Fix low effiency after the fact?

Anything to be done to fix low gravity (due to poor Efficiency) once I've pitched? I did back to back batches of Dunklewies and Stout (1.040 and 1.048 respectivly). That seems low to me? can I/should I fix?

mavrick1903 said:

Anything to be done to fix low gravity (due to poor Efficiency) once I've pitched? I did back to back batches of Dunklewies and Stout (1.040 and 1.048 respectivly). That seems low to me? can I/should I fix?

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Those OG don't see all that low, depending on the recipe.

You can always add DME by boiling it up in a little water and cooling it.

I too am looking to fix some low efficiency. I hit 60% efficiency on my first BIAB. If I need to raise it about .005, any how can i figure out how much DME to add? And does it matter if I make it super concentrated so I don't add too much water? (Super no0b alert here!)

D_Nyholm said:

I too am looking to fix some low efficiency. I hit 60% efficiency on my first BIAB. If I need to raise it about .005, any how can i figure out how much DME to add? And does it matter if I make it super concentrated so I don't add too much water? (Super no0b alert here!)

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One pound of DME will give you about 43 points per gallon. So, in a 5 gallon batch one pound of DME will give you about 0.008 added to your OG. You can dissolve it and boil in the smallest amount of water possible, cool it, and then gently add to the fermenter.

This is why it is great to keep DME on hand -- every now and then one has a bad brew day and needs a little DME assistance. I always keep pale DME on hand.

Thanks! Boiled up .75 lbs this morning and going to add it to the fermenter later on today!

I would leave it and just refine your process for next time. 65% isn't terrible though. What were you aiming for? Most recipes are for around 70-75% anyway. It's more important to be consistent than to increase the numbers.

Aiming for 5.5-6.5 ABV.

In the future, if making an exact OG is important to you and you haven't nailed down your efficiency, you can always check the gravity pre-boil (or post-boil) and add dme or water as needed. It would help to have software for this but you can figure it out on your own as long as you take gravity units and volume into account.

I am a noob, but I've found that adding 1 lb. brown sugar at the end of the boil[10 min]
will add about .o06 points to your grav.you should check the grav before and after you boil.
I don't know if this is frowned upon in the homebrew community[adding sugar].