Evaporation????

[mikeymac1183]

I just transferred from primary to secondary fermentation and noticed I'm a little low....brewing a 5 gallon batch of a mad elf clone. I noticed in at about 4 1/4 gallons after about 5 days...has anyone else ever had an issue like this? After I added all of my cherries I'm back up to 5 gallons

 

[johnnybrew]

You lose some volume to the yeast cake and trub left behind. If you dry hop, the hops will absorb some beer too. I tend to go into primary with about 5.5 gals to make sure that I keg 5. If I transfer to 2ndry (which I rarely do), I will try and go into the primary with about 5.75 gals. This may open a can of worms, but I don't use 2ndry much any more unless I plan to age at rm temp for a long period of time. I dry hop right in the primary after all of the yeast have dropped out and then rack it 5-7 days after dry hopping. Cheers.

 

[jusware]

I've noticed some evaporation in some meads that I've had sitting in secondaries for over six months. Just from primary to secondary isn't enough time for evaporation, unless you are fermenting really really hot or you have a dehumidifier that is sucking out the moisture.