Added too much top off water - any way to fix?

I was brewing an amber ale last weekend, and ended up adding too much top off water to my primary, due to a silly miscalculation. (I didn't realize my error until yesterday.) I ended up with about 3/4 of a gallon more than I had planned for. My original hydrometer reading was about 1.041 (the expected value based on the recipe was 1.050). It's been in the primary since Saturday. I checked the fermentation yesterday and got a reading of 1.017 (expected FG is 1.015). The hydrometer sample tasted fine, except somewhat watered-down. I realize that the hydro sample isn't a very good indication of the final taste of the beer, but I was wondering if there was anything I could/should do at this point to give the beer more body, or whether I should just leave it alone and bottle it in another 2 - 3 weeks, and hope it doesn't turn out watery. Thanks!

Let it run the course, it shouldn't make a huge difference in the final product. Any fiddling with it may not get the result you want. Another couple weeks and it'll be ready to bottle.

Yeah I would just let it go also, by the time it is bottled and chilled it will taste completely different from the hydro sample. Either way you won't make that mistake again! It could be worse though, like dumping yeast in when it is still boiling or any other mistakes people make.

You can add more extract. Boil and cool it first. Fermentation will start again and you should wait longer for it to condition.

i was just going to post a thread almost exactly like this. mine has been fermenting for 2 weeks, i tried the hydrosample and it tasted ok. I chilled it and poured it into a glass and it tasted too much like water....now my concern is that its too watered down, it doesn't have body. Obviously i went wrong with the topping off.

but is there anything i can do now to give it more body? i am bottling this wed it'll be 3 weeks and 2 days and then it will condition in the bottles for 2 more weeks.

or should i just let this go (it was my first brew afterall, its also a light style of beer .. Saison) and not make this mistake again?

MasterShake said:

i was just going to post a thread almost exactly like this. mine has been fermenting for 2 weeks, i tried the hydrosample and it tasted ok. I chilled it and poured it into a glass and it tasted too much like water....now my concern is that its too watered down, it doesn't have body. Obviously i went wrong with the topping off.

but is there anything i can do now to give it more body? i am bottling this wed it'll be 3 weeks and 2 days and then it will condition in the bottles for 2 more weeks.

or should i just let this go (it was my first brew afterall, its also a light style of beer .. Saison) and not make this mistake again?

Click to expand...

If it's your first brew, don't try to do ANYTHING to tweak it. Remember -- you're tasting green beer -- the few weeks of conditioning between bottling and drinking make a big difference. You probably didn't screw it up, and even if you had, unless you have a very good understanding of exactly what you're targeting, monkeying around with it after the fact won't help you.

Why not let it finish up, take some good notes on tasting once the beer is properly aged, and use those notes to improve future batches?

As Revvy would say, step away from the fermenter.

MasterShake said:

i was just going to post a thread almost exactly like this. mine has been fermenting for 2 weeks, i tried the hydrosample and it tasted ok. I chilled it and poured it into a glass and it tasted too much like water....now my concern is that its too watered down, it doesn't have body. Obviously i went wrong with the topping off.

but is there anything i can do now to give it more body? i am bottling this wed it'll be 3 weeks and 2 days and then it will condition in the bottles for 2 more weeks.

or should i just let this go (it was my first brew afterall, its also a light style of beer .. Saison) and not make this mistake again?

Click to expand...

Leave it as it is. Carbonation will give it more "body" and mouthfeel. Wait 3 weeks after it is in the bottle and give it a try.