Can I save a beer?

[dolan]

In my first attempt to make beer, I screwed up my recipe. I made enough wort for 1 gallon of beer but filled a 2 gallon fermenter. Surprisingly the taste is still pretty good, if a bit watered down, but there is not much alcohol at all.

If I put the beer back into a bucket with some more yeast can I increase the alcohol content without damaging the beer, or will I simply need to settle for a non-alcoholic carboy of stout?

 

[clevefails]

I would make a new batch,yeast needs sugars to ferment.

 

[mrgrimm101]

You will have to settle for a low alcohol beer, as there weren't enough sugars for the yeast to convert into alcohol. I believe that you have made a "small beer".

 

[oljimmy]

Theoretically I don't think there is anything wrong with putting it back into the bucket, adding some boiled, hopped extract, and re-fermenting. I haven't read anything which suggests that this would make for a gross beer. That said, the fermentation might be impeded by all the CO2 in solution (assuming you've carbed), and as other have said, it's easier to just make a new batch.

 

[mrgrimm101]

Live and learn. Just tell people it's a session beer.

 

[JonM]

Trying to save a batch almost always creates more problems than it solves. Just keep notes, remember what you did wrong, and avoid making the same mistake next time.

There's a learning process to this hobby and it may suck to hear it right now, but I've learned more from my mistakes than I have from my successes. Just roll with it. Your future great brewer self will appreciate it.

 

[mcbar]

If you've already bottled the beer, it would be extremely difficult to get it back into the fermenter without major oxidation. Drink twice as much and make a stronger batch next time

 

[fuelish]

Sounds like maybe you made some good "lawnmower beer" ...I'd just drink it, live, and learn....

 

[JonM]

Whoa - question: how long has this beer been in the bottles? I have found that mouthfeel and flavor change dramatically with conditioning. If this beer has been in the bottle for two weeks, wait two or three or even four more (stouts need loooooong conditioning).

 

[liquidlunch]

Live and learn. I would leave it alone and just drink it. Once a brew is messed up anything you do to fix it will usually make it worse. At least from my experience. As noted; take notes and learn and enjoy it for what it is

 

[dolan]

Thanks for the quick replies everyone, I expected as much but oh well. I've never heard them called "small beer" or "lawn mower beer" those are pretty interesting.

@JonM I just bottled yesterday, I realized my mistake when I filled up 1 gallon worth of bottles & had another gallon left. Put the rest in a spare carboy.

 

[azazel1024]

With the right recipe, a 3-4.5% ABV beer can be pretty darned tasty.

I have a 3.5% peach Berliner wiesse that is frankly awesome. I can pound those back for hours (okay, I'd be really drunk if I was pounding them back for hours). I have a 4.4% ABV English Mild that is also awesome.

I've never had "light American beer" that tasted anything like cheap crap. Granted, the "big guys" regular pilsners tend to taste like crap too, but it is entirely possibly to make a great session or lawn mower beer that is really good.

Granted, typically taking a set recipe and doubling the volume, but leaving it unchanged tends to produce a watered down tasting beer. Doesn't necessarily mean it is terrible (especially if it was something like a 5% beer before, because then you have a 2.5% table beer).

Live and learn. Take notes.

 

[bondra76]

I have a 4.0% alcohol fermenting right now. Nothing wrong with a small beer. I'm taking this one to a work BBQ. It's perfect - you can drink a few without getting annihilated and making a jack*** out of yourself in front of your co-workers.

 

[clevefails]

A ultra lite stout?could be tasty.