains to cover their spigot with tin foil. I like this idea and what I do is two fold. I soak a piece of paper towel in sanitizer, and run it up the spigot and twist it around remove it and throw away and do the same with a clean corner piece of paper toweling and leave it in the spigot. I then dunk a small section of tin foil in sanitizer and wrap it around the outside of the spigot. If any fruit flies or other bugs get around it they will have a hard time getting into the spigot. When bottling time comes around I remove the tinfoil and pull out the paper towel piece and use a fresh piece of paper towel soaked to sanitize the spigot opening inside and out before bottling. I might be anal in this regard but it seems to make sense to me and so far knock on wood so good.
I must confess that I don't bother with gravity checks or readings after I pitch the yeast other than a final reading at bottling time. I do take one prior to pitching the yeast just to know my starting point but then I just give it 2 weeks and watch the chemical process (I am aware that you can't solely go on the visual aspect of fermenting action or lack there of) but I feel that combined with the 2 weeks time frame in middle of range fermenting temperature should get me in the ball park. So far so good. I have to admit that my brews are pretty middle of the road Ales and none of the fancy stuff so far that might require tweaking of the above process.
I have thought about mid fermentation gravity readings using the spigot but I worry about any contamination in the spigot being introduced which might reveal itself at bottling time and also I wonder about the validity of a reading on what comes out of the spigot, possibly more trub/yeast than beer and skewing any readings. I guess you could draw off enough to clear and then take a sample and hope for an accurate indication of what lies above the trub layer.
By the way, I saw in a video a ways back someone taking pains to cover their spigot with tin foil. I like this idea and what I do is two fold. I soak a piece of paper towel in sanitizer, and run it up the spigot and twist it around remove it and throw away and do the same with a clean corner piece of paper toweling and leave it in the spigot. I then dunk a small section of tin foil in sanitizer and wrap it around the outside of the spigot. If any fruit flies or other bugs get around it they will have a hard time getting into the spigot. When bottling time comes around I remove the tinfoil and pull out the paper towel piece and use a fresh piece of paper towel soaked to sanitize the spigot opening inside and out before bottling. I might be anal in this regard but it seems to make sense to me and so far knock on wood so good.
For those using the 30L Speidels, what are you guys using to take a sample for a hydrometer reading?
I brew 5 gallon batches, and judging by the pics in this thread, there seems to be quite a bit of headspace in the 30L tank when it's filled with only 5 gals, so i'd prefer to buy a certain baster or wine thief that's long enough so I can just insert it inside the stopper/airlock opening to grab my sample without having to unscrew the entire lid. I also don't want to use the spigot for hydrometer readings so I can minimize infection.