Is it OK to add water to the secondary keg before bottling?

[speedyvespa]

I'm pretty new to brewing, and am making my first 100% my-own-recipe-from-scratch beer. I made it from whole hops given to me by a neighbor.

It's supposed to be a 5-gallon batch but I noticed when I transferred it to secondary that the hops in the primary had absorbed a lot of water. It's been in secondary now for 3 weeks and it's still bubbling - OG was about 1.052, now it's at around 1.006 but still going.

Would it be OK for me to add more water to bring it back to 5 gallons and then prime? Is it OK to do that now, or should I wait for it to stop fermenting altogether?

Thanks in advance.

 

[RitalinIV]

If you want to, I do not see why not. Just know that it is completely unnecessary. If you decide to, I would simply boil a little more than you need (to account for evaporation when boiling) in a small pot before adding your priming sugar. Boil for about 3-5 minutes and then remove from the burner. Stir in the priming sugar and then rack onto the sugar mixture in the bottom of your bottling bucket. You know this but minimize splashing.

That would be the best way to minimize infection if you wanted to go back up to 5 gal.

IIRC, the colloquial name for that loss of volume is called "the angels' share." It it what was absorbed in the oak barrels during spirit distilleries back in the day as well as alcohol evaporation over long periods of time.

 

[speedyvespa]

Thanks! Should I wait until I know 100% that fermentation has stopped? It seems a little strange that it's still going so strongly in the 5th week... or is it?

I think it's going to be good from what I can taste thus far... problem is, if it IS good, I'll never be able to make it again. My neighbor grew centennial and cascade hops but mixed them up when picking them. So I've no idea what IBU it is, I just made it as if it were a single hop and fingers crossed.

 

[homebrewnewbie]

I would definitely not add water. It will make the beer watery, and it will dilute the alpha acids from your hops.
The best dry hopping technique is
-to put the hops in during the first week of secondary fermentation,
-then gently squeeze the bag when you take it out,
-and let it rest for another week.
-Add isinglass after removing the hop bag to clarify.

The only reason to add pure water is when the gravity is too high after the wort is finished boiling, (i.e, if the wort is too concentrated). Even that will screw up the hop bitterness and aroma.

 

[RitalinIV]

Again, totally your decision. However, if you decide to add water, WAIT!
Wait until after fermentation has stopped. When in doubt, wait another week. The best way to tell is by measuring the specific gravity over a 3-day span. Once it remains stable for 2-3 days, you should be good to go (given the same temp).
Remember, you have already flavored your brew up to this point so the addition of water after will dilute the flavor you created during the boil and fermentation. It will also make it more difficult to duplicate if it is good.
Just my $0.02
-Ritalin

 

[zachattack]

You should not add water. The hops absorbed beer, not water, so adding water will not make up for your lost beer volume, it will just water down the final product. Especially since your FG is kinda low. Next time, aim to make a 5.5 gallon batch. This will mean scaling up your ingredients to make 5.5 gallons at the same gravity/IBU level. This is what most of us do.