topping off???

[Ceedubya]

Wondering what everyone does if they ever find themselves a little short on volume? I think I shorted myself about 1/2 gallon to begin with, and it showed in the end.

I made a partial mash Pigs' Ass Porter Clone, and came up just a little short. I forgot to take a sample till the end, so it ended up being from the dregs. I came it at 1.064, seems quite high for a Porter.

I didn't read the OG till I already pitched the yeast. Should I have topped this off with water???

Good news is other than this little issue, I had a great brew session, short and sweet. Seems like every session, I refine the system a little.

 

[frogfree]

It's fine to top off before pitching. Just try to get your target OG. Because your OG is higher during the boil, your hops utilization will be lower.

 

[stevea1210]

There is nothing wrong with it. Personally I go with whatever I get. little high, little low, too much volume, not quite enough. Oh well, it is what the brew session gave me, and I'm ok with it.

I will make adjustments throughout the boil though. I will adjust how long I boil based on a refracometer reading taken about 10 minutes to the 'expected' end of the boil. I've had times where i boiled a little longer to hit the target og.