My honey porter has been in the primary fermenter (bucket) for 1 week and I plan to rack to my secondary (carboy) in another week and condition at 55 degrees for 3 weeks.
When I rack to my carboy I will have a lot of airspace at the top, should I add water to bring the level to within a couple of inches of the top? I imagine it will take about a gallon or so.
I got the idea from "Homebrewing for Dummies" but will this dilute the beer or negatively affect it?
Don't add water. They suggest topping up to reduce oxygen contact with the beer, but it's not necessary. You should rack to secondary when your fermentation is about 90% finished. The last 10% will generate enough CO2 to purge the head space of any oxygen.
You really shouldn't add water to your beer with the exception of an extreme case (I'm not sure what that case would be, but it's not something you'd normally encounter).
There is plenty of CO2 left in suspension in fully fermented beer to re-blanket your beer after you rack. I don't rack beer until it has reached its FG because doing so can cause a stall in the yeast.
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