Forgot to take OG. Now facing a mystery, and a decision

[leneleue]

Hello,

I'm on week 2 of brewing this Irish Red. I did a full extract boil, and just racked to a 5 gallon secondary.

Here's the puzzle. I seem to have lost at least a gallon of fluid somewhere in the process. My 5 gallon carboy is way lower than expected. Here's what I'm thinking.

1) I forgot to add a gallon of water. It was late. I was tired. But I doubt this happened.

2) Evaporation, trub, plus whatever got soaked up in the grains and hops cost me a lot of fluid.

I forgot to take the OG. The docs say "Estimated Original Gravity:1.046-50" and I currently have a 1.022. If I didn't use the right amount of water, that would give me a higher final gravity, because not all the sugar could be utilized before the yeast fall off. I should hit the target ABV, but I'll have more malt sugars left over.

So I guess here's the question: Do I add clean water to the carboy, shake it up, and go for a secondary fermentation? Or do I leave it alone, and accept that it will have a richer sweetness and heavier mouthfeel?

(I tasted it. It seems fine, if a little syrupy, but that could be my imagination.)

 

[gilstein21]

i'd let it ride.

 

[brewkinger]

Indeed, let it ride.

It could be either of your possible explanations or a combination of them.

Either way, it will be beer.
Your OG with extract is usually right in the predicted range (assuming that you top off to the 5 gal mark)
So, your FG would be a little higher if you had not topped off like you mentioned.

To keep my process consistent, I ferment for 3 wks minimum for all beers. For you at 2 wks, it could still be creeping slowly lower, only way to know is check it again in a day or so.
If constant then bottle and condition.

 

[lakedawgs]

Like the others said, let it ride.
I don't always take OG readings. Especially on beers a brew repeatedly. If my brew day is good with no problems I don't worry about it.
I know the #s will be fine and the beer will be good.
At worst, if you shorted the initial water a bit, your abv will be a bit high, nothing wrong with that.

 

[masonsjax]

Never shake up a beer after it has begun fermentation. That will result in cardboard flavored beer.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

A 1.022 finish is not way out of range.

I'd also throw out there that your perceived volume for your carboy might be off. I always measure and indicate volume manually in my carboys so I know the exact volume. I don't rely on the original markings.

Good luck!

 

[BigRedHopHead]

Never shake up a beer after it has begun fermentation. That will result in cardboard flavored beer.

agreed. But it is ok to gently rock the bucket or carboy back and forth to swirl up some yeast back into suspension. I do this all the time with Belgian strains to ensure full attenuation.