My first brew, a pale ale, has been in the fermenter for six days and all activity in the air lock ceased days ago. I initially tried to take a hydrometer reading by pouring some of the cooled wort into a jar and dropping the hydrometer in it. Not knowing how the hydrometer worked combined with not reading the instructions I failed to realize that if my hydrometer is 11 inches long and my jar is only 7 inches tall, a reading is not possible.
Being in the heat of moment and overly excited about my first brew, I decided to forego the specific gravity reading all together and transfer the wort to the fermenter. The instructions included with my homebrew kit also stating that the wort is extremely susceptible to airborne contamination at this time, so rather leave it uncovered and vulnerable to an airborne attack I wanted to get the air tight top on it right away.
That being said, I now want to take a specific gravity reading because I suspect all fermentation is complete. Is it OK to sanitize my hydrometer and place it directly into the fermenter with my beer, or is it better to scoop some out and put it in a tall enough container and take the reading there? I'm also concerned with the amount of beer I will have to pour out in order to take the reading. I don't want to waste it if I don't have to.
What do you guys use to take hydrometer readings in? The only thing I have in the house that is tall enough is a vase, and I assume the container has to be filled near the top with beer.
I guess the bottom line is this: I failed to take an initial hydrometer reading, does that render a hydrometer reading now useless? My pale ale has been fermenting for approximately 6 days, all activity in the airlock ceased after approximately 48 hours, am I ready to move on to the bottling stage?
To answer my own question, based on what I have read here, a gravity reading now and one a couple days from now will tell me if fermentation is in fact finished. I believe, but am not sure, it will tell me this by the specific gravity reading being the same for both tests.
Any tips, insight, and advice will be greatly appreciated. It's my first batch. Please don't tear me up for not knowing much about homebrewing.