Not enough

[NCfirstbrew]

Made and american amber ale and did all the steps correctly. But only had enough to fill 39 bottles instead of 48? Help

 

[phatuna]

NC, I'm going to assume that you are doing an extract brew so correct me if I'm wrong.

Most likely problem: You may not have topped up to the appropriate 5 Gallon level

other problems: you may have used a 2ndary and did not rack the entire wort off of your trub.
you may not have waited long in primary before racking. the longer you wait (up to a month or two), the more compact the trub will be meaning you are able to rack off more beer.
Your bottling process might have been a little messy and you spilled a lot of brew?

That's all I can think of right now. Let us know if any of those items strike a chord.

 

[elmetal]

My guess is the first. did not top to 5 gallons. (remember if you start a boil with 5 gallons, you'll be lucky to have 4 by the end.)

 

[shortyjacobs]

Beer gnomes.

They steal your beer, get drunk, and then go steal one sock from each pair in your dryer.

Bastards, I tell you.

(for the record, I'm with phatuna and elmetal....you didn't top up. Or you have larger than 12 oz bottles....Conservation of Mass and Beer says it didn't just disappear - I learnt that in college! )

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

Yeah, I'm gonna go with you didn't have a full batch to start out with. 39 12oz bottles is about 3.66 gallons. Misplacing 1.34 gallons is a little tricky.

 

[corvax13]

I'm going with the beer gnome theory on this one. All other explanations don't really make sense to me.

 

[shortyjacobs]

Yeah, I'm gonna go with you didn't have a full batch to start out with. 39 12oz bottles is about 3.66 gallons. Misplacing 1.34 gallons is a little tricky.

Ah ha, but 39*16 ounces is 4.9 gallons, and 39*18 ounces is 5.5 gallons.

Were you bottling pints?

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

Or maybe...were you drinking it while you were bottling...1 for you, 2 for me type deal?

 

[NCfirstbrew]

Thanks to all. Love the replies. Wish I could say I "had a few" during the process. Bottling went very clean and no spillage. Only used a very small amount for sampling times 2. Unfortunately my guide sheet did not state to top off to 5 gallons. Silly me, evaporation my dear Guiness.
Thanks all. I wont give up the fight or the journey!!

 

[Gremlyn]

Don't trust the markings on the buckets, they lie are are usually 1/4 to 1/2 a gallon low.

 

[Sum1Stu]

lol this is a funny, useless post

Whatd you expect someone to jump up and tell you that the yeast made your water dissapear ?

 

[shortyjacobs]

lol this is a funny, useless post

Whatd you expect someone to jump up and tell you that the yeast made your water dissapear ?

They were thirsty!!! The beer must have been good! Everyone knows yeast piss is more dense than beer, which is why he had less at bottling.

 

[snipper_cr]

Misplacing 1.34 gallons is a little tricky.

When you are thirsty, anything will quench it

 

[azscoob]

I measure out a quarter and a half gallon in a generic pitcher, then fill my carboys, marking at 1/4 gal points up to 1 gal, then at 1/2 gal points to 6 gal. then I noted my keggle fill line at the 5.5 gal , and set my chiller to that height, so during boil I can see my mark when the level breaks the immersion chiller top coil, I also marked my paddle at 1/2 gal marks to get a pre-boil volume, I find that marking my volume everywhere keeps the beer gnomes at bay, those little bastards will pilfer your beer if you dont keep a close eye on em! BTW I brew all-grain so my process is a little different but still...measure and mark!!!