AHS Pumpkin Ale OG problem

Well, I received my Pumpkin Ale ingredient kit from AHS, and like many here who have brewed this recipe, I added 2 cans of fresh pumpkin, baked on a cookie sheet and then steeped with my specialty grains. My brew day was completely uneventful....I poured my wort through a strainer into my primary, topped off with 2 1/2 gallons of bottled water and then took a sample with a beer thief and put it into a test jar. Before taking the reading, I pitched my yeast, covered my bucket and put the airlock on, figuring everything went perfectly.....

....until I took a hydro reading. My OG is 1.2!! WTF did I do wrong? The only thing I can think of, is that when I took the sample with the thief, it came from the bottom of the bucket right after I topped off with 2 1/2 gallons of fresh water, and maybe the water and the wort had not mixed yet. Could this be? I'm kind of bummed because I cannot think of anything I did wrong. HELP!

Well you now know the gravity of your top off water but not the brew as a whole.
It is one of the most common occurrences with extract brews but it doesn't hurt a thing. You can be assured that the gravity stated on the kit is the gravity you really have in your brew.

Nurmey said:

Well you now know the gravity of your top off water but not the brew as a whole.
It is one of the most common occurrences with extract brews but it doesn't hurt a thing. You can be assured that the gravity stated on the kit is the gravity you really have in your brew.

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I didn't have this problem on my first batch, which was a nut brown ale. I had hit the target OG dead on. Should I have given it a stir after adding the top off water?

You don't have to do anything, the yeast will find the sugar just fine. Truly it is not a problem and happens more times than not.

fotomatt1 said:

I didn't have this problem on my first batch, which was a nut brown ale. I had hit the target OG dead on. Should I have given it a stir after adding the top off water?

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Yes, you need to stir really well if you want to get an accurate OG reading.
As Nurmey said, not stirring won't mess up a thing except the OG reading as the yeasts will do the stirring for you

I did the same thing on my Cherry Wheat Ale, got all freaked out, then was calmed down here on the forums. Just shake things up a bit better next time to get an accurate OG. Luckily, the yeast will pick up our "DOH!" moments.

You don't seem to have mentioned aerating anywhere in your process there...which would be a good idea to do. After I top off, I usually transfer most of the liquid back and fourth between my primary and my kettle about 5 or 6 times to aerate it before pitching. In doing this, you also make sure everything is completely mixed and ready for a gravity reading. It's a win-win situation

arover said:

You don't seem to have mentioned aerating anywhere in your process there...which would be a good idea to do. After I top off, I usually transfer most of the liquid back and fourth between my primary and my kettle about 5 or 6 times to aerate it before pitching. In doing this, you also make sure everything is completely mixed and ready for a gravity reading. It's a win-win situation

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Ah...sorry...I left that part out. I did aerate with the Oxynator...an aeration stone with a portable oxygen bottle. 2 15 second blasts and my wort was aerated without pouring it back and forth. I guess it still wasn't a homogeneous mixture by the time I took the sample with the thief though....