Question on the amount of water...

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Lando

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First, let me say thanks to everyone who gives advice on here as it has been a great resource for learning about brewing.


Now for the question.
What would happen to the beer if brewing a reciepe or kit for 5 gallons and instead of addding water after making you wort up to the 5 gallon line in your bucket or fermenter you added only to say 4 gallons?
Reason I ask is I am thinking about fermenting in 5 gallon BB instead of the 6.5 bucket and am concerned about quality as well as head space Would a blow off tube take care of the potential mess on the ceilin?

What can I say, I want to watch it do its magic:)
 
Basically, you'll be diluting the wort less which means your OG will be higher and your ABV will be higher. If you want to make a 4 gallon batch with the same OG and ABV you'll need to reduce your fermentables in the boil (probably by about 20% since your brewing 1/5 less beer).
 
JLem hit it on the nose.

FWIW, you could easily rig a blow-off and ferment up to the appropriate volume.
 
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