OH NO too much water!

[SeanyP321]

I just made my second extract brew. Threw out the instructions because everyone says they are crap and....they were in french.

It's now in the fermenting bucket and I just found out it was deigned for 20 litres and I made it with 25 litres of water

Is it going to taste like p*ss (bud light)?

anyway of strengthening it up a bit??

Thanks,

 

[phidelt844]

Did you take a gravity reading when you transferred to the fermenter? One gallon of extra water is going to make a difference, but at this point, I would just be done with it and consider it a bit lighter/less abv than you had originally intended.

 

[SeanyP321]

yes gravity reading was about 1.030. Is that acceptable??

Im not too bothered about alc vol. I'm bothered about the beer not tasting like some dumb dumb put too much water in

 

[SeanyP321]

can i just ask...for a pilsner, what is an average OG? trying to figure out how this additional water is going to effect things?

cheers guys

 

[scinerd3000]

you could concivably add some dextrose to bump up the gravity to whatever. How many total gallons is the recipe? If you have 5.5 gallons about and you add 2lbs of dextrose it should bump up to about 1.050ish 1.044 is the minimum starting gravity for the style. Your also supposed to be lagering it because technically pilsner is a lager but i dont think it really matters here.

 

[SeanyP321]

the recipe called for 20 litres and I have done 25. I dare not convert that into gallons coz the US do gallons differently to the UK.

I have some glucose (brewing sugar). Will that do the trick? How much would I need? SHould I dissolve in a splash of warm water (More water?) and mix in?

Thanks guys.

 

[SeanyP321]

p.s is this something i could now fermentation has begun?

 

[SeanyP321]

someone suggested I should "add some spraymalt to liven it up, and maybe dry hop later down the line to add some additional flavour"

does this sound like a good idea?

ta

 

[dontman]

I have to say that I think adding sugar is a bad idea. You already have a thinly bodied beer coming your way. Additional sugar will only dry out what little body is left in the beer. True it will add alcohol but at what cost?

I would view it as having two options:

1. Highly recommended. Leave it alone. This beer might taste a little more watered than it would of but it will still taste far better than anything you buy in a store.

2. If you must do something (you mustn't) add a pound or two of DME mixed with enough boiling water to make almost a syrup consistency. Let it cool before pouring. Don't worry about stirring. The yeasties will find the sugar.

 

[SeanyP321]

Thanks dontman. Thats what i was (kinda) thinking. how does the dry hop idea sound. Like I said before I don't care about Alcohol really (I'll drink it with vodak chasers, I just want a decent pilsnery taste.

Also now my gravity readings are out of whack what should I be shotting for when fermentation is complete?

 

[dontman]

It depends on yeast what this ferments out to, but I'll bet it drops down to the 1.008 range. A nice dry session beer.

Personally, I would also hold off on the dry hop for this batch. It might overwhelm the expected light flavor.

I really think you will be pleasantly surprised with this batch. I also bet that it turns out much better than you are thinking. There is also the very real possibility that you got a skewed OG reading because the top off water was not fully mixed. Happens all the time.

 

[david_42]

Figure about 25% of where it started: 1.007-8. Dry hopping with 15-20 grams of Saaz sounds good.

 

[SeanyP321]

Thanks guys,
having just had a quick read about saaz pellets that sounds like a goodidea to me. Presumably it is somthing I can leave for a few weeks and then have a little sippy and decide on later though right?

 

[Dennis1979]

I'm very much a noob still but I agree with Dontman. I would leave it alone. It seems to me, most anything you can do now runs more of a risk of screwing up the beer as opposed to doing nothing. I also agree that there is a good possibility it won't taste that bad when its done.

How are you measuring the 25 litres? By what you poured into the boil or by a mark on the side of the fermenter? I ask because some of the volume in the fermenter is trub. I have found that it takes up an amount equal to 1/2 to 3/4 gallon out of 5 (1.9 to 2.85 litres). I don't know if this applies to your situation but it could mean you are over on water by less than you think.

If it were me, I would probably leave it in the fermenter a good long time and then after bottling it, stuff it away in the closet for a couple of months before even trying it.

Then brew another batch ASAP so you can stop thinking about this one.

Dennis

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Adding hops would just make a very light beer too bitter and throw off the balance.
+1 on adding some more malt if you have to, an OG of 1.030 is within the realm of a light mild beer, but it would be light and mild.
In short, its up to you but I would add the two lbs extract if you can get it quick enough.
Best of luck.

 

[SeanyP321]

Hi and thanks for all the input. If I were to go down the extract road, when would I need to get it in by? I'm snowed in for a couple of days! Any specific type of extract? Any of these?

Hopandgrape Store SPRAY DRIED MALT EXTRACT

I have glucose brewing sugar in the house now, will this work? Why DME? the recipe called for 1kg of sugar to start. Isn't another 2lb of DME quite a lot more? Why so much?

Sorry about all the Q's THANKYOU!

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Just a follow up to the PM, a few days should not be a problem, just mind sanitation when you add it.

Depending on the type of brew your making, any of those DME's should be fine.

DME adds body and flavor as well as malt for the yeast to turn into alcohol. Glucose brewing sugar, honey, table sugar will increase the ABV%, but make the beer taste even lighter and watered down. Five liters is roughly a gallon and a quarter more water, so 2 - 3 lbs of malt will balance it back to a normal beer level. I think available space left in the fermenter is the biggest issue, you may need a blow off tube.
Best of luck.

 

[SeanyP321]

guys, i prmise im nearly done harrasing you. But I'm thinking of doing a complete 180 and adding some kind of flavouring, perhaps rasberry. I've seen a couple of concentrates out there and while I wouldn't usally jump at a rasberry pilsner, I think if it is going to be light anyway, it might be perfect for my girlfriend.

Will this work, are concentrates ok? Can I add it at any point

Thanks a trillion!

 

[Limited Visibility]

I would go with the fresh fruit over the concentrate.... or is it an extract?

either way, I would go with fresh fruit in the secondary for a little bit

 

[SeanyP321]

After only 24hours almost all activity has STOPPED in my airlock. Is this because of my over dilution?

Thanks

 

[dontman]

After only 24hours almost all activity has STOPPED in my airlock. Is this because of my over dilution?

Thanks

Sheesh dude, you really need to relax on this one. Yeast know what they are doing. And not all of it produces visible byproducts. Just let the beer do its thing for 14 days and then bottle it and then wait 3 weeks and enjoy the crap out of it.

Since you are obviously going to go insane before then here is what you need to do. Go directly to your LHBS buy another carboy and the ingredients for your next batch. Brew your next batch.

It is okay to mindlessly watch your carboys. I still do this after all these years. Just stop worrying.

PS The fruit idea is a really terrible one. Just stick to plain and simple for the first few batches. Until you understand how recipes evolve and can be manipulated. There is plenty of stuff to know and learn just with malt, hops, yeast and water. This is still pretty much all I ever use.

 

[SeanyP321]

k thanks