When is too late to top off?

Long story short I got distracted when I was wrapping up my brew session from the other day and forgot to top off and bring what i put in my fermenter up to 5.5 gallons.  I went to check on it yesterday to make sure the yeast was munching away and noticed I was about a gallon short in my carboy and realized my brain fart.

My question is it too late to boil a gallon of water, cool it, and add it to the already fermenting beer to bring it up to 5.5 or should I just suck up my mistake and settle being a little short this batch?

Thoughts would be appreciated.

It depends.

What was your OG and what was you shooting for?

Unless it’s really too strong for you, I’d suggest it’s best to take what you’ve got and be happy (and a bit drunker).  I’ve been tempted to top up more than once and I’ve always resisted the urge and I’ve been happy with the decision.  No sense risking a good brew just to have more of an ok brew.

I was about .10 off of my target og.  It sounds based on what you guys are saying it’s best to take it and run with the results.  I can deal with a few stronger beers to know it will not get contaminated trying to stretch the batch.

Thanks!!

Contamination probably isn’t as big a concern as oxygenation - be really hard to add that kind of water without introducing extra oxygen.  Although at just one day in, you might be safe but I still wouldn’t risk it.

You can dilute it after its done fermenting.  I don’t see where that is a risky venture.  Boiling water drives the air out of it.

I would not worry about it.

You’re correct in that boiling gets the oxygen out of the water but I was coming at it more from the “how do you physically add the water without adding air”.  You can’t just dump it in as that would aerate.

If you want to add some more, do so after the fermentation is over and at bottling time. At least I bottle and to add the sugar, I normally dissolve the sugar in some water and then add it to the batch. Rarely have judges comment on oxidation.

+1. Watered down beer sucks.

I’ve done this before with a Strong Scotch Ale that ended up a little high @ ~13%. I boiled a gallon of water then cooled and added to the secondary using a sanitized funnel and a length of tubing reaching to the bottom of the carboy.  The beer turned out fantastic…  Cheers!!!

That is an excellent idea.  If you’re going to top off, that’s a great way to do it without introducing extra oxygen.

Sorry to revive a dead thread, but I thought I’d add my $0.02 in case anyone reads this later. I’ve topped off my beers at all the different stages (during primary, during secondary, or at bottling) at one time or another, and never had any ill-effects that I could tell.

I recently made a special bitter with an OG that was too high (1.052, diluted to 1.040), and topped that off with water at bottling. The beer definitely tastes watery now, and it’s bumming me out. So I would say use caution when topping off low gravity beers, and don’t worry about topping off higher gravity and fuller-flavored beers.

+1.   
I don’t do it very often, and when I do it’s not for the usual reasons  that many state (such as winding up with too high FG …I generally consider that event more of a bonus than a failure.  :P.  Fact is though, if one is careful, the beer can be topped up at practically any stage from pre fermentation, to kegging, or (more rarely) at serving time.
 
Sometimes, if I want to have a beer and not be concerned about getting buzzed, I will occasionally make an “L.A.” beer by pouring a robustly flavored (but not necessarily strong) beer such as a porter, and cutting it with a some plain, cold seltzer, right in the glass.     
Sounds odd, I know, but the result is refreshing, lower in alcohol, still packed with flavor, and it allows me to have a pint in the middle of the day and still get my work done
…without getting my mixed all words up. ::slight_smile:

It’s too late when the glass is empty and starting to dry out. :smiley:

well, theoretically at least, you are breaking up the colloids which can affect mouth feel if you water down any beer post boil. Maybe it is not a genuine concern. I personally feel that you are best topping off before flame out if ever.

How accurate do you think it’d be to use the temp correction tool in beersmith to measure gravity on the wort during the boil? Or should I cool the sample down before measuring? I usually don’t check the gravity until it’s chilled and in the fermentor.

I’ve been told that temp correction tables aren’t very accurate over 90F.  I always cool my samples before taking a reading.  Put 8 0z. in a metal cocktail shaker and put it in a bowl of ice water.  Swirl it around.  In a minute or so, it will be in the 60s and you can take an accurate reading.

before I got my refractometer I used a steel cocktail shaker immersed in ice water to cool the sample. Took about 2 minutes and I always checked with 10-15 min left in the boil and just called it close enough. That also left me with enough time to make any necessary changes. I love my refractometer though.

That’s a good idea. I’m thinking I could add my -60min hops, boil for 30min, check gravity, if it’s low, plan on boiling longer. I don’t think you’ll get much more bittering at -90min vs -60min. If it’s too high, I could add the top-off then. Sound good?

Woops, Major beat me to it.