Forgot to top off wort. Add at priming?

[Rhodeislandrob]

I' a newbie and forgot to top off wort to 5 gal before fermenting so I'm about 2 gals short. Directions say to add 5 oz priming sugar to 1 pint water. I don't know if I should add 2 1/2 oz sugar to the 3 gals fermented wort or add all 5 oz with the missing 2 gallons.
I'm not out to win a blue ribbon, just to make what I have drinkable. Thanks

 

[Pkrd]

What's the recipe and what stage are you at?

Welcome to HBT!

 

[Aristotelian]

Do you have a hydrometer? First order of business is to check your gravity. It's possible your efficiency was low, in which case you would be just fine even though you are 2 gallons short.

Unless you were originally targeting a high gravity style, I would probably stick with what you have. It may end up as a very high gravity version of whatever you are brewing, but just call it an "imperial" style.

If you prime only 3 gallons, definitely adjust and add only 3 oz, otherwise your beers will be almost double carbonated and you could get bombs.

 

[Yesfan]

Just an idea, so don't beat me over the head if it's something that's not recommended............

1) If you're just wanting to have "more beer", maybe you could add the extra 2 gallons as part of your priming solution. 2 gallons of water is a lot more than a pint, but if you're topping to 5 gallons of beer, then you would mix in your 5 oz of sugar with the 2 gallons of water. Boil it for about 10-15 minutes, then rack your 3 gallons of beer on the 2 gallons of water into the bottling bottling bucket. Bottle as usual.


2) Probably what I would do is just keep it simple. You have (assuming) 3 gallons of beer. Do the same as you would if you had five, but use 3 oz of priming sugar. I think the rule of thumb is an ounce of sugar for every gallon of beer, so anything more you'll overcarb it as mentioned.


I would check the gravity either way to see if you're ready to bottle if you haven't already.

 

[Cyclman]

If you did an extract kit, you're wort is much higher gravity than planned, that's a 40% additional boiloff. Try it, it might be great, but adding water (sanitized, de-chlorinated), will make it more as planned.

 

[Rhodeislandrob]

What's the recipe and what stage are you at?

Welcome to HBT!

It's Homebrew Kit F26 Pilsner. Its been fermenting for 1 week. I'll see what Pkrd and others suggest, but checking specific gravity and more than likely adding 3 oz sugar seems to be reasonable.

 

[Pkrd]

The expected OG was 1.044 so it should be around 1.073. Yeast will probably handle that. I guess you now have an imperial pilsener.

 

[carloscede2]

How the hell did you forget to top it off? Didnt you see the xtra head space? Lool

 

[Rhodeislandrob]

How the hell did you forget to top it off? Didnt you see the xtra head space? Lool

My first batch.....Didn't know how much I Should have had. An experienced brewer rcognized the underage amount and the extra head space. do you have a solution?

 

[Pkrd]

My first batch.....Didn't know how much I Should have had. An experienced brewer rcognized the underage amount and the extra head space. do you have a solution?

More experienced brewers have done dumber things.

 

[carloscede2]

My first batch.....Didn't know how much I Should have had. An experienced brewer rcognized the underage amount and the extra head space. do you have a solution?

Usually they are marked to the 5 gallon mark so its easy to top it off. If your fermenter doesnt have that mark, go ahead and do it yourself so I doesnt happen again.
How long has it been fermenting? If you dont mind and strong ass beer then you could leave it like that. Otherwise I have no idea, I guess adding water is not an option. Add the 3 oz and you should be fine, the priming solution is for the volume of liquid

 

[Rhodeislandrob]

Usually they are marked to the 5 gallon mark so its easy to top it off. If your fermenter doesnt have that mark, go ahead and do it yourself so I doesnt happen again.
How long has it been fermenting? If you dont mind and strong ass beer then you could leave it like that. Otherwise I have no idea, I guess adding water is not an option. Add the 3 oz and you should be fine, the priming solution is for the volume of liquid

It didn't, and I definately will. May make other blunders but not this one again!
Fermenting 1 Week today.
Thank you all past and future Repliers. As I don't want exploding bottles on my hands!

 

[Rhodeislandrob]

More experienced brewers have done dumber things.

Thanks to all with constructive suggestions and support. It seems some people never make mistakes!

 

[Hello]

Thanks to all with constructive suggestions and support. It seems some people never make mistakes!

People make a TON of mistakes and post about them here. Don't be discouraged at all. Blunders happen to even experienced brewers.

I think adding water could work, but it would depend upon what your gravity ends at and the taste. So be sure to taste it when it is done fermenting to see if you even like it. If it's too strong, water is a decent solution.

Make a brew day checklist for a while, or even forever. I tend to do that myself because I will get distracted by something or someone and forget general stuff like irish moss or taking a pre-boil reading.

 

[Roland_deschain]

Never get too down about mistakes. Im pretty sure there isn't ANYTHING you could do/forget that someone hasn't already biffed on before. Mistakes teach us how to not do those things again. I brewed a batch of NB Kiwi Express IPA as my second brew. I followed the instructions to the letter and the samples tasted great. In time I transferred it to a keg with priming sugar and settled in for the wait for it to carbonate. After two weeks I hooked it up and tasted the fruits of my labors........wet cardboard and no hops! I sealed/purged the keg with co2 but not enough to negate the O2 that was in the headspace and the who batch oxidized. It was a hard lesson but one I will never forget.

Na Zdrowie!

 

[Nicknack]

My first batch.....Didn't know how much I Should have had. An experienced brewer rcognized the underage amount and the extra head space. do you have a solution?

Don't worry about it (his reply that is). I'm on my third batch and I've made a lot of mistakes thus far. It's a learning process... many more mistakes to come I'm sure. I wish I had some advice but I don't other than let us know how it turns out!

 

[Nicknack]

Never get too down about mistakes. Im pretty sure there isn't ANYTHING you could do/forget that someone hasn't already biffed on before. Mistakes teach us how to not do those things again. I brewed a batch of NB Kiwi Express IPA as my second brew. I followed the instructions to the letter and the samples tasted great. In time I transferred it to a keg with priming sugar and settled in for the wait for it to carbonate. After two weeks I hooked it up and tasted the fruits of my labors........wet cardboard and no hops! I sealed/purged the keg with co2 but not enough to negate the O2 that was in the headspace and the who batch oxidized. It was a hard lesson but one I will never forget.

Na Zdrowie!

Don't mean to hijack the post but how is the NB Kiwi IPA? I recently bought the kit and it's up on deck.

 

[carloscede2]

I made countless mistakes in my first batches. (Ive only done 5 anyways so Im not an expert) and I feel like extract kits dont yield quality beer, mainly becausd to the new brewer, you just follow the instructions in the can that tell you to add 2 lbs of sugar (which I did and the beer turned out lower than average quality). One mistake I made (probably the worst one) was to ferment the european lager from coopers (with a lager yeast) at 30 degrees celsius, and on top of that, I let it in front of a window for 3 months getting direct sunlight. Didnt know anything about brewing by then. I read how to brew from Jhon Palmer and everything changed, I even started doing all grain which seemed to be impossible a couple of months ago

 

[Roland_deschain]

Don't mean to hijack the post but how is the NB Kiwi IPA? I recently bought the kit and it's up on deck.

I'm kegging it tonight so I'll have to let you know.

 

[Yesfan]

Don't mean to hijack the post but how is the NB Kiwi IPA? I recently bought the kit and it's up on deck.

I've brewed it. It's a great tasting beer. If you've had the Dead Ringer, it's kinda like that but with a bit more bitterness.



Back to the OP, since your fermenter lacks volume markings, I think I'd let it ride as is and add your 3 oz of priming sugar. Don't worry about the mistakes. Some of my best beers have been from my worst brew days.

 

[Minky]

Adding water is OK after fermentation, but you will want to boil the oxygen out of your top-off water. Boil it for 15 minutes and cool it down as fast as possible. Putting your kettle in an ice bath would be one way, but once it's boiled you want to avoid agitating it or you'll reintroduce oxygen. When adding it to your wort you will want to carefully siphon it in just as you would siphon the wort to avoid oxidation.

 

[Rhodeislandrob]

Thanks to all for words of encouragement. Testing and bottling today. Will post results.

 

[jschein]

Its only been 10 days, I would hold off for another week then take gravity reading to see if its near what the kit says it should be prior to bottling. Patience is the key on this one, if its not close to the FG the kit says report back and we can help get it down.

 

[JohnSand]

I have added water post ferment, it works fine.
Once when I made a batch too strong. I added water to half of the bottles. Both versions were good. Don't worry about it too much. Do let us know how it works out.

 

[Rhodeislandrob]

Its only been 10 days, I would hold off for another week then take gravity reading to see if its near what the kit says it should be prior to bottling. Patience is the key on this one, if its not close to the FG the kit says report back and we can help get it down.

My son said the same thing when I asked him after I posted!brewing is an adventure!

 

[hockeybrewer]

Brewing is an adventure that turns into obsession for some(myself include!). Having fun and experimenting is part of the fun. If your up for it you could do what the above poster suggested and split it up. Bottle half with water and half as is but you'd have to be careful calculating the different amounts of priming sugar so it'd be extra work!

 

[Rhodeislandrob]

I have added water post ferment, it works fine.
Once when I made a batch too strong. I added water to half of the bottles. Both versions were good. Don't worry about it too much. Do let us know how it works out.

Will do!

 

[Rhodeislandrob]

Turn this adventure into a learning experience

 

[Rhodeislandrob]

Don't worry about it (his reply that is). I'm on my third batch and I've made a lot of mistakes thus far. It's a learning process... many more mistakes to come I'm sure. I wish I had some advice but I don't other than let us know how it turns out!

Will do!

 

[normonster]

I'd stick with what I have and adjust the next batch.