Question about First homebrew

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by AllHaleTheAle, Apr 19, 2015.

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  1. AllHaleTheAle

    AllHaleTheAle Initiate (175) Apr 19, 2015 Indiana

    I brewed my first batch of Home Brew about 4 weeks ago. It was a Zombie Dust Pale Ale clone called Brain Eater. I did a full boil and ended up with about 4.5 gallons in the carboy. Being paranoid of putting water into the wort I figured I would just end up with a slightly stronger beer. The starting gravity was a little higher than the recipe called for. The OG of the recipe was 1.058—1.062 Mine was dead on 1.7. The finished gravity of the recipe is 1.016—1.020. Mine is 1.018. I am sure this is fine but before I start putting this stuff in bottles I want to make sure all of my research is correct and that the gravity is good. From my understanding my beer will just be a little bigger which is really my preference anyway. The main question of course is that I should just add the correct amount of priming sugar for the number of gallons 4-4.5 and I should be good? I don't need to do anything other than that since I have a higher alcohol content?
     
    #1 AllHaleTheAle, Apr 19, 2015
  2. VikeMan

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

    Wait 2-3 days and measure again. If unchanged, you're good.

    You should use the correct amount of sugar for the carbonation level you want, and the volume of beer being bottled. 4-4.5 gallons is a pretty wide range. You should probably get a better estimate (or actual measurement) before calculating your sugar.

    No.
     
    #2 VikeMan, Apr 19, 2015
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  3. AllHaleTheAle

    AllHaleTheAle Initiate (175) Apr 19, 2015 Indiana

    Thanks for the reply. The beer has been in the carboy for a month so I figured it should be done regardless. I am not going to able to bottle for a couple days so I will double check it again.
     
    #3 AllHaleTheAle, Apr 19, 2015
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  4. bushycook

    bushycook Zealot (681) Jan 31, 2011 Virginia

    You're also going to lose volume to the yeast cake and any dryhopping you did, anywhere from .25-.50 GL. Make sure you prime to the proper amount of final beer to be packaged.
     
    #4 bushycook, Apr 20, 2015
  5. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    And, OP, if this info causes you to realize that you'd like to top off with some water to get some volume back, it's not too late to add some. You should boil your priming sugar into solution anyway, so add a modest quantity of water for the sugar solution.
     
    #5 PapaGoose03, Apr 20, 2015
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