second brew (red ale), part 5

Hmm. I just measured gravity at around 1.018. That's a significant uptick from the last reading several days ago, which I don't think is possible. I can think of two explanations: Measurement error, or uneven distribution of the water with which I topped off the carboy after transferring from the primary. I'll be taking all readings with the hydrometer in the measuring tube now, which should improve accuracy. And, since I topped off very gingerly it does make sense that the water would be concentrated at the top of the wort for some time, giving an artificially low gravity reading. So, this is probably a truer measure than the previous two.

Clarity was very good. Flavor was again improved. Nice balance of bitterness and hoppiness; faint sweetness. This is quite drinkable!

My procedure this time was to sanitize all equipment, extract and measure, pour off a bit for tasting, and then pour back into the carboy. I hope this isn't risky. I'm thinking about in the future using BetterBottle carboys with valves for all stages. No siphoning, and being able to take samples right from a spigot sounds good to me.