Boilover and broken hydrometer. Help?

[AxDxMx]

So I was making a SMaSH brew and didn't realize my hydrometer was broken until well after it was too late to stop brewing. So I have no way of knowing what the gravity was when I was done. To make matters worse, I decided to brew 2 beers today and was mashing in on the second one while boiling the 1st. I was sidetracked by a couple of phone calls back to back and missed a boilover on my Simcoe SMaSH. There was an obvious wet spot on the concrete and there were hops all over the outside of the kettle. I started with about 5.5 gallons and at the end of the brew I had about 3.5 gallons. I assumed that I lost a ton in the boilover, but on my second batch I started with 5.75 and ended with just over 4. So it looks like maybe most of the volume was lost during the 60 minute boil and not due to the boilover? So I guess the question boils down to this: Should I top up to 5 gallons or leave it to ferment at 3.5? I was shooting for around 7% ABV if I hit my target, and I've already dumped the yeast in. Would it be too late to top up after fermentation starts?

 

[BansheeRider]

So I was making a SMaSH brew and didn't realize my hydrometer was broken until well after it was too late to stop brewing. So I have no way of knowing what the gravity was when I was done. To make matters worse, I decided to brew 2 beers today and was mashing in on the second one while boiling the 1st. I was sidetracked by a couple of phone calls back to back and missed a boilover on my Simcoe SMaSH. There was an obvious wet spot on the concrete and there were hops all over the outside of the kettle. I started with about 5.5 gallons and at the end of the brew I had about 3.5 gallons. I assumed that I lost a ton in the boilover, but on my second batch I started with 5.75 and ended with just over 4. So it looks like maybe most of the volume was lost during the 60 minute boil and not due to the boilover? So I guess the question boils down to this: Should I top up to 5 gallons or leave it to ferment at 3.5? I was shooting for around 7% ABV if I hit my target, and I've already dumped the yeast in. Would it be too late to top up after fermentation starts?

You could've topped off in the kettle and add some DME.

 

[wtfDean]

i had a similar issue with a belgian i made once. you COULD make a ~1.5 gallon solution of malt extract to match what you think your OG was and add it to the fermenter of the 3.5 gal batch either during primary or after it drops off. When i made a belgian that came out a little low i waited for primary to finish and added a gallon of pasteurized honey water mixture. the ferment picked back up for a little bit and dropped back off the next day. it turned out pretty good, and i imagine a gallon or two of DME and water would achieve the same results, though i have no firsthand experience to back that up.

my suggestion is to not underestimate your boil off totals, because it can be very frustrating to consistently come up short at the end of the brew day. I get almost a gallon of boil off per hour.

 

[AxDxMx]

Great idea Banshee, I should keep some on hand in the future for that.

wftDean, I like your idea too, but without the hydrometer, I can't really estimate. I mean I was shooting for around 1.068. What if I only lost a small amount to boilover (I was using a 10 gallon kettle with probably less than 5 gallons in it when it likely happened). This stuff could be super potent and adding more in might make it too strong for the yeast's recommended range as the top range was 1.060 (Wyeast American Ale II).

I think it might be best just to leave it. It smelled absolutely delicious when I dropped it into the fermenter, so let's hope that holds and it comes out amazing. I was just freaking out a bit over it as I thought it might have been ruined since I lost some hops, but it was toward the end, and it was going to have about 75 IBUs anyway, so a little less won't hurt.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[smccarter]

I realize this doesn't help your current situation, but you might want to consider purchasing a couple of things. A refractometer, and some fermcap.

The refractometer will all but elimiate the need for a hydrometer. I take a number of gravity measurments throughout the entire brewing process, and only use the hydrometer to measure final gravity.

For a 6.5 gallon boil in an 8 gallon brew kettle, I use 10 drops of fermcap. No boil overs or even a threat of boil over.

 

[Epimetheus]

Those were good suggestions. Don't know if this one will help but it is what I would do. Let the wort cool and put it in a sanitized container. Wait - don't pitch yeast. In a few days get a hydrometer (or refractometer) and measure where you are with this mess. That reading will enable you to decide what action to take.

 

[northernlad]

Without knowing where you SG is, I wouldn't add any top off. With the boil over you lost X amount of wort at X gravity leaving you with X amount of wort at the same gravity. Seems like adding to the fermentor would dilute to lower than your target.
Either way you are going to have beer and this can be one of those stories like the time I left the ball valve open and lost about a gallon of first runnings...
I do so hate getting distracted on brew day.

 

[uatuba]

You're boiling too vigorously if you lose 1.5 gallons in an hour.

 

[MarcusKillion]

Hydrometer is like a adjustable wrench , nice to have around but you can go through life without one . your beer will be what it is and nothing less or more . If your SG was good then your FG is no doubt going to be right where you want it . And besides you already brewed so it is what it is . enjoy
The boil over is not that big of a deal . i do it all the time . ADHD is not good for paying attention . It really does not lose much when it happens as long as you did not just add in all your hops and they immediately boiled out the pot . Probably not that way since you were not there to watch it and you were there when you put in the hops .
Okay then you lost your volume due to boiling for 60 minutes not boil over . you would have had a huge mess . the hops get all over the pot because they have been broken down into fine powder form after hitting that boiling water . It really is not that much hops on the pot after boiling over . I usually keep scrapping mine off the pot and back into the wort.
Do not ferment at the 3.5 gallons . top it off . At most leave out a quart but I see no real reason to even do that .

Bottom line is " how much did you lose on the ground ? " I bet no more than a few pints . I am sure you can get a gauge on that by simply pouring a little water on the ground same size as the puddle of wort you had .

 

[wtfDean]

i guess i was assuming that a hydrometer would be available to you soon, but if not then i support your decision to leave it alone.

and yes, if you are boiling off at 1.5 gallons per hour you need to modulate your burner a little better. i usually have my turkey fryer running on "jet engine" mode to achieve the boil, but then i turn it down considerably to maintain low, rolling boil.

also, there is a "danger zone" for boilovers that i have learned to not walk away during. when you see hot break start to foam up on the top of your beer and you haven't added any hops to the beer, do not walk away. i had a particularly nasty boilover happen to me once while i was sitting right next to it. i was paying attention to my computer and not my kettle, and away it went.