Hi, Last night I pitch my yeast ( wlp001 calif ale made in a starter 2nd gen ) into a 5 gallon wort that had an OG 1.092 (adjusted for temp). This morning I ran the OG in the brewers friend calculator I see what I did was in style for the beer.Initially the numbers in the calculator had us in style for the beer. I regret not going back in the house and checking the OG in the calculator first. We were looking to make a strong IPA with a nice hoppy flavor . Now I see I would have been better of diluting to an OG of 1.085 before adding the yeast. Using the formula c1v1=c2v2 I need at least a quart/0.95 liters of distilled water to lower the OG to 1.085. Is it too late to dilute the wort after fermentation has started? If I can do this water addition do I need to boil the distilled water first? This was the first time using a brewer’s calculator …it was helpful. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I don’t see why not. Some homebrewers, in an attempt to make more beer than they have carboy space for, make a stronger beer and then dilute later to the actual volume of beer they want. I actually added some distilled water to a Blue Moon clone I made last spring that ended up higher in OG than I wanted. Hey, more summer beer, right? 8) I boiled the distilled water together with my priming sugar. Some things to keep in mind here are that your IBU’s will drop from the dilution as well as the fact that your BG was higher reducing isomerization and absorption of the hop resins in your wort. But if you already put a ton of hops in there, well, you might just not notice. Lastly, IPA’s have high levels of sulfate in them to enhance the perception of bitterness. If you use Bru’nWater, I think you might want to balance the salts in your dilution water to match what your sparge water was. Good luck.
Oh one more thing. Unless you think your yeast won’t be able to handle that high of an OG, I’d wait until at least the end of primary fermentation as it will have a bunch of alcohol in it and be more resistant to infection. I’d be afraid to mess with it right now if it’s bubbling and happy.
Hi, Thank you for the reply. Luckily I added some yeast nutrient to the wort in the beginning of the boil. I have read that some brewer’s add champage yeast if the beer yeast is not enough. I hope to avoid that. I will wait until primary fermentation is nearly over and add cooled boiled spring water when we move to the secondary fermenter. I have never hear of Bru’nWater, is there a recipe? Prior to moving to the secondary I will probably chill the primary fermenter overnight to help clarify the beer …we added a lot of hops including leaf to the wort. After the water addition we will dry hop when fermentation is done. This is the third beer I have made and first time using a brewing calculator… its FUN!!
Thanks again,
Bassin75
[quote=“bassin75”]Hi, Thank you for the reply. Luckily I added some yeast nutrient to the wort in the beginning of the boil. I have read that some brewer’s add champage yeast if the beer yeast is not enough.
Thanks again,
Bassin75[/quote]
The yeast that you used sure have no problem with an O G of 1,092. Champagne yeast is best left to champagne.
It’s an imperial IPA, I’d leave it as is.
Another problem if you don’t dilute it down to the target OG is your OG / BG ratio will be off from you original recipe. Not a problem unless you are trying to replicate a recipe. I usually just let it ride and make a note of it. Many good recipes have evolved from " mistakes" IMO
Your high OG is a sign. Follow it.
[quote=“bassin75”]Hi, Thank you for the reply. Luckily I added some yeast nutrient to the wort in the beginning of the boil. I have read that some brewer’s add champage yeast if the beer yeast is not enough. I hope to avoid that. I will wait until primary fermentation is nearly over and add cooled boiled spring water when we move to the secondary fermenter. I have never hear of Bru’nWater, is there a recipe? Prior to moving to the secondary I will probably chill the primary fermenter overnight to help clarify the beer …we added a lot of hops including leaf to the wort. After the water addition we will dry hop when fermentation is done. This is the third beer I have made and first time using a brewing calculator… its FUN!!
Thanks again,
Bassin75[/quote]
Bru’NWater is a nice spreadsheet designed to help us balance our brewing water to hit the target mash pH and to balance for the style of beer we are brewing. Google it and read the Water Knowledge section. It was very helpful for me. The spreadsheet is a free download.
I just called in son in law and he said the wort is fermenting full steam . He said the airlock is bubbling more than once per second. I am just going to let this ride for now and let the yeast do its thing. The yeast is wpl001 calif ale second generation made in a starter the night before. I can live with a big beer…I’ll just drink less. I want to thank everyone for your replies to my post.
Cheers,
Bassin75
