Beginner Mistake

[nsean]

Hello;

So while brewing yesterday I forgot to account for the volume of the extract. My previous 2 batches I remembered, but this time I forgot. I realized my mistake while adding my wort to the fermenter, as the fermenter become quite a bit more full than usual.

I am brewing a Christmas Spice so strong is part of the style. Right now it will end up being ~5.5%, but I was aiming for between 7-8%.

Now my question, in a couple days, once the primary fermentation starts slowing down could I boil about 1.5lbs of extract in ~2L of water, and add this to the fermenter? I would have done it sooner, but the fermenter does not have the space for 26L of beer + 2L addition all undergoing primary fermentation. My instincts say this will work fine, but I want to run it by the experts.

Normall, say if this was a pale ale or porter I would worry about the strength, but Christmas beers just have to be strong to feel right.

Thanks in advance!

Sean

 

[Frodo]

I'll state upfront that I've never added anything to a fermenter once it's started, so take what I'm about to say as just a confirmation of your thoughts... I don't see why it would hurt anything if you added the extract before the yeast have flocculated out as long as you don't introduce a lot of oxygen when you add it. The yeast won't need any oxygen since the yeast numbers should already be built up to a fermentation density, so there'd be no need to aerate.

 

[bovineblitz]

It'll work fine to add more extract that way... but expect fermentation to go a little crazy even after it's slowed down... def rig up a blowoff tube

 

[TheDom]

I don't see why it wouldn't work, but a couple things come to mind:

1. Is your fermenter large enough to accommodate the extra volume you'll be adding and still go through a vigorous fermentation? Even if it is, I'd definitely do a blowoff tube just in case.

2. Are you sure your numbers are right? It'd suck to go through all this trouble only to find out later it wasn't necessary.

3. When adding your new wort, be sure to do a quiet transfer, meaning no aeration. Your beer in there will be already somewhat fermented, and you don't want to introduce any oxygen to it at this point.