First brew, making a breakfast stout. I added 3.5 gallons of water to the grains. Then added 1 gallon to boil. Totaling 4.5 gallons. With the boil done, i added the wort to 1.5 gallons of cold water and i only have 3.5 gallons of wort. the recipe was supposed to make 5 gallons, do i add water to reach the 5 gallons? 6? or do i leave it alone and just have 3.5 gallons of beer?
need help. adding water to wort
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Mexibilly
Mexibilly
Have you got a hydrometer? If you do, check your gravity.
If its way higher than your target, add sterile water to your desired volume and take another reading. This 2nd reading will be your starting gravity.
If your gravity is near target you may want to ferment what you produced, accept the volume loss, and review your process and volumes to determine why your volume was off.
Edit: It sounds like your boil-off rate was higher than anticipated. If you boiled for 60 minutes and lost 1.5 gallons, note that rate and include it when you plan your next brew.
If its way higher than your target, add sterile water to your desired volume and take another reading. This 2nd reading will be your starting gravity.
If your gravity is near target you may want to ferment what you produced, accept the volume loss, and review your process and volumes to determine why your volume was off.
Edit: It sounds like your boil-off rate was higher than anticipated. If you boiled for 60 minutes and lost 1.5 gallons, note that rate and include it when you plan your next brew.
I''m guessing this is an extract batch.
If the recipe is for 5 gallons, you should top up the fermenter to 5 gallons to get the published OG.
Many people can't do a full boil, and have to add make-up water to the fermenter.
It should be done before adding yeast, but within about 12 hours of pitching is OK. If it is later than 12 hours, I would recommend boiling the water for at least 10 minutes to get rid of entrained O2, allow to cool with lid on pot, and then add to fermenting beer.
If the recipe is for 5 gallons, you should top up the fermenter to 5 gallons to get the published OG.
Many people can't do a full boil, and have to add make-up water to the fermenter.
It should be done before adding yeast, but within about 12 hours of pitching is OK. If it is later than 12 hours, I would recommend boiling the water for at least 10 minutes to get rid of entrained O2, allow to cool with lid on pot, and then add to fermenting beer.
I do not have a hydrometer and no supplier is open today. Can I wait until tomorrow? Will the wort be ok in a 6 gal. wine bucket? The recipe called for 1.086 Original Gravity so if it is over that I can add water, right? Just pour a small amount in at a time,I am guessing. Thank you both for the help.
If it's an extract batch it's perfectly normal to add top up water going into the fermenter. Do it now so you don't have issues such oxidation trying to top up after fermentation has started. Also, I wouldn't get too hung up with OG for an extract batch. If you added the extract the fermentables are present. Cheers.
Mexibilly
Mexibilly
Assuming it is an extract batch, and that you added all the extract that came with the kit, you should add water until you reach the volume listed in the instructions. The gravity will be close to what the instructions say.
At this point you probably want to boil any additional water you add first, then allow it to cool to ambient before adding.
Get a hydrometer for sure
At this point you probably want to boil any additional water you add first, then allow it to cool to ambient before adding.
Get a hydrometer for sure
mcgovern570
New Member
The OP is doing an all-grain batch found here. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=139078
chickypad
lupulin shift victim
I take it you're his brew partner? That's an ambitious first brew. If I understand correctly you guys mashed a 20 lb grainbill in only 14 qts of water (0.7 qt per lb) then didn't sparge and just topped off? You're probably better off not topping off further at this point, at least without any data. It's likely you had very poor brewhouse efficiency with what you did. You should have mashed with more like 6 gals of water and sparged with 3 more. In general you do not top off with water in all grain brewing, you sparge. You can get away with it on lower gravity beers, for example I sometimes brew on my 3 gal system and top up to 5 gal with water, but on a big beer like this you need all the sparge you can get. In fact many folks increase the boil time to increase boil off so they can do a decent sparge. Probably want to read up a little on process for the next one. And get a hydrometer, otherwise with all grain you really are flying in the dark.
Thank you chickypad, this was my son and I first attempt, guess we really messed it up. We watched a few videos and asked the local supplier alot of questions but now realize we had no idea what we were doing. In the total water we had listed we poured 1/2 gallon over the grains with the bottom of the turkey fryer open, but was afraid we were going to water it down.
We will read up on how to sparge the grain for the next one which we bought together. It is a Russian Imperial 20 lb all grain also. An tips or where to find info would be deeply appreciated.
We will read up on how to sparge the grain for the next one which we bought together. It is a Russian Imperial 20 lb all grain also. An tips or where to find info would be deeply appreciated.
how big is your current pot?
+1 ^
The size of your kettle determines how big a volume you can boil. If it can't hold all of it, you could split it over 2 kettles. If it's close, leave some of the wort from the 2nd or 3rd runnings in a bucket, boil as much as you can, then keep topping up as the volume goes down.
I use a mash calculator like the one on Brewer's Friend or this one at Brew365.
The size of your kettle determines how big a volume you can boil. If it can't hold all of it, you could split it over 2 kettles. If it's close, leave some of the wort from the 2nd or 3rd runnings in a bucket, boil as much as you can, then keep topping up as the volume goes down.
I use a mash calculator like the one on Brewer's Friend or this one at Brew365.
1.7? Do you mean 1.070? Are you reading this right?
If it's 1.070 your gravity is already lower than 1.086, so don't add water!
35 quart is about the minimum for 5-5.5 gallon batches, but it works. You can boil around 7 gallons of wort in that, carefully, leaving only an inch or 2 under the rim.
Once your mash is completed you pull out the bag, let it drip out, and squeeze with silicone gloves. Then the best is to sparge the bag by dunking it in a large bucket with some hot water. The amount of some should be just enough to bring your total pre-boil volume to what you calculated. For a 5.5 gallon batch you typically need around 7 gallons of preboil wort.* You'd boil off 1 gallon in an hour and you leave 1/2 gallon behind with the trub (hops and break).
* Everybody's system is bit different, so it takes a few times to get all your numbers "dialed in."
That's 1.070!
Here's a good (sticky) thread on how to Brew In A Bag (BIAB). Pix and all. There are many others. Before your next brew, read up on how it's done.
I don't subscribe to the "No-Sparge" method, and strongly believe in doing at least one sparge to rinse more high gravity wort from the bag of grains by dunking. That will bring the efficiency up.
Your efficiency is probably low on this brew, hence you ended up with only 1.070 OG.
There are many reasons for causing that and how to improve your efficiency. The most significant one standing out right now, AG brewers don't add water at the end. They mash, drain, sparge, and drain. They end up with their calculated pre-boil volume at pre-boil gravity. Use the 365 calculator I linked to before. You'll see how the numbers all add up. After the boil they "magically" end up with their intended OG.
The single most important factor for better (BIAB) mash efficiency is having a fine enough crush. Most LHBS actually mill their grain quite coarsely, which will tank your efficiency and thus your OG, if not compensated by using a) more malt OR b) a finer grind.
I don't subscribe to the "No-Sparge" method, and strongly believe in doing at least one sparge to rinse more high gravity wort from the bag of grains by dunking. That will bring the efficiency up.
Your efficiency is probably low on this brew, hence you ended up with only 1.070 OG.
There are many reasons for causing that and how to improve your efficiency. The most significant one standing out right now, AG brewers don't add water at the end. They mash, drain, sparge, and drain. They end up with their calculated pre-boil volume at pre-boil gravity. Use the 365 calculator I linked to before. You'll see how the numbers all add up. After the boil they "magically" end up with their intended OG.
The single most important factor for better (BIAB) mash efficiency is having a fine enough crush. Most LHBS actually mill their grain quite coarsely, which will tank your efficiency and thus your OG, if not compensated by using a) more malt OR b) a finer grind.
YVW!
If you have any DME laying around you can dissolve enough of it in a little hot water, chill it, and add to your fermentor to reach your intended 1.086. Or just let it ride at what it is.
What yeast are you using? Have you pitched yet?
chickypad
lupulin shift victim
You should have a decent stout at 1.070. Pretty bad efficiency as we expected, so it would have been really watered down trying to do 5 gals, but now should be okay. (edit - or you could add some DME as lizard suggested).
What kind of bag are you using? I would recommend getting a big bag that you can line the whole pot with (wilserbrewer sells them here). Heat the water, place the bag, then stir in the grain. You want the grains to be loose like in a regular mash tun just with a bag lining it, so you should be able to really get a good stir. In a 35 qt pot you should have been able to fit 20 lb of grain and 6 gal of water though it would be about 1 gallon from the top. That would have been a much better water to grain ratio of 1.2, still on the thick side but acceptable. With a squeeze that should have left you about 4.4-4.5 gals of water then you could have sparged with another 2.5 gal or so in a bucket.
There are some stickies in the all grain forum and BIAB forum that you might want to read through, and the online version of how to brew is also a popular resource. I would recommend using priceless brewing's calculator, it is the best one around for BIAB. Things will be easier to fit with smaller grainbills. The other thing you can do in the future when brewing a big beer is consider dropping the batch size to 3.5-4 gal right from the outset, gives you more room to mash and sparge.
What kind of bag are you using? I would recommend getting a big bag that you can line the whole pot with (wilserbrewer sells them here). Heat the water, place the bag, then stir in the grain. You want the grains to be loose like in a regular mash tun just with a bag lining it, so you should be able to really get a good stir. In a 35 qt pot you should have been able to fit 20 lb of grain and 6 gal of water though it would be about 1 gallon from the top. That would have been a much better water to grain ratio of 1.2, still on the thick side but acceptable. With a squeeze that should have left you about 4.4-4.5 gals of water then you could have sparged with another 2.5 gal or so in a bucket.
There are some stickies in the all grain forum and BIAB forum that you might want to read through, and the online version of how to brew is also a popular resource. I would recommend using priceless brewing's calculator, it is the best one around for BIAB. Things will be easier to fit with smaller grainbills. The other thing you can do in the future when brewing a big beer is consider dropping the batch size to 3.5-4 gal right from the outset, gives you more room to mash and sparge.
^ Excellent! ^
I have the feeling the OP mashed in a bag that's way too small, more like a big steeping bag. To mash you need ample space in that bag!
I have the feeling the OP mashed in a bag that's way too small, more like a big steeping bag. To mash you need ample space in that bag!
Thank you both! The bag as too small then. We could hardly get the bag all the way in the fryer. had to push it down with the stirrer. We pitched the dry yeast last night and going to let it like it is.
I will post the results.
Thanks again to all that helped.
I will post the results.
Thanks again to all that helped.
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