Tipharet

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Out of curiosity I took a gravity reading. Currently its sitting at about 1.060. I think when all is said and done it will be about 1.043.

The color is really nice and has a great hop notes but mouth feel at first feels thin and taste a little watered down.

I got a new carboy which is 6.5 gallons. I believe I got a bit over confident when calculating boil off and eyed 5 gallons in correctly. Sittin on about an inch of trub realistically its probably 6 gallons.

Can I fix this in any way, possibly by dry hopping? Should I expect it to concentrate more as I get closer to my desired gravity?

I might just have a "summer ale" on my hands.

Thanks.

griffondg

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This doesn't make sense. First, no beer should finish at 1.043 unless it's an absolute monster and at 1.060 it should be a sweet mess. Are you sure of your hydro readings?

Adding hops won't do anything to counterract it being watered-down.

Eric

Tipharet

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I dont know what to tell you. Maybe I cant read a hydrometer? My other IPA that just finished has a gravity of 1.040 when it should be 1.063. Coming in at only 4% abv.

What causes such a low gravity?

edit: I think I realize what happened. I calculated with the boil was all said and done was at about 4.5 gallons. I add the water to the top. The more concentrated flavors are probably lower. which I cant read as my baster is not long enough. When I rack it in a couple of weeks I will take the gravity then.

DonMagee

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Are you saying the final gravity is 1.043 or the original gravity?

Tipharet

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I did not take an initial.

DonMagee

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I think there is a disconnect in terms here or your yeast didn't do it's job.

Original Gravity is the gravity before fermentation. It is typically taken after the boil, when the wort is cooled before you add the yeast.
Final Gravity is the gravity after the yeast have done their work. This would be taken a 1-4 weeks after adding yeast.
The hydrometer's estimated ABV is not what ABV the beer has at that gravity, but what ABV the beer might have if it starts at that gravity. So without knowing the original gravity and the final gravity it is very hard, if not near impossible, to estimate the ABV.

If you added yeast and then a few weeks later got a final gravity of 1.043, I'd think your yeast didn't do a good job. If we had your recipe and your process (how your brew day went) maybe we can see what went wrong.

NordeastBrewer77

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Are you using a hydrometer or a refractometer? If it's the latter, are you correcting for the presence of alcohol? 1.043 isn't anywhere close to the FG for an IPA, or any beer for that matter unless it had a monster of an OG. If you're actually having beer's finish at ~1.04, there's something wrong, but my guess is you aren't reading something properly.

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Derek2k3

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Doesn't the carbonation/bottle conditioning phase help with that "thin" or "watery" mouthfeel problems?

EDIT: I know much of the conversation has been about getting a hydro reading, but if the OP is concerned about the watery taste, read this thread: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ipa-thin-watery-tasting-224737/

Should put your mind at ease.

onthekeg

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What yeast are you using? If it was liquid, did you make a starter?

Tipharet

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So based on the thread, I don't know how to read a hydrometer..lol

I will research that.