How will less water affect my brew

[HoosierInFL]

Newb here. I purchased the Coopers DIY beer kit. Things seem to be going fine. Fermentation process looks good. However, I was going over the instructions again, and I missed the part where after filling water up to the 20L level it says to top off up to the 23L mark. So, I'm about 3/4 of a gallon less than it should be.

How will this affect my brew?

As for the Coopers kit, it's not bad for a newb like me. The only pain in the arse is that the tap is darn near impossible to stop from leaking. I can see that the bottling process is going to get messy.

Thanks.

 

[plumbob]

Shouldn't effect it much. You'll have a higher OG and stronger flavor with a little higher ABV in the end, but wouldn't call any of those a bad thing.

It'll make beer.

And buy yourself a new tap at the LHBS for next time, no reason that should be leaking. Didn't miss a washer in there did you?

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Short answer, your beer will be a bit stronger and more flavorful... Not a bad thing if you brewed that kit as is. RDWHAHB.

 

[unionrdr]

Well,all the parts of that new style tap have to be snapped together firmly. But they have you top off to 20L to check the temp of the wort before adjusting with colder or warmer water to get the temp in the right range.
That's why I got a 5G brew kettle,so I can mix up the beer,do hop additions,etc on the stove. Then do an ice bath in the sink to chill it down to pitch temp,between 65-70F. Then pour into fermenter through a fine mesh strainer. That cleans out some grainy bits & hops. But it aerates it nicely too. Then stir roughly for 5 minutes straight to aerate it some more,& get the wort & top off water mixed well. Then check gravity & pitch. So,as was stated,it'll be a bit stronger,but not by much with only 3L missing. A bit more flavor & mouth feel as well.

 

[HoosierInFL]

Shouldn't effect it much. You'll have a higher OG and stronger flavor with a little higher ABV in the end, but wouldn't call any of those a bad thing.

It'll make beer.

And buy yourself a new tap at the LHBS for next time, no reason that should be leaking. Didn't miss a washer in there did you?

The tap that comes with the Coopers fermentor doesn't use washers. It doesn't screw in, either. You slide it in and the rubber rings around it make the seal. It's cheap.

 

[HoosierInFL]

Well,all the parts of that new style tap have to be snapped together firmly. But they have you top off to 20L to check the temp of the wort before adjusting with colder or warmer water to get the temp in the right range.
That's why I got a 5G brew kettle,so I can mix up the beer,do hop additions,etc on the stove. Then do an ice bath in the sink to chill it down to pitch temp,between 65-70F. Then pour into fermenter through a fine mesh strainer. That cleans out some grainy bits & hops. But it aerates it nicely too. Then stir roughly for 5 minutes straight to aerate it some more,& get the wort & top off water mixed well. Then check gravity & pitch.

The parts are in as firmly as I can possibly make them. The main leakage is at the "T" where the tap handle is. It's not leaking now, but it will when I start turning it at bottling time.

 

[unionrdr]

You can E-mail cooper's & explain your problem, They're pretty good at making things right. You could even try makebeer.net,who is the North American distributor for cooper's. That thing is supposed to snap together tightly. Maybe you just got a bad one. I was just thinking that maybe you nudged the tap handle the wrong way when opening it?...

 

[cadarnell]

you'll have a little less beer, but you won't need to drink as much to get a nice little buzz going ... so it will even out ... I'll bet if you did a side by side with your brew and the brew made with the correct amount, people would prefer yours ... it all good

 

[BryanJ]

As for the Coopers kit, it's not bad for a newb like me. The only pain in the arse is that the tap is darn near impossible to stop from leaking. I can see that the bottling process is going to get messy.

I'd suggest getting a bucket without a tap for your primary fermentation. You'll avoid the pain in the ass leaky valves and you really dont need it for transferring anyway. Just another piece of equipment to disassemble and clean after each beer.

 

[Yooper]

Geez, why don't you just add the water that you didn't add before? What am I missing?

 

[unionrdr]

You either have to clean the spigot,or clean the auto siphon. So either way you're gunna be "cleaning something extra". I prefer the spigots,as it makes life easier. Just don't get them too loose,or too tight,& they won't leak. & cleaning them is as easy as dropping the spigot,seals,etc in a mug of PBW for a soak. Then I use aquarium lift tube brushes on them real quick,rinse & done.

 

[HoosierInFL]

Geez, why don't you just add the water that you didn't add before? What am I missing?

I didn't know if it was ok to do that or not since it had already been in the fermentor for two days.

 

[cswest]

If you want to you could boil the extra water, cool it down and then add it after fermentation is done. But don't feel like you have to, it will be fine.

 

[Yooper]

I didn't know if it was ok to do that or not since it had already been in the fermentor for two days.

Sure you could. I'd boil it (to de-oxygenate it), and then cool it first (so you don't kill the yeast with a too-warm addition!), but I'd add the water. I can't think of any reason why not.

 

[HoosierInFL]

Sure you could. I'd boil it (to de-oxygenate it), and then cool it first (so you don't kill the yeast with a too-warm addition!), but I'd add the water. I can't think of any reason why not.

So after 6 days it would still be fine to do this? Would it lengthen the fermentation time?

 

[Yooper]

So after 6 days it would still be fine to do this? Would it lengthen the fermentation time?

Yes, it'd be fine. It won't affect the fermentation.

 

[HoosierInFL]

I added the water to it after fermentation was done. I then let it sit for a few days after that. Everything seems to have gone well. I tried a bottle a week after it was bottled and it tastes good already.

I really need to do something about the leaking tap on the Coopers kit. Made a bit of a mess while bottling.

 

[HoosierInFL]

I contacted Coopers and they are sending me a replacement tap without argument. I still have concerns, because just the act of inserting the bottling tube into the tap caused it to leak because it pushed up that section of the tap.