FG higher than expected - add water?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by mikehartigan, Apr 7, 2012.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. mikehartigan

    mikehartigan Maven (1,421) Apr 9, 2007 Illinois

    I brewed my first lager - a German pilsner - a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a gravity reading when I put it in the fermenter. No problem -- after sufficient time, I'll simply measure the SG and Brix and calculate the OG (pretty cool trick!). What I hadn't considered was that my post boil volume was lower than expected - 4.25 gal instead of 5 gal as I originally planned (this was a 90 minute boil). Well I racked the beer to a keg for lagering today and took a reading. 7.4 Brix, SG 1.005. According to my spreadsheet, that's an OG of 1.069! A far cry higher than the 1.053 I 'designed' into this beer ('designed' is in quotes because I haven't yet dialed in a consistent brewhouse efficiency). I guess the higher than budgeted boil off, combined with higher than expected efficiency can account for this. Now what? Should I add water to bring the volume up to 5 gallons, lowering the effective gravities from 1.069/1.005 to 1.058/1.004 (OG/FG). This will be closer to what I was shooting for but still high. Or should I just enjoy 4.25 gallons of an 8.5% Imperial Pils? FWIW, it's damn tasty today, though it's flat and still a bit young.

    One more question - should I lager it flat, or is it ok to crank up the CO2 now, as long as it's already in the keg?
     
    #1 mikehartigan, Apr 7, 2012
  2. mondegreen

    mondegreen Savant (1,013) Nov 4, 2009 Georgia

    If it tastes good, I'd leave it as is (don't dilute it). No idea about the lagering question.
     
    #2 mondegreen, Apr 7, 2012
  3. nniicckkww

    nniicckkww Initiate (0) Dec 25, 2005 Florida

    I lager under pressure most of the time. No noticeable effects. Quite a time saver too. Go for it.

    I'd leave it alone also regarding adding water to the finished beer.
     
    #3 nniicckkww, Apr 7, 2012
  4. cmac1705

    cmac1705 Zealot (517) Apr 30, 2010 Florida

    It's fine to lager as you carbonate.

    As far as diluting, I'm not a fan. Especially when you already like the product. Along with changing ABV, you also drop IBU and dilute other flavor contributors. Having said that, you could test this by pulling off a sample and diluting proportionally: 4.25/0.75 = 5.66. Thus, pull off just less than 6 oz and add 1 oz water.
     
    #4 cmac1705, Apr 7, 2012
  5. mikehartigan

    mikehartigan Maven (1,421) Apr 9, 2007 Illinois

    Would it have been equally inadvisable to add water pre-fermentation? The 90 minute boil was the culprit. I didn't adjust the pre-boil volume to accommodate the longer boil.
     
    #5 mikehartigan, Apr 8, 2012
  6. MLucky

    MLucky Initiate (0) Jul 31, 2010 California

    I do this sometimes during the last 10 minutes of a boil. Take a sachrometer reading, and if it's off by more than .008 or so, I might add a little water or DME at that point, which leaves enough boiling time to sanitize. In your present situation, I'd let it slide: I never like the idea of watering down an essentially finished beer. Just call this one an imperial pils and enjoy it.
     
    #6 MLucky, Apr 8, 2012
  7. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    If I were going to enter it in a competition, I might consider watering it down, but if not, just enjoy it as it is. My memory could be off, but I think someone once won one of the lager categories in the AHA nationals with a beer he had intentionally brewed high gravity, then diluted before packaging, so it can be done.

    As for carbonating while lagering, I take the view that CO2 suppresses yeast activity, therefore I wait until the last couple weeks to fully carbonate. Before that, I use very low pressure, basically just enough to hold a seal. I know that yeast activity is very low (even with lager yeast) at 40F anyway, but I think it's doing 'something' so I hold off on fully carbonating.
     
    #7 VikeMan, Apr 8, 2012
  8. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    I'd carb it up and pour a glass. If you like it, drink it as is. It does sound pretty heavy-handed. I've had great luck with pouring a little bit of water into my beer mug and topping off with beer. I had an Irish red that was more of a brown ale until properly diluted. After adding water it was really good. The thing I'd be most concerned about is adding too much water and not being able to get it back out. Let me know what you decide to do and how it comes out.
     
    #8 inchrisin, Apr 10, 2012
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.