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VincentK · 01-23-2013, 05:37 AM

So on the 24th I'll be siphoning my beer into my secondary for another week and when taking a reading I noticed that I have a little less than 4 1/2 gallons when my recipe called for 5. Would it be bad to just add an additional half gallon into my secondary after or before I siphon?

**gypsyhead** · 01-23-2013, 05:41 AM

If you're doing it at all, do it after racking so as not to disturb your trub bed. That said, use sterilized/filtered water, otherwise there's a risk of infection. Beyond all that, is it a beer where oxidation is a significant threat, did you hit your target OG, and are you okay with drinking a few less bottles of a slightly less watered-down brew?

**Cbaddad** · 01-23-2013, 05:42 AM

If you want to water down your beer. However, I doubt that was in your recipe. Keep it as is and enjoy a little less. Just means you need to brew again soon.

highgravitybacon · 01-23-2013, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VincentK

So on the 24th I'll be siphoning my beer into my secondary for another week and when taking a reading I noticed that I have a little less than 4 1/2 gallons when my recipe called for 5. Would it be bad to just add an additional half gallon into my secondary after or before I siphon?

Close enough. Just leave it. Too many things to go wrong to make it worth while to add water.

VincentK · 01-23-2013, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsyhead

If you're doing it at all, do it after racking so as not to disturb your trub bed. That said, use sterilized/filtered water, otherwise there's a risk of infection. Beyond all that, is it a beer where oxidation is a significant threat, did you hit your target OG, and are you okay with drinking a few less bottles of a slightly less watered-down brew?

To be honest I'm not sure whether or not oxidation is a threat with this particular beer, it's a Sierra Nevada clone. I have not met my target OG yet. I'm fine with a few less bottles but since I used the amount of ingredients for a batch of 5 gallons will less than that be a big deal taste wise?

dcocch · 01-23-2013, 12:10 PM

Did you have 5 gallons when you originally put your wort into your fermenter? I wouldn't add water to any beer because I don't like Coors light!

zeg · 01-23-2013, 01:53 PM

If your purpose is to get more beer, don't do it. It's not worth it for half a dozen extra bottles.

If it's because you think you overshot gravity, that's a better reason, but I still wouldn't recommend it. You're only going to affect the numbers by 10%.

If you absolutely insist on it, boil the water for 15 minutes, cool it, and rack it in as though it were wort. You want to keep it sanitary (though it's not quite as essential because you already have some protection from the alcohol), and you want to boil the O2 out of the water and not splash it back in. That should protect you from oxidation.

But really, just fix your error on the next batch, and take this one as it is. Your output will vary a bit every batch depending on how accurately you measure, how much you lose to trub, etc. Get used to it, or fix the problems at the source. Patching up afterwards isn't really worth it.

**pjj2ba** · 01-23-2013, 03:01 PM

There are only a couple of reasons to add water to your beer. Was your Starting gravity too high? If so, you can add water to dilute it down. This would be the primary reason one might want to add water.

A minor reason to add water would be taste. Did you taste the beer and just found it overpowering? Then it might be worth adding some water.

That is pretty much about it as far as when to add extra water. Simply hitting a target volume is not one of them (assuming the SG was correct)