Added too much water

[connersz]

Hi,

I thought I would give it a go so I bought a home brew kit for the first time (its called make your own and its from the range).

I have a problem though, I realised that I mis-read the instructions that said top up to 23l (in total).

I added a further 23l to the 3 litres you add at the beginning, the small amount of water used to wash out the concentrate bag and obviously the volume of the juice bag.

I think in total its probably more like 27-8 litres now. Do you think this will be a problem, what sort of difference could I expect to see after this or are there any tips you can offer to help fix my mistake?

Cheers,
J.

 

[oldbloke]

Ok so you have about 26 instead of 23. It's not a big deal, the brew will be slightly less strong and just a bit thinner. You probably won't even notice.

Say it's supposed to be 5% (I may have trouble with these calculations,I've been drinking):
5% of 23 is 1.15l of alcohol
So now you have 1.15l of alcohol in 26 instead of 23, you get 4.4% instead of 5%
Not a big difference, really.
And the flavour/body/mouthfeel is similarly affected - yes, it's not ideal, but, no, it won't ruin it.

Oh you reckoned 27 or 28 ...
Well, still not a vast difference.
Don't worry about it, there's not much you could do about it now anyway.
It'll almost certainly turn out fine
But, next time, it'll be just a bit better....

 

[ScottM]

Apple concentrate could save the day if you want to improve the situation :)

 

[Moley]

You've posted under wine & cider but it would help if you told us what you are making.

 

[connersz]

it's pear cider that I'm making

 

[connersz]

OK, Thanks for the feedback, I will just have to see how it comes out.

I see on the instructions it says to add a heaped teapsoon of sugar when bottling. Do you think if I add a really good heaped spoonfull it will improve things and make up for the previously diluted sugar?

 

[oldbloke]

No, it'll just make it way too fizzy.
If you want to correct the sugar, do it now. But apple or pear concentrate would be better.
You're about 4l over - a 360 or 500 ml bottle of concentrate from your local hippyfood shop would sort that pretty well. Current brand name is Rock's, I think.

 

[Gayle]

On the bright side, you'll have an extra 10 or so pints of cider! It'll be lower in abv but should still be tasty.

I have a pear cider kit in the cupboard, when I do it I will probably do as someone else on here suggested and use replace a few litres of water with the equivalent in apple juice, I'm hoping this will give a better appley flavour.

Just adding extra sugar during fermentation will increase the abv, but not the flavour, so I wouldn't bother!