Not enough water in primary fermenter

[TenBeers]

On my second batch and I realized a day late that I forgot to top off my fermenter to the 5 gallon mark. Fwiw, The OG was right where it was suppose to be. Checking it now and it looks reeeaaaal close to 5 gallons, but definitely under - should I use proportionally less priming sugar when I bottle? Thx for any advice.

Popped the top on my first beer a few days ago - what a great moment.

 

[Arkador]

yup, just keep the proportion the same, and you will be fine.

Kudos for not wanting to add water to it!

 

[Suddy]

+1 if you hit your OG mark just scale back on the priming sugar.

 

[mr_bell]

The amount of priming sugar should be based on the amount of carbonation (volumes of co2) desired, consistent with the style. Not every beer needs to be primed with 4 oz of priming sugar, in fact, too much carbonation can be detrimental to the flavor of certain styles. Southern English brown comes to mind.

Better than just scaling back the amount of priming sugar based on your wort volume, I would find the amount of co2 volumes needed for the style. Then, use an online calculator (you can find the link somewhere on the forum) or use software like Beersmith to calculate the amount of priming sugar necessary for your desired level of carbonation. The bottling / conditioning temp also will play a role in the amount of priming sugar needed, and this is taken into account with the calculators.

Enjoy that first batch. Please send one my way.

 

[TenBeers]

Thx everyone for the suggestions.

Mr. Bell: Thx for mentioning about the amount of carbonation being different for different styles... I find a lot of store beers over carbed and even the size of the bubbles seem too big. Do those things come from the kind of sugar or the amount? I'd really like to make beers with finer carbonation.

Can't send you one but here's a picture - I feel like a proud father :

 

[dkreidler]

OK, I think that for the most part my question has been answered. First off, this is my first time brewing, though I've been interested for a LOOONG time.

So, I've got the Coopers Microbrew kit, but in the time between receiving it and actually brewing, I managed to lose the instruction booklet. So, I pulled out my handy Joy of Homebrewing, and followed all of St. Charlie's recommendations, topping off the fermenter to 5 Gals. When I measured it, the Sp. Gr. seemed really high for a basic "lager" type kit, but I figured either I had read it wrong, or the cheapie hydrometer included with the kit was just off.

Several days of good solid fermentation later, I found the Coopers instruction manual online: Their kits are designed for 6 gallons. I missed it by a full gallon!

Should I bother adding water just before bottling, or should I just reduce the priming sugar to one of the pellets they include (they recommend two for each of their big bottles), or what? Any chance this will turn a basic Australian lager into something better?

Thanks in advance!

dk

 

[tomheff]

Should I bother adding water just before bottling, or should I just reduce the priming sugar to one of the pellets they include (they recommend two for each of their big bottles), or what? Any chance this will turn a basic Australian lager into something better?

Thanks in advance!

dk

No need to add water, it will just be a stronger beer. Do not modify the amount of carbonation drops used per bottle.

 

[dkreidler]

No need to add water, it will just be a stronger beer. Do not modify the amount of carbonation drops used per bottle.

Thanks Tom! Well, no complaints here about a stronger beer!

dk Cheers and Happy St. Pat's, all!