filling the carboy

[GeeUnit]

from what i've read about using a carboy is that you are supposed to fill it all the way up into the neck so there is very little air space in the carboy, what do you do if you come up short from transferring from you primary fermentor?,add water to make up the difference ???

 

[Bensiff]

Don't use a secondary, keeep it in the primary for a week to 10 days after it hits terminal gravity for the yeast to clear out the beer and then settle. Once that is done transfer to a keg or bottling bucket...unless you are bulk aging for long storage for something like a barley wine then transfer once the beer has cleared and flush with CO2 if you have some. Don't top up it risks infections and waters down your brew.

 

[chrispykid]

from what i've read about using a carboy is that you are supposed to fill it all the way up into the neck so there is very little air space in the carboy, what do you do if you come up short from transferring from you primary fermentor?,add water to make up the difference ???

Don't worry about whether or not you're filling up the carboy all the way and don't water down your beer unless your recipe calls for dilution (as in a stovetop extract brew) or if you have reason to believe that your beer has a higher gravity than what you were shooting for. If you must water it down make sure you boil the water first to sanitize it, then cool it to the same temp as the beer before adding. But really, don't worry about empty space in the carboy.

 

[slinn]

Don't worry about whether or not you're filling up the carboy all the way and don't water down your beer unless your recipe calls for dilution (as in a stovetop extract brew) or if you have reason to believe that your beer has a higher gravity than what you were shooting for. If you must water it down make sure you boil the water first to sanitize it, then cool it to the same temp as the beer before adding. But really, don't worry about empty space in the carboy.

+1
You will need some headspace when the krausen begins forming.

 

[mojotele]

from what i've read about using a carboy is that you are supposed to fill it all the way up into the neck so there is very little air space in the carboy

That is only true for a secondary fermenter.

 

[Nurmey]

I don't even worry about it in secondary unless it's wine (which is a whole different story). The racking procedure knocks a ton of CO2 out of suspension and it re-blankets the beer to keep oxygen off the surface.