5 Gallon kit only made 3.5 gallons?

[Silarous]

Well, I tried my first kit from the G&G, the 5 gallon kit that is similar to Killian's Irish red. Anyways, I followed the directions to the tee but today when I transfer it to the secondary, I somehow lost 1.5 gallons somewhere. Is this normal?

[grapeadmin]

It is normal to lose some volume (maybe 1/2 gallon) but that seems like alot. Before you bottle it, boil 1/2 gallon of water for 10 minutes. Then let it cool and add it back to the batch just before bottling. That will help. In the future, try not to lose so much when you rack. If you have to pick up a bit of sediment, don't worry about it. It won't hurt.

thanks
john

[Silarous]

Will that water down the beer any doing that?

[grapeadmin]

Yes, some but not too significantly in my opinion. Taste the beer and see if it tastes a bit too strong at the current volume. If so, don't hesitate to add an additional 1/2 gallon at bottling.

john

[Silarous]

Ok, thanks for the help.

[grapeadmin]

No problem. It happens to me sometimes.

john