Dang it! Advice please.

epistrummer · May 30, 2012

made a batch of Red Ale from Brewer's Best and my SG was 1.030 and I needed to hit 1.048. I guess I added too much water at the end.(trying out my new carboy and wasn't sure how much to add) And of course without thinking I already pitched the yeast. Does this mean I'm just going to end up with a watery beer? Is there any thing I can do to fix it now?

hercher · May 30, 2012

Yep. Your beer is going to be weaker than you wanted. The only thing I can think of to try is to quickly brew a gallon or so of a higher gravity beer, and blend it in.

bja · May 30, 2012

Was this an extract kit? Did you make sure it was stirred well before checking the SG?

zegolf · May 30, 2012

Seems to be a lot of discussion on raising your gravity during, and post-, boil in This thread. Maybe you could give something in there a try?

Pappers_ · May 30, 2012

bja said:
Was this an extract kit? Did you make sure it was stirred well before checking the SG?

This is often true with extract kits when you do partial boils and top off with water in the carboy. Are you certain your final volume is too high? It could just be an error in reading gravity.

epistrummer · May 30, 2012

What if I threw in maybe another pound of extract? That wouldn't hurt anything...I could add it a little at a time until I got the SG right.

Maddoghoek · May 30, 2012

Unless you stir alot when you add the top off water, you will get a lower gravity reading. Sugars are heavy and will stay at the bottom. You're likely fine.

When your carboy is empty, use a sharpie and a milk jug and put marks on the side at 1 gal increments so you know when you get to 5 gal.

kh54s10 · May 30, 2012

I too would guess that the top up water was not mixed in well and the reading was taken from a watered down sample.

At any rate I would not mess with it now. I have missed my OG on the low side a couple of times and really liked the finished beer. IMO if you try to adjust it you are more likely to mess it up than make it better.

epistrummer · May 30, 2012

Maddoghoek said:
Unless you stir alot when you add the top off water, you will get a lower gravity reading. Sugars are heavy and will stay at the bottom. You're likely fine.

When your carboy is empty, use a sharpie and a milk jug and put marks on the side at 1 gal increments so you know when you get to 5 gal.

I think that must be what happened then. I have another carboy that I filled with my brewbucket which is marked at 5 gallons and it turns out that I added the correct amount of water. So I must have gotten a bad gravity reading. I'm not going to mess with the batch, I think it's fine. But I appreciate the pointers and suggestions from everyone.

Dang it! Advice please.

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Dang it! Advice please.

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