[mike p]

hello

Ive already tried searching old posts and can't find an answer to this. maybe someone can help. I think I may have screwed up my first batch. the beer is wheat (extracts) with weinstephan yeast. 8 days in the carboy and still bubbling along. last night I decided to check the gravity for the first time since pitching. I practiced siphoning water and am not real slick at it yet. when trying to get some beer out, the siphon almost started and then collapsed and 1/2 of the beer ran back into the carboy, the rest on the floor. I tried again this time sucking on the tube to start it... I know, i know, but I figured it doesn't mattter if the few ounces im sampling are a little contaminated. again it didnt work and I got nervous and quickly resealed the carboy. now the kreuzen has fallen and the bubbling has all but stopped (at least several minutes between bubbles). did I kill the batch? I sanitized the cane and hose with chlorine and rinsed well. do you think me sucking the tube could get bacteria all the way back into the carboy? and would this cause it to abruptly stop fermenting? what should I do at this point?

I used a wine theif today to get enough out to test the gravity. 1009. the original reading was about 1040. any ideas?

thanks,
mike p

[hevimees]

Don't worry, the chances that you killed the batch are second to none. I've made over a dozen batches of beer, I always suck the siphon to get it started and I've never had a spoiled batch so far.

The gravity is so low, that it's not supposed to ferment very aggressively anymore. My guess is that it'll drop a little from 1009 and then it's done.

Wait for a few days and check the gravity again. If it's still the same you can bottle. Alternatively you can transfer your beer to a secondary fermentor and leave it there for some time. It's a matter of opinions whether this will do any good to your beer.