Missed my target final volume into carboy...

[Washington_Brewologist]

Hey guys! I just got done brewing a hoppy IPA and seemed to have missed my target final volume of 5.5 by quite a bit. It looks like I have about 4.75 gallons in the fermenter. I believe I found the error in my planning but whats strange is I seemed to hit my target OG of 1.052 right on the button. My concern is that the amount of hops I added wasn't adjusted to compensate for the loss of volume. I haven't pitched my yeast yet and am wondering if sacrificing a few gravity points by adding some top up water would be a good idea to save the overall taste and quality of the beer...

I added tons of hops in my hop stand and I'm concerned I'm going to end up with a bitter bomb.

Thanks for your help!

 

[wepeeler]

Hey guys! I just got done brewing a hoppy IPA and seemed to have missed my target final volume of 5.5 by quite a bit. It looks like I have about 4.75 gallons in the fermenter. I believe I found the error in my planning but whats strange is I seemed to hit my target OG of 1.052 right on the button. My concern is that the amount of hops I added wasn't adjusted to compensate for the loss of volume. I haven't pitched my yeast yet and am wondering if sacrificing a few gravity points by adding some top up water would be a good idea to save the overall taste and quality of the beer...

I added tons of hops in my hop stand and I'm concerned I'm going to end up with a bitter bomb.

Thanks for your help!

First off, what's a "ton of hops"? If most of your hops were added after flameout, you shouldn't end up with a "bitter bomb". Were you planning on 5.5 gallons into the fermenter or 5? You could chalk up the low final volume to trub loss, or you ended up boiling off more than you intended. Depends on how much trub was left in your kettle. Personally, I would leave the 4.75 in the fermenter and not top off. Just adjust recipe for next time.

 

[Brewers Hardware]

I would probably leave it as is especially since you hit your numbers. See how it turns out and adjust next time. Especially since it is an IPA anyway, the potential extra bitterness shouldn't be too much of an issue.

 

[RM-MN]

Hey guys! I just got done brewing a hoppy IPA and seemed to have missed my target final volume of 5.5 by quite a bit. It looks like I have about 4.75 gallons in the fermenter. I believe I found the error in my planning but whats strange is I seemed to hit my target OG of 1.052 right on the button. My concern is that the amount of hops I added wasn't adjusted to compensate for the loss of volume. I haven't pitched my yeast yet and am wondering if sacrificing a few gravity points by adding some top up water would be a good idea to save the overall taste and quality of the beer...

I added tons of hops in my hop stand and I'm concerned I'm going to end up with a bitter bomb.

Thanks for your help!

Since you hit your expected OG but with a lower volume of beer it means your brewhouse efficiency was lower than the recipe expected. That efficiency is affected by the crush of the grain and any wort left behind in your process. Try to correct that for your next brew.

Your beer will be lower in alcohol and flavor if you add water. I'd leave it alone and let it ferment. If it turns out so bitter you can't stand it then consider making another batch with less bittering hops and blend them.