First all grain...not so good

5 gallon
og= 1.056, fg= 1.017 ibu=52 srm=61

8lbs. 1oz. 2 row pale
6.5oz. carapils malt
15oz. munich malt
10oz.crystal maly (40L)
6oz. rauchmalz
6.5oz. wheat malt
10oz. chocolate malt
12oz. roasted barley (500L)

1.9oz perle 7%aa (60 mins)
1.6oz. willamette 5%aa (5 mins)

wyeast 1056 or white labs 001

1.5 vanilla beans
2.5oz. oak cubes

This is the recipe I followed. I brewed last night and boiled it down to about 3.5gal and before adding more water to make it 5gal I took a reading. I nailed the specific gravity exactly except its only 3.5gal and if I leave it that way, it will be seriously hoppy. Is there anything to do? I can basically add water and lower the gravity or leave it and have a beer that's too hoppy.

You could make 1.5 gallon of wort at the right SG with light malt extract and blend it in to the fermenter.

You can let it ride and see what you get (it will be beer)

The hop flavor will settle over time. If you water it down, the gravity won't raise over time.

You might be surprised at how the 3.5 gallons turns out when all is said and done. My vote is that you wait and see.

This has happened to me as well...diluting with water cant really hurt, but you will have a lower OG

I just like having more beer at the end...otherwise it goes way too fast

I like the LME idea, if I were to do that, how much would I need? I haven't learned to do the calculations yet(where could I go for that). Wouldn't using the LME change the taste of the bear and lighten it up a little?

If it will affect it that much I won't but waiting for me will be hard as school starts back up here in a month and well you know the rest.

I think if you add one pound of LME to 1 gallon of water you will have a gallon of wort at about 1.040 ish. You could start with 1.25 gallons or so, and 1 lb of LME to acct. for water loss during boil. Boil it, cool it, dump it in.

If you go this route, do it ASAP. If you can't do it right away, I would just leave it alone and see how it comes out. I don't think you want to be messing with a beer once the fermentation really gets going IMO.

Well luckily the wort isn't completely cooled yet so I haven't pitched the yeast...leaving for the brew store now and thank you guys for your replies.

If you see this before you boil the extract. You only need to boil for 15 minutes to ensure pasteurization.

Well luckily the wort isn't completely cooled yet so I haven't pitched the yeast...leaving for the brew store now and thank you guys for your replies.