Dilute or keep it?

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kanzimonson

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I wasn't thinking clearly during my brew on Saturday. I was making a continuously hopped IIPA with a target OG of 1.080. 15% of my gravity was going to come from sugar, that I was going to add towards the end of fermentation.

However, my mash was more efficient than I planned for, so when I saw my preboil gravity was right on target to be boiled down to 1.080 I was like "oh good, I hit it right on."

So now I have 6gal of 1.082 IIPA fermenting. I'm using Northwest Ale (first time) so I'm currently expecting a final gravity around 1.020.

I could dilute it and then add sugar to create the original beer I intended, but I feel like I would also have to account for the loss of bitterness due to dilution, which means I'd have to bitter the dilution water. I'm not usually a fan of turning beers into crazy experiments like this.

Another option would be to add the sugar amount I originally intended, which would push this up to a 1.094 OG. Assuming the FG would still be around 1.020, this would almost be a 10% ABV beer. Would the extra alcohol help balance out the higher FG?

And of course the final option is to just accept what I have, which would be fine for me.
 
And I pitched a proper amount, plus oxygen. I use London ESB yeast a lot and it has similar stats to Northwest Ale, so I expect around 75% attenuation. It'd be nice if it could get up to 80% but we'll see.
 
150* The intended grain bill was:

67% Maris Otter
10% red wheat malt
5% flaked wheat
3% crystal 40
15% granulated sugar

I bet that with a mash temp 150 degrees, and little crystal malt, you'll get more attenuation than projected- maybe even 75% (or higher) and that the FG will be more like 1.018 or so. I think it'll turn out fine!
 
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