Is it okay to add more water during fermentation?

Hi

First attempt at all grain yesterday and with a few exceptions it went pretty well.

Issue: I did a 5 gal batch of APA and used a 10 gal kettle which I think has resulted in losing more of the wort during the boil as I ended up with 4.5 gals. It crossed my mind to add more water but I didn't as I figured it was better to leave it alone and just live with less beer.

I'm now wondering what this will do to the taste as i guess it will have a more intense flavor and maybe in a bad way. I did hit my OG 1.060 which I know isn't great as it's based on 4.5 not 5 gals.

SOO I'm looking at the fermentor and i want to add more water, have started boiling some to sanitize, the airlock is bubbling away and I figure I can remove the airlock and pour it in, good idea? Stupid?

Thanks for any advice.

If you hit your OG leave it. If you feel you absolutely need to lower the gravity or that you really need the extra three bottles you will get out of it boil the water first (to get rid of nasties and O2). But if your OG was good don't mess with it.

sidboswell said:

If you hit your OG leave it. If you feel you absolutely need to lower the gravity or that you really need the extra three bottles you will get out of it boil the water first (to get rid of nasties and O2). But if your OG was good don't mess with it.

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Thanks makes sense. It was the impact on taste that concerned me more but I guess it might not have a negative impact, could just work out to be a good thing.

Distilled water works too.

Right now, you're thinking more about volume than quality. You hit your OG, which means you hit the quality level you wanted to be at. However, it came in lower on the volume scale. That's isn't overly important in the beginning, as you'll learn more and figure out how to gain more efficiency in the future, which will allow you to hit the right quality on the right volume. Practice makes perfect, but don't water your beer down!

usfmikeb said:

Right now, you're thinking more about volume than quality. You hit your OG, which means you hit the quality level you wanted to be at. However, it came in lower on the volume scale. That's isn't overly important in the beginning, as you'll learn more and figure out how to gain more efficiency in the future, which will allow you to hit the right quality on the right volume. Practice makes perfect, but don't water your beer down!

Click to expand...

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Thanks guys, leaving it alone. It's our 2nd batch; brewed an extract IPA a week back and got hooked. Looking forward to seeing how they compare.