Less than 5 Gal?

[Tubbster85]

So after getting 3 consecutive readings on my hydrometer of 1.015, I decided it was time to rack to a secondary. However, I noticed that I had just under 5 GAL in my primary fermenter. When I did my gravity readings, I drank the beer, which was delicious! I know that contributed to my loss of volume in my fermenter. How should I go about this? When priming for bottling, should I mix in less corn sugar? My recipe calls for 3/4 cup at bottling. There also was a good half inch of sediment left at the bottom. Any tips??

 

[kh54s10]

I use the priming calculator on Northern Brewers website. It is at the bottom, click on resources. Weigh your priming sugar as this is much more accurate than volume. I would go by the amount left in your fermenter. I don't think that the amount is so critical that you really have to worry about the amount of beer lost to the trub.

To get the most beer out of your fermenter without sucking out the trub, tilt the fermenter and position your siphon in the deep part.

 

[Tubbster85]

Thanks kh. The volume in the primary fermenter was, I would say, 4.8 GAL. I did tip the fermenter to get more out and I ended sucking a little sediment up, but I'm not too worried about that. It was my first time using an auto siphon, which is a great tool. Thanks for the info on northern brewer, I have been to that site many times and didn't even think to go in that area.

 

[Tubbster85]

So should I prime for 5 GAL when the time comes or should I guess on how much I have in my secondary and prime for that amount?

 

[jvp1]

No reason to, really. The difference between 4.8G and 5G, especially with 3/4 of a cup, is miniscule. It would change your final by a couple ml/g of sugar per gallon, and by almost nothing per bottle.

Unless you can get a precise measure of your beer, i wouldn't worry about it.

 

[jvp1]

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