How much will my top off water change my beer?

[BeehiveBrewer]

I did a partial mash of Ed Wort's Haus Pale Ale. It was my first PM. I ended the boil with 5.5 gal, but after whirlpool and siphon off of the cold break, I ended up with 4.8 gal. I topped off to 5.5, and now I'm wishing I had just let it be and kept the smaller batch.

My after boil gravity was 1.053, and I calculate a top off gravity of 1.046 after I added .7 gal.

I know the beer will have less ABV and a lighter feel, but how different do you think it will be from what Ed intended?

I had no ideas that the plug hops and cold break would displace that much volume. I guess you learn something every brew.

 

[NitrouStang96]

I don't know how to help you, but I'm curious - what do you mean "siphon off all the cold break?"

 

[Yooper]

It should be fine- a little more hoppy perhaps. But not so that you would notice. It's a good beer- I've made that one!

 

[BeehiveBrewer]

Hey Nitrous,

I didn't mean 'siphon off ALL the cold break', I meant 'siphon off OF the cold break'.

In the past I had tried to carefully pour the wort from the kettle to the bucket and leave benind the trub. This time, I thought I'd try and whirlpool, and then siphon the wort from the edge of the kettle to try and leave the cold break and hops behind.

 

[cheezydemon]

Tres' unnecessary if you asked me. Siphoning off good beer to add water??......

I could not care less about clarity unless I am entering a contest.

Water in wort will have the same effect as adding a cup of water to a glass of Kool-aid. Unless you are dieting, nothing good will come of it.

 

[BeehiveBrewer]

So Cheezy, are you saying that you would have left it as a smaller 4.8 gallon batch, or poured all of the hops and sediment into the fermenter?