Uh-oh... advice?

[WooHokie]

I brewed up Janet's Brown last night from the recipe in Brewing Classic Styles. The book says the hydrometer reading should be 1.066. Mine is around 1.082. I think I didn't scale the recipe right. Have I ruined this beer?

 

[birvine]

I'd say not. It will be different but should be fine. Others will pipe in, but you might be able to add some pre-boiled and cooled water to bring it to proper sg.

B

 

[Yooper]

All the recipes in BCS are for a 6 gallon batch. Could it be that you only made 5 gallons?

 

[WooHokie]

Yes, Yooper... I only made a 5 gallon batch

 

[Yooper]

Yes, Yooper... I only made a 5 gallon batch

Well, I don't have the book in front of me, but if you used nearly 20% less water (but kept the recipe the same) then the OG would be nearly 20% higher. That could be the reason.

 

[WooHokie]

So it's not ruined, just will taste maltier and have higher ABV?

 

[Daybis]

it's not ruined. It's just going to be a different beer. It will be maltier and will have higher ABV. You might even find you really like the beer. Some of my personal favorite recipes were beers I created by accident. This is where really good brewing notes are important.

 

[Zalf]

Has fermentation started? Might not be too late to get another gallon of water boiled, cooled, and into the fermenter. Wouldnt normally think about doing that but you are still really early in the process.

 

[homebeerbrewer]

Sure, it's ruined. Let it ferment, bottle it, and send it to me for proper disposal.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Only have a few bottles left of this same recipe scaled per the book. It is one of my all time favorite beers but I love hoppy beer. It is extremely hop forward for a brown ale so in your case, it would probably be pretty balanced still if you leave it as is. If it were me, I would leave it as is and then re-brew by the book next time and decide how I like it better.

 

[Stauffbier]

Some of my personal favorite recipes were beers I created by accident. This is where really good brewing notes are important.

I agree with this. Currently I have a batch I'm drinking that was made with misc. ingredients I had leftover from other batches, and it's by far my favorite in my collection at the moment. I always take very detailed notes, so I will be making this one again soon!