So i just bought a small batch one gallon kit and followed directions to make an Irish red ale to the T. I put it in the fermenter but it is way below a gallon (between half and 3/4ths of a gallon)! is it ok to add extra water before adding the yeast to bring it to one gallon or is that just frowned upon. Should i of put more water when boiling the wort! I’m new at this and so far really enjoy it! Any tips tricks help or advice would be very appreciated!
It is ok to add water to bring it to a full gallon. The extract kits are designed with a 1 gallon volume, so your OG will be as stated if you top it off. Use distilled, or RO water.
Welcome to homebrewing!!! Great hobby, and you will find you CAN make great beer.
PS. make sure to ferment within the suggested temp for your yeast, or some off flavors (esters) will be produced. This and proper sanitation are the best advice I can give you, IMHO…
Namaste!
I don’t know what is called for in your kit but if you want a full gallon of beer after fermentation you may need to ferment with a bit more than a gallon. Maybe some of the one gallon brewers will weight in here.
Did my first 3 one gallon batches recently. The first one I didn’t top off and ended up with the ever popular 7 pack of beer! 2nd two batches were topped off and came in at a whopping 9 beers each…oh well, that leaves one for testing!
Being a fellow Mets fan, my advice to you is to forget about brewing one gallon batches. We Mets fans really need far more than one gallon of beer to bring us through a season.
