Over Boiled...Now What?

[I_B_Mongo]

Saturday I made up a batch of 80/- and had some friends over who were wanting to learn the brewing process...this is only my 2nd AG batch, but figured I'd show them what I've learned so far.

Well, somewhere along the way I somehow ended up at 4.5 gallons @ 1.072. I was shooting for 5.5 gallons @ 1.054. Unfortunately I didn't take great notes during the day. I guess just a few too many beers during the process. I know that I had 7 gallons pre-boil @ 1.048. I usually boil off 1 gal/hour. Since this was a 90 minute boil, I figured I'd start at 7 gallons to end up at 5.5.

Anyway, no do I just go it and keep the beer as is or should I add a gallon of distilled water to reach my target volume. I'm not opposed to having less beer, just want a quality beer at the end. I also plan on barrel aging this one, not that it makes a difference; just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[lumpher]

add water to hit the right gravity

 

[CrapulencePants]

Saturday I made up a batch of 80/- and had some friends over who were wanting to learn the brewing process...this is only my 2nd AG batch, but figured I'd show them what I've learned so far.

Well, somewhere along the way I somehow ended up at 4.5 gallons @ 1.072. I was shooting for 5.5 gallons @ 1.054. Unfortunately I didn't take great notes during the day. I guess just a few too many beers during the process. I know that I had 7 gallons pre-boil @ 1.048. I usually boil off 1 gal/hour. Since this was a 90 minute boil, I figured I'd start at 7 gallons to end up at 5.5.

Anyway, no do I just go it and keep the beer as is or should I add a gallon of distilled water to reach my target volume. I'm not opposed to having less beer, just want a quality beer at the end. I also plan on barrel aging this one, not that it makes a difference; just thought I'd throw that out there.

HA! That's funny. I made and 80/- Scottish ale on Saturday as well. Mine was a 150 min boil and I ended up with a bit too much.

Yeah, top off and keep going. It's all a learning experience.

 

[gungadin]

Boil to kill off the living stuff, cool, then use to top off.

 

[GuldTuborg]

Congrats! You just made a wee heavy!

I wouldn't add any water. This is the Beer Gods' way of telling you you'll need a strong beer for the upcoming winter months.

 

[I_B_Mongo]

Congrats! You just made a wee heavy!

I wouldn't add any water. This is the Beer Gods' way of telling you you'll need a strong beer for the upcoming winter months.

Thanks. I actually considered leaving it as a wee heavy, but just thought I'd get everybodies opinions on the subject. Like I said, this was only my 2nd AG batch, and I've been flying solo (sans the help here) since day one.

The only reason I'd rather have it as an 80/- is that I already have 10 gallons of RIS, 3+ gallons of barleywine, and about a 12 pack of an Imperial porter. I'm trying to get back to some basic, session beers-I really just want to dial in my AG process, then try to get crazy with the big & spiced stuff. The only reason I was going to barrel age it is I need to get another beer into the barrel.

 

[GuldTuborg]

You mean RISs and barleywines aren't session beers? Lightweights.

You can definitely add water to get it to the OG you want, but you're going to take a slight hit in body and mouthfeel. It's not going to ruin the beer, but I bet it would make a noticeable difference. Still, lots of people do partial boils, and make perfectly good beer. I'm sure it will be fine either way.

 

[I_B_Mongo]

You mean RISs and barleywines aren't session beers? Lightweights.

You can definitely add water to get it to the OG you want, but you're going to take a slight hit in body and mouthfeel. It's not going to ruin the beer, but I bet it would make a noticeable difference. Still, lots of people do partial boils, and make perfectly good beer. I'm sure it will be fine either way.

Well, I guess it depend on who's drinking. I bottled all of my BW in bombers, and the RIS in 750ml bottles, so it's pretty much one and done.

You've convinced me to just leave it as is. I'd hate to damage the body and mouthfeel, and can always use another "big hitter" in the bottle lineup.

As I'm trying to re-establish the pipeline, I guess I better keep an eye on those boil off rates.

 

[indigi]

I'd only leave it as-is if you have enough yeast to do the job. Underpitching on a big beer can lead to more problems than topping off can.

 

[I_B_Mongo]

@indigi. I pitched an activator wyeast scottidh ale yeast package. I've never used any pitching calculators. Is this enough?

 

[BendBrewer]

How'd that chiller work out?

 

[I_B_Mongo]

How'd that chiller work out?

Worked like a champ! Had it knocked down to about 75 in 15-20 min. Thanks again!

 

[indigi]

Not really, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just try to keep it on the cool side, and maybe hit it with a bit more aeration at the 24 hour mark if fermentation hasn't kicked off yet.