I am quite compulsive about sanitizing and in 50 batches that I've brewed I've never had a spoiled one.
I've read about brewers adding one gram or 1/4 package of yeast when bottling--and leaving aside the issue of whether that's even necessary--it raises questions for me.
My normal procedure for handling dry yeast is to submerse the entire packet in a solution of star san, cut the top off with sanitized scissors, and dump the yeast into the fermenter.
If you were going to use one gram how would you would you sanitize your scale?
Mine has a plastic tray. If I put the tray in the star san solution it would be wet, and I wouldn't have a sterilized dry towel to remove the water from the tray.
Similarly, how do you measure 1/4 packet of yeast in a sanitary manner?
And finally how do you store the opened packet of yeast and how long will the opened packet retain its viability? I only brew about every six weeks. If there were any questions remaining about viability or contamination, I would rather dispose of the opened package and use a new one.
Am I just being too anal about all of this? I
Thanks for your advice.