adding extract to secondary

Hi,

so I just brewed a beer and my OG is low. I brewed a partial mash and actually hit like 85% effeciency, I just miscalculated the amount of water to top up the wort with. You know, it was late, too many homebrews, looked at the wrong line, it happens.

Yet, now, I have an IPA with an est. 80 IBU at 1.050. I do not think the malt background will be enough to handle that.

I'm planning on doing a secondary to dry hop. What if I added LME or DME to this to make up for my mistake? would that be a bad idea?

It seems like it would work in theory, I"m just looking for some other informed opinions.

Cheers!

It will work but you'll want to boil your extract first. Obviously this is going to result in more water, which will mean more malt, and so on... but don't skimp. Infections are bad.

You might also consider pitching more yeast, as the cell count will have taken a hit during racking.

I wouldn't rack to a secondary. Just add your dry hops once the fermentation is done, or a week before packaging. Secondaries are usually unnecessary for regular beers.

It really doesn't take all that much water to make a pourable super concentrated wort addition. Good point on the boiling. Add the LME or DME to boiling water and then heat up and hold for 10-15 minutes at or above pasteurization temps, which is around 165°F. Then chill to your beer's temp.

Make sure to mix it into your beer really well, avoiding large pockets of syrup or stratification. It should turn out fine.