Too much water in carboy??

[jcomiskey]

If anyone can give some advice it would be great!

Last night was my first time brewing. I'm doing a coconut cream stout..should it help. After I poured the wert into the carboy, 5 gal, I filled with water to the bottom of the neck so the level was the same as when I make wine. However, this morning in review of brewing video's it looks like I filled too much. What should I expect or do?

 

[TaylorInOK]

Hey there Jcomiskey, and welcome.

First off, a more detailed description of your brewday and processes would help with the technicals.

With that said, you are going to want to put that carboy in a tub, or larger container / or make sure you have plenty of room in your blowoff tube bucket because you're going to have no room in that carboy for krausen expansion.

I use 6.5 gal buckets for 5 gallon batches. This allows room for the krausen to form and drop without blowoff. (usually, there is always the risk of a mess, especially with high grav beers)

I'm sure there are many others here who brew both wine and beer, and could tell you better the differences in brewing.

Good luck!

 

[kh54s10]

It is going to get messy!

Put the carboy in a plastic storage box, set up a blow off tube with a very large catch vessel. You are likely to have a lot of krausen coming out.

You also added almost an extra gallon so your OG will be low. You will have a weaker beer that the recipe called for. It should still be good.

 

[wfowlks]

It is going to get messy!

Put the carboy in a plastic storage box, set up a blow off tube with a very large catch vessel. You are likely to have a lot of krausen coming out.

You also added almost an extra gallon so your OG will be low. You will have a weaker beer that the recipe called for. It should still be good.

The difference between beer and wine is that beer foams (krausen) when its fermenting.

I use a 1 inch tube and just stick it in the mouth of the carboy and it fits snugly, and put the other end in a bucket. That should solve the problem.

 

[Ryush806]

You also added almost an extra gallon so your OG will be low. You will have a weaker beer that the recipe called for. It should still be good.

OP used a 5 gallon carboy which should hold only slightly more then 5 gallons. If the recipe was for a 5 gallon batch the OG should be right on target, right?

 

[jcomiskey]

Ok so I setup the blow off tube into a gallon pitcher that's filled 1/3 with sani/water. I placed that pitcher in a 3 gallon bucket. Now should I still expect the carboy to overflow?
Per technicals on brewday...steeped barley in 2 1/2 gallons at 150 for 30min. Took out bag of barley and brought to boil. Lowered heat and added 6lbs of DME..stirring while adding. Brought back to boil but had alot of foam so removed from heat for about 20 mins for that to reduce. Then brought back to boil and added hops. Boiled for 45min added toasted coconut and lactose and boiled for additional 15min. Cooled in ice bath to 70 degrees. Strained into carboy and added water to neck...unfortunatly. Added yeast and airlock.

 

[Ryush806]

You should be fine with the blow off tube. You might lose a little beer out the top but no worries.

 

[jcomiskey]

Ryush806...
thank you for the help...as for lossing a little out the top. Do you mean the carboy? Because it is currently in a closet with jacket hanging above.

 

[wfowlks]

Ryush806...
thank you for the help...as for lossing a little out the top. Do you mean the carboy? Because it is currently in a closet with jacket hanging above.

If you set it up correctly, you will lose some out of the top of the carboy and it will go into your blowoff bucket. It should not affect the jacket that you have hanging up.

The loss is the krausen that goes through the tubes into the bucket with sanitizer, you don't really want to drink it.

 

[jcomiskey]

Thank you very much for all the help everyone has provided!!! Your imput has avoided an argument with the wife and a mess to clean up:rockin:

 

[Smithman]

So, how far off was your starting gravity?