Wort Watered Down, Beer Ruined?

[BigOil76]

Hi all. Quick question...While pouring my wort into my carboy, I ended up spilling about 1/2 of it. It’s only a gallon batch. In order to get to the gallon marker, I added about 1/2 gallon of distilled water to the wort and then pitched the yeast. How will this affect the beer? How will it affect fermentation? Should I be concerned? It the batch ruined?

Thanks for the help!!

 

[mongoose33]

It will cut the gravity of the beer in half. If it started at, say, 1.058 gravity, you'll be at 1.029 original gravity. That will make a session beer, a low-alcohol beer depending on how low attenuation goes.

Should you be concerned? No. What's done is done. Will it ruin the beer? Well, what you're going to get will be different than what you intended at the outset.

Is the batch ruined? Well, define ruin. Look up parti-gyle or session beers as an example of what you may end up having here.

 

[TwistedGray]

What he said! Did you take gravity readings? Was other stuff contaminated in the process? What type of beer did you make?

 

[BigOil76]

Thanks. OG before spilling was 1.065. So watered down expect 1.03 or so? This was a saison batch. I don’t think anything is contaminated. Will fermentation be affected? How about the taste?

 

[TwistedGray]

Thanks. OG before spilling was 1.065. So watered down expect 1.03 or so? This was a saison batch. I don’t think anything is contaminated. Will fermentation be affected? How about the taste?

Fermentation will still eat whatever sugars you have, and I suspect it will taste fine...just a low ABV. Let it ride, take a gravity reading, plug it into a calculator and see where you're at.

Edit: You could take a gravity reading now, too, if you are careful and use sanitary siphoning equipment if you want an accurate reading.

 

[RM-MN]

If you are very concerned about the low ABV, you could add some dry extract to bring the amount of fermentable sugars back to near the original. The problem with that is you lost some of the hop bittering and will get a sweeter beer. You could boil a little bit of hops with the malt extract mixed in a bit of water and add that.

 

[kh54s10]

Or you could brew another batch half again as strong, then mix the two together to get back to somewhat like the original.

 

[Boomer]

Shoot, that stuff happens. Pitch yeast, crack a brew, and enjoy the day. You’ll get a product that’ll amount to pouring half of your original beer into your favorite glass and then topping it off with water. It’ll cut the alcohol and the flavor; but, who cares. That’s the joy of making it at home. Ride it out and see what you get - might end up being one of your favorites. Meanwhile, be gathering ingredients to refill that fermenter the day you empty it and carry on!

 

[jimmayhugh]

Good Advice, should be a sticky...

 

[65C]

it's events like this that often create great beer - which you can't later recreate

 

[Setsumi]

I am not into BIG beers, but below .038 it is just not worth it.

 

[BigOil76]

Thanks all for the information. I checked this morning and Primary Fermentation is going well. I’m going to keep it and see what happens.

 

[S-Met]

I am not into BIG beers, but below .038 it is just not worth it.

It all depends on your purpose. If it tastes good, its a success for me. I aim for something that I enjoy and will want to have another glass.

If I'm drinking to get drunk, then I'm probably not drinking beer, especially not .038 beer.

 

[Boomer]

.038 beer is better than no beer.

 

[Setsumi]

It all depends on your purpose. If it tastes good, its a success for me. I aim for something that I enjoy and will want to have another glass.

If I'm drinking to get drunk, then I'm probably not drinking beer, especially not .038 beer.

Maybe wrong wording on the 'worth it', No 'worth' is the right word. As stated I am not into big beers.. I do not drink for effect BUT a beer must be balanced. Reducing gravity as the op will end up doing will also reduce taste and balance.

 

[deadwolfbones]

1.030ish on a saison is actually right about where a classic table saison would be. With a typically powerfully attenuating saison yeast you'll still end up around 3.5-4%.