Newbie question - adding water

[minesman]

searched for an answer to this but didnt find anything that covered it.
I just did my first brew - bottled it and letting it gel for a while.
The instructions said to add water to the mash to bring the volume up to 5 gallons, which i did. Taste great so far.
My question is - if i hadnt added the water how would the outcome have changed?
I made a stout so would it have been too sweet?
Just curious.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Higher ABV more potent flavored beer. Think of it as coffee. Its meant to made a certain way. If you add to much water you dilute it and using to little water will make it to strong.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

You did let it ferment before bottling right

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

You did let it ferment before bottling right

Okay. I'm glad I'm not the only one who read it like that. It sounded like he mashed then immediately bottled. [emoji15]

 

[minesman]

You did let it ferment before bottling right

Sure did. Watched it like a hawk too

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

Sure did. Watched it like a hawk too

[emoji106] shew. Crisis averted. 🙃

 

[ScrewedBrew]

No problem. I usually add 2-4 qts water post boil to bring up volume back up. I use this calculator to make sure it is still in the gravity range I'm targeting.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/dilution-and-boiloff-gravity-calculator/