JZ_brewing
Member
Can I add about a half a gallon of water to the secondary when I rack from the primary or it is a bad idea? I want to get to the proper volume for the batch and lighten the beer out a little.
Adding Water to the Secondary
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Goaltender66
Member
You can but you should brew based on taste, not on volume. When you rack the beer taste it. If it tastes fine then I'd wouldn't bother with adding more water.
That said, assuming you're bottle conditioning, you can just add the half gallon of water with your priming sugar.
That said, assuming you're bottle conditioning, you can just add the half gallon of water with your priming sugar.
pericles
Well-Known Member
The short answer is yes but, in my opinion, that's a bad idea for a couple of reasons.
First off, adding the water risks bacterial contamination. You could boil it and cool it before adding it, but the risk is still there. Second, adding the water guarantees that you'll be introducing oxygen into the fermented wort, which will cause staling and off-flavors. Third, and finally, the water won't do a good job mixing with the fermented wort, because there is so little agitation caused by yeast in a secondary vessel - on the contrary, the whole point of secondarying (insofar as there is one) is to aid in settling. Stirring, on the other hand, will just add more oxygen, which is bad.
More important than all of that, though, is the fact that adding water will, well, water down your beer. If you're already transferring the fermented wort to secondary, then it should be basically done fermenting and at the appropriate final gravity. Why would you want to lighten it? Particularly if you're adding a half gallon of wort - more than 10% if you're topping up to 5 gallons!
First off, adding the water risks bacterial contamination. You could boil it and cool it before adding it, but the risk is still there. Second, adding the water guarantees that you'll be introducing oxygen into the fermented wort, which will cause staling and off-flavors. Third, and finally, the water won't do a good job mixing with the fermented wort, because there is so little agitation caused by yeast in a secondary vessel - on the contrary, the whole point of secondarying (insofar as there is one) is to aid in settling. Stirring, on the other hand, will just add more oxygen, which is bad.
More important than all of that, though, is the fact that adding water will, well, water down your beer. If you're already transferring the fermented wort to secondary, then it should be basically done fermenting and at the appropriate final gravity. Why would you want to lighten it? Particularly if you're adding a half gallon of wort - more than 10% if you're topping up to 5 gallons!
Tall_Yotie
Well-Known Member
The above posts have said it really well. You said you wanted to lighten it out, so there is no issue. If you are bottling, then I would suggest adding the water with the priming sugar so it has been boiled. I have done this from time to time, works out fine, scored well in competitions.
