how late can you add wort in fermentation

[JosephN]

I brewed a Belgian Tripel 6 days ago, and when I transferred from my kettle to the fermentor I collected all the clear sweet wort that I could. The remainder of the liquid in the kettle I put in a 1 gallon carboy, wrapped the top with aluminum, and stuck it in the fridge for 3 days. I took it out 3 days ago and set it out on the counter with the ambient temp being 70F. After the hops have compacted to the bottom I have about 24oz of sweet wort there.

I'm wondering if it is too late to add the extra wort to my main fermentor or if I would need to worry about botulism or any other issues? I know that 24oz isn't much, but with it setting out on the counter it sure is tempting to add it. I am pretty serious about sanitation, so i'm not worried about anything possibly getting in after the boil.

What are your thoughts? Lets talk theory, science, or whatever

 

[Gnomebrewer]

The only issues that I can see with adding it late in fermentation would be
- Oxygen: Minimise splashing and make sure the wort addition has minimal oxygen if you add the wort after the first few days.
- Contamination: To be sure, you could boil the wort that you have, then chill it and add to your fermenter. This would also reduce the oxygen in the wort.

It's not really that different to adding sugar or fruit after primary fermentation has finished.

 

[piteko]

You could freeze it and use it for a liquid yeast starter. Just un-freeze it, re-boil it and use it.

Anyway, +1 to re-boil it as Gnomebrewer said. You could loose a bit of hop aroma this way, but you can add it again during the boil or with some dry hopping.

Cheers from Italy!
Piteko