Can I fix this??

[bluespook]

OK, so I may have screwed up my first extract brew!! I started with 6 gallons of water...did the boil, hops, cooling, etc....all to the recipe. Let it ferment for a week in the primary, then racked to a secondary carboy. Then I dry hopped. Like all first timers, and maybe old timers too, I went downstairs to look at the beautiful thing every afternoon. On the 13th day in the secondary, it hit me--I only had 4 gallons of brew. Must have boiled off 2 gallons, which seems like a lot, but I did it and didn't notice that I was a bit short in the fermenter.

Can I now add another gallon of water? If I don't add more, will my 4 gallons be "funny"? Any suggestions as to what, if anything I should do??

Crap!! Something that seems so easy on paper is so easily screwed up. Wait a minute, that's the definition of LIFE. (_zzz_)

 

[waterse]

You should post your recipe. Depending on what went into it the fact that you are short on water may not be a huge deal. If the gravity is not stupid high you may wind up with decent beer, if not exactly what you had in mind.

 

[Yooper]

What was the OG and FG? It might be just fine, but you'll just have less beer. The important thing- how does it taste?

 

[BigKahuna]

WOW...I just typed like 3 paragraphs that say what Yoop said...then it all got lost....My Post Was LOST IN CYBERSPACE!


Post Details....I think it's going to be ok. Just not what you intended it to be.

 

[bluespook]

OK, guys, it was an IPA--clone of a 60-minute IPA. The OG was 1.064 at 74F. Don't have a FG yet, but I'm hoping for an abv of 7-8%. The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

6 gallons water Preboil tea
6 oz Amber malt, crushed Preboil tea
7 lbs Light or extra light dry malt extract Boil 75 minutes
½ oz Warrior hop pellets Gradually add over 60 min boil
½ oz Simcoe hop pellets Gradually add over 60 min boil
½ oz Chinook hop pellets Gradually add over 60 min boil
½ oz Cascade hop pellets End of boil
1 Ringwood Ale yeastWyeast 1187 Fermentation
1 oz Cascade hop pellets Secondary fermentation
½ oz Simcoe hop pellets Secondary fermentation
5 oz priming sugar (1 cup)

OG 1.064
FG 1.017
ABV target 6%
IBUs 60

Process

1. In brew kettle, heat 6 gallons water to 150F
2. In a grain bag, add the crushed amber malt
3. Allow to steep for 15 minutes
4. Remove grain bag and bring to boil
5. While waiting for a boil, blend the ½ oz Warrior with ½ oz Simcoe and ½ oz Chinook hop pellets
6. Remove from heat and add the malt extract
7. Return to a boil (start timing of 75 minute boil)
8. After 15 minutes, begin adding the hop blend a little at a time so it takes 60 minutes to add al the hops to the kettle (total boil time will be 75 minutes)
9. After the 75 minutes, remove kettle from heat
10. Stir the wort to create a whirlpool while adding another ½ oz of Cascade to the liquid. Cover and allow to settle for 20 minutes
11. Cool the wort and rack to a fermenter leaving as much of the solids behind in the kettle as possible
12. Pitch yeast in cooled wort
13. “Rock the baby” (or whatever aeration you like) to aerate wort and ferment at around 68 to 71 F
14. After 6 to 7 days, rack beer to secondary
15. Add 1 oz Cascade and ½ oz Simcoe hop pellets
16. Allow beer to condition in secondary for 12 to 14 days
17. Before bottling boil priming sugar in 1 cup water and add to racked beer. Gently stir to disperse sugar. Bottle
18. Allow beer to bottle condition for another 2 weeks. It is drinkable at this point but another 2 to 4 weeks may improve the taste.


Original recipe called for Amarillo hop pellets instead of Chinook and Cascade hop pellets, but they are almost impossible to get now.

Also, I used Safale S-04 dry yeast as a substitute—2 packets

 

[Revvy]

To me it's better to have 4 gallons of good beer, than risk 5 gallons of bad beer by monkeying with it...you could end up with watery beer, or introduce an infection, or simply just throw of the recipe....why chance it for a few bottles?

Drink this, learn from the lesson and brew more...