Too much water ... what should I have done?

[haveitall]

I brewed a Porter recently, and had a whole host of problems. My main question though, is what should I have done?

I boiled, dropped into my conical and accidently added too much water, up to about 6 gallons. I am not terribly careful about taking specific gravity measurements, but I wrote down 1.03. I just bottled and it was only 1.018 (after adding the priming sugar). I have brewed for a couple years now and never had any type of real issue - things always just work out. Guess I got a bit cocky.

Hopefully not related, this is the first time I used a conical and I noted that the trub smelled terrible when I went to clean out the fermenter. I never noticed that with my carboy.

 

[Build]

You added 6 extra gallons? The 1.030 and 1.018 don't look good at all. I would let them carb and hope for the best, but I'm not sure about this one.

Also, sounds like the new conical may have not been clean enough. What did you use to clean and sanitize it?

 

[haveitall]

Total of 6 gallons, and ended up with more like 5.4 gal (but I normally end with ~4.6). Three weeks in the fermenter.

I have never cleaned anything (yes, really). I always just rinse with super hot water and then star-san. I have some of that PBW on order for future batches. Thought I would be ok for the first one.

I tasted it and it doesn't taste terrible, but there is definitely an unpleasant sour funk that normally isn't there. I read the whole Satan's Anus thread. Doesn't taste like that yet!

(Incidentally, the super-hot water washing the carboy, then put on cold cement floor led directly to the conical. I told my wife it was a sign from God.)

 

[haveitall]

I should have mentioned. I did wash the conical with dish-soap out of the box. Then soaked in extra strong star-san per the instructions.

It also looks like the priming sugar added about .004. So I really ended at .014. I'll hope it's good enough.

Really I'm hoping for the first Lite Porter!

 

[Chanoc]

A couple of questions
What was the fermenter volume on this recipe
What was your expected OG?
Did you mixed the water with the wort?

Here come my hypothetical answers.
If oiginal volume 5 gal, not much harm done...
If 3 Gallons then you will have a " Very Light Porter"

Answer for the other two is the same, if your OG IS NOT too far from the one of your recipe, I would let it ferment.
If it is, maybe the water you added did not mixed well with the wort and you took a reading from water not completely mixed with wort.
Eiher case I would let it ferment and chalk it up to experience...


Duh!! Too slow again...

 

[haveitall]

Was supposed to be 5 gal, 1.044 OG.

Good point about mixing. But I took the OG from the test port after aerating (lots of swishing). Took it about 4 hours after I pitched.

Appreciate the comments. Would anyone have recommended just dumping in some extra sugar/malt as soon as I realized what I had done? Looks like some other posters have done that, but that seems to defeat the purpose right? All that good chemistry that happens during the boil? Maybe boiled up some more malt for 30 minutes and dump it in?

 

[Chanoc]

Was supposed to be 5 gal, 1.044 OG.

Good point about mixing. But I took the OG from the test port after aerating (lots of swishing). Took it about 4 hours after I pitched.

Appreciate the comments. Would anyone have recommended just dumping in some extra sugar/malt as soon as I realized what I had done? Looks like some other posters have done that, but that seems to defeat the purpose right? All that good chemistry that happens during the boil? Maybe boiled up some more malt for 30 minutes and dump it in?

If you're not comfortable with your OG, you may boil some Malt Extract and add to your fermenting beer.
There's a slight possibility of contamination every time you open a fermenter, but bottling early and drinking fast can take care of that, on the other hand, I'd let it finish as is and drink fast...
You may even like what you get, maybe not true to style but maybe not bad either.

 

[55x11]

No idea about your question. What was the question again?
too many red flags for me. at 1.030 it is not going to be a porter no matter what.

You wrote down 1.03 but you are not "too careful" with measurements?

No recipe, but from 1.030 (lets assume that measurement is real, just for fun) to 1.018 - what is your attenuation? Wait, what is the recipe again?

It looks like you already bottled, so what's the point.



Oh, wait, I got the question: "What should I have done?"
1. Think things thru. Preferably beforehand.
2. Take good (or any?) records.
3. Ask questions, wait for answers, bottle later.

 

[haveitall]

Chanoc - ah. I'll check out the calculators, but any rule of thumb on how much to add or what (powder or liquid)? Any reason you can't add after you pitch? Also, I don't get the drink fast part. Everyone seems to consistently say leaving it to condition longer is better.

11x55 - wow. Your fun.

 

[Chanoc]

Chanoc - ah. I'll check out the calculators, but any rule of thumb on how much to add or what (powder or liquid)? Any reason you can't add after you pitch? Also, I don't get the drink fast part. Everyone seems to consistently say leaving it to condition longer is better.

11x55 - wow. Your fun.

Malt Extract yields 35 points per gallon ST.
There are no rules to prevent adding fermentables after pitching, in fact, some high gravity brews call for it in order not to stress the trash too much..
My suggestion to drink fast was so you can brew another batch soon.
And last but not least, aging is considered beneficial in High starting gravity brews, not so in lighter brews.

 

[haveitall]

Thanks Chanoc. I'll keep some on hand (or better yet add the right amount of water!!). I'll look into late add of malt. Sounds like something easy to try and mix things up a bit!

Re: drink quick. Duh. Let me go put on my newbie hat.