Topping off the wort

[kproudfoot]

I've made 6 or 7 batches of extract kits so far and they all turned out great but I'm never getting a full 53 bottles. I have a line makes on my glass carboy I use for primary fermenting that marks 5 gallon but I'm wondering since I done filler the hops, etc after cooling the wort should I be putting water past the 5 gallon line? I'm assuming I should really be checking for OG but since I done should I just add water past the 5 gallon mark?

 

[frydaddy81]

There are a few factors here to consider such as how much you lose during the boil, loss due to trub etc... I would only add to it if your Gravity is higher than expected.

 

[unionrdr]

I strain my chilled wort into the fermenter so I get less trub later. But I only fill it up to the 5 gallon mark. Doing pb/pm biab, my efficiency is high enough where, even topping off to 5G, the OG is still a few points higher.

 

[kproudfoot]

Thanks. But since I don't strain and I use a glass fermenter that I can't get a gravity reading I should I add more water past the 5 gallon line? He last batch I Brewer i used a 5 gallon fermenter for secondary and after transferring the beer i was about 1/2 inch from the 5 gallon line. That's going to be a significant # of beers short of 53.

 

[kproudfoot]

Also I'm not worried if I get the exact gravity the kit calls for, I would rather have a few more beers.

 

[unionrdr]

Just fill it to the 5 gallon mark. But use a measure to get 5 gallons of water in it sometime & see if it's actually at the 5 gallon mark. I account for trub loss to an extent, by straining the wort into the fermenter. giving less trub, less losses.

 

[Mrin]

No idea if this is right but I usually top off to 5.5 gallons when I pour to my primary. I figure with trub loss I'll end up with 5 gallons.

 

[flars]

I fill the fermentor to the 5 gallon mark. This results in forty-eight 12 ounce bottles, sometimes 49.

Then I add up my losses. Eight to twelve ounces of beer remains in the fermentor on top of the yeast. This gets swirled into the yeast for harvest. About eight ounces is over flow from the bottle filling. There is another four or five ounces remaining in the bottling bucket. Then there is about six to eight ounces in the last bottle that is only partially filled.

(The partial and the beer left in the bottling bucket goes into a glass for drinking after clean up. I used to pour from the bucket into the last bottle. Stopped doing this after tasting an oxidized beer.)

I end up a two to three bottles short of five gallons, factoring in losses, when having the fermentor filled to the five gallon mark. Could be the reason some calculators default to a 5.5 gallon size brew. I like the flavor of my beer, so I never risked adding the extra top off water.

 

[unionrdr]

Since I strain going into the fermenter, I have less trub losses. I get 53-55-12oz bottles on average. Sometimes 57 bottles, but generally 53.

 

[Clonefan94]

No idea if this is right but I usually top off to 5.5 gallons when I pour to my primary. I figure with trub loss I'll end up with 5 gallons.

It isn't going to ruin your beer, but you are also diluting the beer. So your OG is going to be less than what the kit instructions say you will get. Not a big deal if it makes beer you like, but I would suggest putting together the numbers and adding enough Light DME to get you to the gravity suggested. An extra half gallon of water, imo, is enough to alter the mouthfeel and final taste of the beer.

Believe me, it's not something you have to do, but I think you will be happier with the final results if you keep the gravity where the kit suggests.

I brew all grain, but actually build all my batches to six gallons now. After trub loss, and what I like to leave to make sure I don't suck up any trub into my kegs, I'm able to fill my kegs just to the bottom of the inlet tube. Plus it allows me a little extra for gravity samples and a little taste so I know if the beer is on the right track or not.

I probably leave about a pint or so of perfectly good beer, but it's worth it to me to not get down into the trub while racking.

 

[kproudfoot]

Thanks for all the input in my mind I figure because of the trub at the bottom
(Since I don't filter) the 5 gallon line isn't really 5 gallons of liquid. My only concern is putting in more than 5 gallons.