Noob Advice: 1 gallon short

Two days ago, I began brewing my first batch ever (Great Lakes Pale Ale). Somehow, I forgot to add an entire gallon of water after the boil. So, the batch is now 4 gallons instead of 5. The airlock was not bubbling. Upon further investigation, I found that there was a slight crack in the airlock. When I opened (yes I opened the bucket), I found a nice krausen on top of the wort. So I'm pretty sure it's fermenting in there.

The question is this: should I worry about perhaps adding another gallon somewhere along the way? I'm a fan of strong beer, so I can live with that. I'm just afraid that the yeast won't ferment properly in such a high gravity environment. I'm currently fermenting in a bucket. I do have a plastic carboy that came with the kit as a secondary. If I do add the water, I'd probably do it if/when I decide to transfer the wort into the secondary a week into fermentation. Thoughts?

What was your starting spg and what is the gravity reading now? I know you are like me and didnt check one. Needless to say, I will check a reading now and then you can figure what's next.

you must be a psychic, because I didn't check the gravity at all. I'll most likely sanatize some equipment tonight and take a reading.

What recipe/kit?

It we know how much extract you used, then we can give you a good idea of what the OG was.

with an extract kit, if everything else was done right (used all the extract etc, )
just add the water to make your volume. it won't thin it out because the gravity now is higher then intended.

amandabab said:

with an extract kit, if everything else was done right (used all the extract etc, )
just add the water to make your volume. it won't thin it out because the gravity now is higher then intended.

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^^This^^

I can post the recipe later when I get home. I steeped grains and used extract, if that helps.

I would'nt add it after fermentation has started

doby said:

I would'nt add it after fermentation has started

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If he boils it for 10-15 minutes, then covers and cools it to match the wort temp, it shouldn't mess with anything too much. Just make sure to siphon it into the wort so you don't aerate it..

I wouldn't mess with it at this point. Just my 2 pennies.

I had the same issue with my first batch. I was about 3/4 of a gallon short and wanted to add water also. Everybody said not to do it because it could contaminate the batch so I just went with it. My OG was way of and my finished gravity was moderately high. Other than that it turned out to be a really good beer and I had a few less bottles than I had originally anticipated. Roll with it and I'm sure it will be fine.