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ian

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Hey Guys,

My buddy just thought of something. When we brewed the other day we checked the O.G. on only 2 gallons of wort. We measured it at 1.068 which seemed kind of high for the Dry Irish Stout that we were brewing. We then added 3 gallons of water to the wort.

Now we're thinking that the O.G. is inaccurate because we immediately dilluted the hell out of it with water. So following this logic, (O.G. * 2) / 5 we get an actual O.G. of 1.027.

Does this sound correct? If so, this is looks like its gonna be some weak beer.
 
Your initial OG doesn't sound ridiculous to me - 50+ is not unheard of. I think your final on a stout is gonna be 15-25. You did dilute the hell out of it, if you had 2 gallons of wort and added 3 gallons of water. If I read this right, then yes, you have more than halved your OG, and the beer will be very weak indeed.
 
You are correct that you should test it after adding the water just prior to pitching your yeast. Should be well mixed. Your math could be basically accurate however what was the temp (if known, then rough guess) of the wort you tested? If it was really hot, then your OG would be much higher yet.

Was this an extract recipe? Did it have a Mfg OG rating? If it did, I'd suspect you'd be relatively close to what the recipe states. I wouldn't worry about it. Live and learn...
 
How much malt did you use? Did you use enough to make a five gal batch? Those are the important questions.

You are just playing a nonsensical numbers game at this point. Any wort of two gals is going to be high because the brew is concentrated.

If your OG is 1027 at five gals then you are brewing a dessert. All is not lost though. My best recommendation would be to pour it over ice cream on a hot sunny day and enjoy! :D
 
It was Extract Kit from Northern Brewer, Dry Irish Stout.

6 lbs of LME
1 lb Roasted Malt Barley
1 oz Kent Goldings (bittering)
1 oz Kent Goldings (flavor)

target OG of 1.042

The 2 gallons of wort were about 80 degrees when we measured.

The kit was for 5 gallons. I didn't get an actual reading of the wort at the full 5 gallons. We (incorrectly) measured SG on the concentrated 2 gallons of wort and I was trying to extrapolate out what it would have been at 5 gallons from the 2 gallon reading. I hope this isn't getting confusing.
 
I'm surprised not to see any black patent or chocolate in here. But I guess the 1# of barley is doing the trick.

OK, I got nothing.

I wouldn't be overly concerned with whether the OG is right. See where it finishes and how it tastes. It's that last bit that matters.
 
Nope, not confused.

I'm going to bet that your OG was not in the 1.027 range and is more towards the recipe OG. Since you're not doing an all-grain batch where mash efficiency is in play, your ability to control the original gravity isn't as much within your control.

Your beer will be fine and will provide ample buzz factor I'm sure.
 
Yesh Yesh, I have a Dutch Accshent. Isn't dat Vierd?
Velly toit, like de toiger.

Ok Cool, thanks. I'm not very concerned about it. We just forgot to do the OG on the first batch and then read the wrong thing on the second. Third times a charm!!!
 
Yes, your OG is actually 1.0272. However, your hygrometer is probably set to measure correctly at something like 59 degrees Farenheit, so there is a correction to be done in order to correct the measurement you read at approximately 80 degrees.
Your actual gravity was 1.071, so your gravity would really be 1.028. Oh well, still not very high. Although, I kind of agree with desertBrew because I don't know how your gravity could have gotten so low while doing an extract recipe.


See here for the temp conversion stuff.

http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixA.html
 
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