too much water in carboy?

[wona]

so, I have my first batch fermenting in my bedroom, kind of in a dark corner and covered with a towel and a blanket to keep it dark. I had a friend help me with the boil and adding hops etc. so aside from adding too much hops at once the first time which caused it to boil over, everything was done pretty much right. The problem I am experiencing but not freaking out about is, my carboy has so many bubbles in it, it is pushing foam up through the stopper and down the tube that I have in a mason jar that is about 1/2 full of water. The foam has been coming out of the mason jar, so I put a cloth diaper near the mouth of the mason jar to collect the foam as it comes out. My first question is, does this really matter to my overall finished product? Second question: How many days should I expect to wait for the foaminess to subside? And one last question, I'll try to keep it short: My gravity before adding yeast was 1.043, the recipe I used called for between 1.055 and 1.059 which from what I understand means I'll have a lower alcohol content. My buddy recommended (if I wanted to) adding sugar once the bubbling has gone down in a few days, so here is my question... If I add more sugar to bring up my gravity (he suggested 1 pound of sugar after boiling it in water to sterilize it) will I likely have the whole foamy situation on my hands again? or, should I just go with what I have and make sure I don't have too much water next time? I am not looking for perfection my first time, I would be perfectly ok with a brew that is slightly lower in alcohol but tastes good, I hope this helps. Thanks in advance!

 

[GammaRay4130]

Was it an extract brew? In the few batches I have done my OG was lower than the recipe stated but after some reading found that it was probably due to doing a partial boil and the wort not being completely mixed with the top off water when I took the sample. This may be what's going on but you may want to wait for someone with more experience to reply as well



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[Rhumbline]

It's entirely normal, don't sweat it.

the fermentation should settle down after 72 hours or so, but this could last longer.

I repeat, don't sweat it, it's perfectly normal.

 

[wona]

Thanks Gammaray4130, that is what my buddy suggested at first, I am going to go with it and thanks Rumbline, I kinda figured so, maybe next time I'll make sure I'm closer to the 5 gallon mark on my 6 gallon carboy cheers you guys! I will now stop sweating it and wait patiently for my porter to ferment! Thanks so much for the input, it really helps!

 

[Rhumbline]

Thanks Gammaray4130, that is what my buddy suggested at first, I am going to go with it and thanks Rumbline, I kinda figured so, maybe next time I'll make sure I'm closer to the 5 gallon mark on my 6 gallon carboy cheers you guys! I will now stop sweating it and wait patiently for my porter to ferment! Thanks so much for the input, it really helps!

We've all been there.

Enjoy the brewing.