Made a stupid mistake

[edbish]

I made my first beer last night, a robust porter, and I made a pretty big mistake. I'm looking to see if it will be ok or if there is anything I can/should do to fix it.

I boiled with 3 gals of water. After cooling down, I added 2 more gallons. I did not realize that I was supposed to add enough water so it tops off at 5 gallons. I took a gravity reading and it was 1.120 (Since this was my first beer I didn't know I was supposed to hit a target OG of 1.062). So I added the yeast, put in the air lock and put in the closet. It was this morning when I realized I'd made that mistake. I know there is probably no way for me to get even close to a FG of 1.012. It's been 16 hours and I see it bubbling every 5 or 6 seconds, but what will happen to this beer?

Any help or input would be appreciated.

 

[CJ-3]

Ok, it's going to be a bit strong which isn't the worst thing ever. More than likely you don't have enough yeast (also called underpitching)

You have definitely made beer, just not the one you were shooting for. Post the entire recipe including what your final volume was and we can give you an approximate for the final gravity.

 

[beergolf]

If was an extract batch and you added top off water, you just got s bad reading from wort that was not fully mixed. It happens all the time. No need to worry. You OG will be close unless you really messed up your volumes. If you final volume was close to 5 gallons your OG will be very close.

Just relax, let the yeast do it's thing and guess what? You will have beer.

Enjoy the hobby/ addiction. You are in for a good ride.

 

[kh54s10]

I would go ahead and add the water to 5 gallons now. Your yeast will have a hard time, if they can ferment that all the way at all. Yeast have a maximum alcohol tolerance and 1.120 is most likely higher than the yeast can handle.

 

[kh54s10]

If was an extract batch and you added top off water, you just got s bad reading from wort that was not fully mixed. It happens all the time. No need to worry. You OG will be close unless you really messed up your volumes. If you final volume was close to 5 gallons your OG will be very close.

Just relax, let the yeast do it's thing and guess what? You will have beer.

Enjoy the hobby/ addiction. You are in for a good ride.

The OP boiled 3 gallons for an hour then topped up with 2 gallons so the present amount is probably 3-3.5 gallons. So more top up water is needed.

 

[beergolf]

The OP boiled 3 gallons for an hour then topped up with 2 gallons so the present amount is probably 3-3.5 gallons. So more top up water is needed.

We really do not know what his final volume was. If it was a stovetop brew (I am guessing that his first brew was a stove top brew)I doubt he boiled off more than 1 gallon, so he is probably about 4 gallons. But I seriously doubt that his OG was 1.120. If his estimate was 1.062, it will be a little higher but no where near that number.

So it is a combo of the two.

 

[edbish]

Thanks for all the input so far. To answer some questions...

The volume is where I messed up. I didn't top to 5 gals. There is about 4 1/2 gals in there now. Maybe a little less. It's bubbling about every 3 seconds.

It's been about 19 hours since I placed it into the fermenter. Could it be fixed by just adding some water to make it 5 gals? Or has it been in there too long.

Here are the ingredients I used.

Robust Porter
1 lb. Briess Caramel 120
8 oz. Briess Chocolate
2 oz. Black Barley
8 lbs. Briess Munich LME
Hops: 1 oz German Perle / 1 oz Target / 1 oz Liberty
Yeast: Safale S-04

Hope the extra info helps.

 

[edbish]

It's been about 19 hours since I placed the beer in the fermenter. Could I just add water to bring it to 5 gals? It's just under 4 1/2 gals now. That's where I messed up.

 

[Jfultz]

I brewed yesterday and did the same thing, asked the same question. The response I got coupled with my own further reading suggests that you'll be fine, with slightly stronger beer (and slightly less) beer. My guess is that it will take a little longer for the yeast to deal with the thicker wort, and worst case they can't convert it all and it ends up with some unconverted sugars (sweet beer). Relax, don't worry, have a (home)brew.

 

[Jfultz]

I brewed yesterday and did the same thing, asked the same question. The response I got coupled with my own further reading suggests that you'll be fine, with slightly stronger beer (and slightly less) beer. My guess is that it will take a little longer for the yeast to deal with the thicker wort, and worst case they can't convert it all and it ends up with some unconverted sugars (sweet beer). Relax, don't worry, have a (home)brew.

 

[beergolf]

It's been about 19 hours since I placed the beer in the fermenter. Could I just add water to bring it to 5 gals? It's just under 4 1/2 gals now. That's where I messed up.

You would be better off just leaving it. More problems are caused by messing with a beer than with just letting it go.

Sit back and let it finish.1/2 gallon is not that far off to even think about messing with it.

 

[jrcrilly]

You would be better off just leaving it. More problems are caused by messing with a beer than with just letting it go.

Sit back and let it finish.1/2 gallon is not that far off to even think about messing with it.

Yes! And ignore the ultra-high og reading. As has already been mentioned, it is common to get a bogus og reading after adding topoff water. The wort and water tend to stratify so the reading isn't correct for the actual mixture.

 

[kh54s10]

I also agree with leaving it alone now. 1/2 gallon is not drastic. The beer will be a little stronger. The first measurement is somewhat meaningless, and probably off.

You risk more by messing with it than settling for a beer that is not what was intended.

 

[lumpher]

Never add water to a beer that is already fermenting. Then you'll have watered-down beer

 

[CJ-3]

There is about 4 1/2 gals in there now. Maybe a little less.


Here are the ingredients I used.

Robust Porter
1 lb. Briess Caramel 120
8 oz. Briess Chocolate
2 oz. Black Barley
8 lbs. Briess Munich LME
Hops: 1 oz German Perle / 1 oz Target / 1 oz Liberty
Yeast: Safale S-04

Hope the extra info helps.

I ran your ingredients through a brewing program (there are free ones online that you can use for up to 30 days to see if you like them). I did some assumptions about your steeping temp and volume, but it should be pretty close.

For your finished volume o 4.5 gallons, this is what I came up with.....


You stated LME - Liquid Malt Extract
original gravity - 1.071
finished gravity - 1.016
ABV 7.16%

If you meant DME - Dry Malt Extract
original gravity 1.083
finished gravity 1.019
ABV 8.42%

Either way, your yeast was a bit of an underpitch. Watch your finished gravity readings, if they are way off from the estimated ones, you may have a stalled fermentation or possibly exhausted yeast.

That being said, your yeast may be completely fine and able to finish down to the projected final gravity.

If you have issues with it not coming down enough, let us all know and we will help.

 

[HomebrewSupply]

If was an extract batch and you added top off water, you just got s bad reading from wort that was not fully mixed. It happens all the time. No need to worry. You OG will be close unless you really messed up your volumes. If you final volume was close to 5 gallons your OG will be very close.

Just relax, let the yeast do it's thing and guess what? You will have beer.

Enjoy the hobby/ addiction. You are in for a good ride.

Yup - definitely agree with this. It's likely that with 4.5gal (as opposed to 5), you're much closer to the target OG than you think. You won't know for sure what the ABV is, but that's ok, it'll still be beer!

Good luck and keep brewing!

 

[edbish]

Thanks to everyone who has helped come to my rescue. So here's where I am at now.

It's been 3 days and I've seen the airlock bubbling away. Every couple of seconds yesterday (day 2), and about every once every 5 seconds today (day 3). So it is doing it's thing. I also just took a gravity reading it has dropped significantly. It's now at 1.028. So, in 3 days it's gone from OG of 1.120 down to 1.028.

The FG target is 1.012. Since the yeast seems to be slowing down, I probably won't get it down to the target, but it should still okay right? Just higher in alcohol?

I will continue to monitor and check gravity in a few more days, but hopefully things aren't as bad as I thought they would be.

 

[beergolf]

Step away from the fermenter......

It has been only three days and it is still actively fermenting. Opening up your fermenter to take gravity reasing this early really does not help, and may do more harm. Just let it go for at least another week or even two before you look at it again. Yeast has been doing it's thing for thousands of years. Let the little buggers do their job.

So, in 3 days it's gone from OG of 1.120 down to 1.028.

Using your recipe there is no way you had an OG of 1.120 That is a flawed reading.


Patience is the hardest thing to learn about the brewing process.

 

[Yooper]

Never add water to a beer that is already fermenting. Then you'll have watered-down beer

That doesn't make any sense to me at all. If it's fermenting, and it's actively fermenting, and the volume is 1/2 gallon low to begin with, how could it be "watered-down"?

I'd add the 1/2 gallon of water, and probably right now. I mean, why not? I don't see any reason not to, and it certainly would be what the recipe intended.

 

[lumpher]

just saying you could put water in it, but why intentionally lower the abv? if you want to, sure, go ahead

 

[Yooper]

just saying you could put water in it, but why intentionally lower the abv? if you want to, sure, go ahead

Why intentionally raise it, and screw up the balance of the intended recipe? I mean, the recipe is designed for 5 gallons, and not 4.5 gallons, so add the water that is missing.

If the recipe was designed for 4.5 gallons, and the hops and malt extract were provided for 4.5 gallons, then I would leave it be. But why intentionally not bring it back to where it should be? That's what I don't understand. It can't possibly water it down- because it's supposed to be 5 gallons!

 

[BadDeacon]

Why intentionally raise it, and screw up the balance of the intended recipe? I mean, the recipe is designed for 5 gallons, and not 4.5 gallons, so add the water that is missing.



If the recipe was designed for 4.5 gallons, and the hops and malt extract were provided for 4.5 gallons, then I would leave it be. But why intentionally not bring it back to where it should be? That's what I don't understand. It can't possibly water it down- because it's supposed to be 5 gallons!

Agreed. First time Brewers tend to want to hit their numbers more than experiment.

 

[lumpher]

ok, thanks for the correction. You're correct, as always