Attention new brewers, yes your original gravity reading is wrong. Don't panic.

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I wish I had seen this thread earlier.

I've brewed 3 extract batches and my OG readings have been a bit high each time. The explanation given by Revvy makes perfect sense and is most likely why my readings were off.

I would like to propose my own conclusion of why my readings were high (by around 0.005 or less each time). Especially with the liquid extract, but also with the dme, there was always a bit left in the container. Is it possible that is taken into account for the OG published with the kit? If so, is it possible that I got slightly more extract out of the containers than they expect people to get? I've basically been working under the assumption that I am more anal than most about getting as much extract out of the container as possible and that my beers end up about 0.5 higher ABV than the recipe predicted.

So, am I an idiot or is this a possible (partial) explanation for readings that are a little high!
 
I purchased and brewed a West Coast Pale Ale recently. It says the O.G. should be between 1.046 and 1.055. I did take my sample from the top of the carboy and while I did shake it, it was not as long as I probably should have. Also, during the boil, I added 3 pounds of DME to increase the alcohol content. My O.G. came out to 1.036.

If I assume the O.G. would be as the kits says, how much should I expect the 3lbs of DME to add to it?

Thanks
 
AACJ said:
I purchased and brewed a West Coast Pale Ale recently. It says the O.G. should be between 1.046 and 1.055. I did take my sample from the top of the carboy and while I did shake it, it was not as long as I probably should have. Also, during the boil, I added 3 pounds of DME to increase the alcohol content. My O.G. came out to 1.036.

If I assume the O.G. would be as the kits says, how much should I expect the 3lbs of DME to add to it?

Thanks
Click to expand...

You say, "Also, during the boil, I added 3 pounds of DME to increase the alcohol content." What did you add to the boil at the beginning as part of the kit 1.046-1.055 is a huge range? What was the volume of wort that made it into the fermenter? Did you all all the wort to the fermenter or did you strain out the hops/trub?

As the thread suggests 1.036 is certainly wrong.

-Anthony
 
AnthonyCB said:
You say, "Also, during the boil, I added 3 pounds of DME to increase the alcohol content." What did you add to the boil at the beginning as part of the kit 1.046-1.055 is a huge range? What was the volume of wort that made it into the fermenter? Did you all all the wort to the fermenter or did you strain out the hops/trub?

As the thread suggests 1.036 is certainly wrong.

-Anthony
Click to expand...

Hi Anthony,

Thanks for the reply. I boiled 2 1/2 gallons of water, added the two cans of light malt extract then added the DME to the boil. It was a nice long boil, hour and 15 minutes at least. I added all the volume of the wort into my fermenter except for 1/2 inch of wort (maybe a bit less), leaving that and all the trub and hops behind. I ended up topping off with 2 more gallons of water after all was said and done, filling my fermenter up to exactly 5 gallons.

I know that is a wide range, but I am really just trying to get an idea, certainly not a concrete one, of where the OG really should have been. Oh, and by the way, I took a reading on Wednesday, it read 1.012 which is on the low end of the FG for the kit, but when I checked my airlock, it was still fermenting.....even today, theres still movement.

I've also brewed mostly with these kits. Both of the homebrew supply stores by me sell the kits all the way to all grains, but I really just don't know where to start after doing these kits for so long. I've probably brewed about 13 or more kits this way. I want to go all grain or graduate to something else. But the beer still tastes great, so why change something if it isn't broken.
 
I just can't get the hang of mine. The numbered part always stays below the surface and the only thing sticks out is that silvery part.:drunk:

JK bosco

ps. Good post
 
boscobeans said:
the only thing sticks out is that silvery part.
Click to expand...

Silver part? Are you inserting it thin side up or down? Possible we have different designs but the only ones I've seen have "silver" on the bottom. It's basically a weight. Do you have a pic?
 
DRonco said:
Silver part? Are you inserting it thin side up or down? Possible we have different designs but the only ones I've seen have "silver" on the bottom. It's basically a weight. Do you have a pic?
Click to expand...

He is just joking around, hence the jk after his post.
 
Don't feel bad. I read it the same way (and missed the jk). But I've seen Bosco around quite a bit. He can't be trusted. ;)
 
All kidding aside it is a great post and should be sticky.

If it was it might be a solution to a lot of questions as the amount of followups shows.

Thread titles for a few well written stickies might be:

How to understand and use your hydrometer.
How to use an airlock.
What to do if you get a blow out and how to prevent one.

Those might be the answer to a lot of the same old questions.

Thanks again for the original post. It should be a mandatory read for all new brewers.

bosco
 
Wow, glad I finally caught this thread. I have been doing this for 3 years now, only 2-3 AG batches a year, and my efficiency calcs have been all over the place. I've just been taking a quick reading pre-boil and convert to a post boil reading, no stir.

My most recent batch's reading was way low, despite one of the sweetest vorlaufs ever (I always gotta taste) so I'm kinda panicing since my BU:GU is way out of whack (also boiled the flavor hops a bit too long-- didn't double check the spreadsheet).

Now I think I can relax a bit :)
 
After doing some research and reading this thread my worries were premature. As a new brewer I made the classic mistake of taking my sample right after I topped off with water and before I shook up the carboy. Thanks to everybody on this forum for the great info and I'll drink to a new great hobby I have discovered!
 
I recently brewed up a brown ale using a partial mash kit from my LHBS.

This is only my fifth brew, but I've been always able to hit my OG/FG within a point or two. But with this brew, I missed the OG by around 8 points. The recipe called for 1.058 and I was at 1.050.
I assumed that I just didn't get all the sugars out in the mash (my mash temp stayed a little higher than I wanted, around 160) or maybe some effect caused by the piloncillo sugar in the recipe.

I assumed that I would end up with a beer that had less ABV than the recipe stated. But to my surprise, when I took a gravity reading after fermentation, it had dropped 40 points to 1.010. That's the same 40 points that the recipe showed (1.058 to 1.018)

I'm not panicking, but I am curious to understand what happened, so can make corrections next time. I suppose it could be due to the stirring issue talked about on this thread, but I followed basically the same procedure I used for my previous brews. Plus that really wouldn't explain the lower FG too.

So I have two questions.
1. What could have caused the OG/FG to be off but still keep the difference between them the same?
2. What difference, if any, would this brew have then one where the OG/FG was spot on?

This board has been a great help, and I welcome any thoughts from the experts here. Thanks!
 
Thorad said:
I recently brewed up a brown ale using a partial mash kit from my LHBS.

This is only my fifth brew, but I've been always able to hit my OG/FG within a point or two. But with this brew, I missed the OG by around 8 points. The recipe called for 1.058 and I was at 1.050.
I assumed that I just didn't get all the sugars out in the mash (my mash temp stayed a little higher than I wanted, around 160) or maybe some effect caused by the piloncillo sugar in the recipe.

I assumed that I would end up with a beer that had less ABV than the recipe stated. But to my surprise, when I took a gravity reading after fermentation, it had dropped 40 points to 1.010. That's the same 40 points that the recipe showed (1.058 to 1.018)

I'm not panicking, but I am curious to understand what happened, so can make corrections next time. I suppose it could be due to the stirring issue talked about on this thread, but I followed basically the same procedure I used for my previous brews. Plus that really wouldn't explain the lower FG too.

So I have two questions.
1. What could have caused the OG/FG to be off but still keep the difference between them the same?
2. What difference, if any, would this brew have then one where the OG/FG was spot on?

This board has been a great help, and I welcome any thoughts from the experts here. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Check your hydrometer. These can become uncalibrated. Drop it in some plain water - if it does not read 1.000 (like mine just quit doing), then you just found your issue.

If the gravity truly is off on both ends, you'll simply have a slighly drier, thinner beer.
 
Thorad said:
So I have two questions.
1. What could have caused the OG/FG to be off but still keep the difference between them the same?
2. What difference, if any, would this brew have then one where the OG/FG was spot on?
Click to expand...

To certain extent your yeast doesn't care what the gravity is. Its going to attenuated a certain percent and that's it. If I make a Russian Imperial that starts off at 1.100, it may only go down to 1.025-1.030. If pitch the same strain on something that started around 1.080, my FG will be down in the teens.

Or, your hydrometer is off.
 
I thought about that, maybe my hydrometer is off by 8 points. But then my other brews should have all been wrong too.

Anyway, I stuck it in some tap water and it read 1.000
 
Racked this brew yesterday and the sample I tried seems really good, so I'm not worried about how it will turn out.
I'm really just curious to understand the science/chemistry that led me to have the same point drop but shifted on the gravity scale.
 
Can't believe I haven't thought of this or seen this post before. This probably explains several batches where I have been under the target OG. Now I wish I didn't added more DME to boost it.
 
Good advice. I panicked when I had a 1.040 reading on a beer that was supposed to be 1.053. I decided to do a 2nd reading from the bottom and guess what? 1.072 ! *relaxed*
 
I just did a BIAB wheat batch today. The OG should have been about 1.056 (high end for the style). at 69*F, I got 1.016. I used absolutely no extract of any kind and followed my brew sheet to a tee. I am wondering if over...or under-crushing the grains could have led to any issues.
My grain bill was-
6 lbs - red wheat malt
4 lbs - 2 row
1.25 lbs - cara-pils

Mashed in at 150* (5 G water) and held at 153* (per Palmer - HTB) for 75 minutes (per brew sheet), mashed out, no sparge, added 1.25 G water (brew sheet called for a pre-boil volume of 6.48 G) and ramped to boil.

dying to figure out what the deal is, what I should expect.
Thanks in advance...
 
Have you tested your hydrometer in plain water to make sure that it reads 1.000? Your og reading seems almost impossibly low if you followed the steps as stated.
 
Fid said:
Have you tested your hydrometer in plain water to make sure that it reads 1.000? Your og reading seems almost impossibly low if you followed the steps as stated.
Click to expand...

Or your thermometer. If it is off, you may have denatured the enzymes effort they had a chance to do much.
 
Revvy said:
Hi, welcome.

You probably came here today because you just got your first kit, and you did what it said it all the books and all the forums, and you tried out your hydrometer for the very first time...and the reading makes no sense.

Yes it is important to get in the habit of using one, especially if you start brewing all grain. But when you start with extract brewing, like most of us did, the first reading can be a bit on the confusing side.

You didn't do anything wrong. In fact nothing's wrong at all.

We get this question 3-4 times every day, so you're not alone. And in reality, nothing's wrong.

It's a pretty common issue for ANYONE topping off with water in the fermenter (and that includes partial mashes, extract or all grain recipes) to have an error in reading the OG...In fact, it is actually nearly impossible to mix the wort and the top off water in a way to get an accurate OG reading...

Brewers get a low reading if they get more of the top off water than the wort, conversely they get a higher number if they grabbed more of the extract than the top off water in their sample.

RM-MN has a great analogy;



When I am doing an extract with grain recipe I make sure to stir for a minimum of 5 minutes (whipping up a froth to aerate as well) before I draw a grav sample and pitch my yeast....It really is an effort to integrate the wort with the top off water...This is a fairly common new brewer issue we get on here...unless you under or over topped off or the final volume for the kit was 5 gallons and you topped off to 5.5, then the issue, sorry to say, is "operator error"

More than likely your true OG is really what it's supposed to be. And it will mix itself fine during fermentation.

And just use the number it says in the instructions as the true OG, because it will be.

So the answer is, relax and do nothing.

Like 99% of everything else in brewing. Just relax, and everything will be fine.

:mug:
Click to expand...

This just saved my night...I was done arguing with my friend about what we did/didn't do correct! I tried to tell him our methods were fine, that I was the Master, and he was the Padawan, but newbies have little faith! Good thing I had a few beers on hand to calm him!

Thanks for the info. I have now won another beer brewing argument :rockin:

Thanks Revvy
 
singram said:
Way to be proactive! I got fooled my first 2 batches(at 6 now) till I read another thread on the subject. I think the biggest problem is that extract recipes(Brewers Best, at least) call for a partial boil of 2gals. Why not boil the full 5gals.? I assume its because they assume that,as a beginner, you dont have an adequate sized kettle to account for boil-overs?

Further research tells me that full boils are superior when extract brewing, and thus would eliminate the need for top-off, giving you an accurate OG, correct? I've also read posts mentioning negative issues with steeping specialty grains in a full boil. Is this an accurate concern? Hopefully I didnt derail the subject too much:eek:
Click to expand...

I read a ton of stuff here before I tried my first beer. Revvy told me to throw the instructions that came with the extract kit away so I did and have always done full boils. Of course I always boil over a bit because I have not tried fermcap yet. Even if I don't I still end up a little off due to boil off. So I am always off a little. I'm pretty sure I've made this mistake.
 
skuhn2004 said:
Of course I always boil over a bit because I have not tried fermcap yet. Even if I don't I still end up a little off due to boil off. So I am always off a little. I'm pretty sure I've made this mistake.
Click to expand...

If you get a lot of boil-over's, I'd suggest boiling just a little less and top-off for the difference. You'd still get most of the advantage of a full boil, but with less mess. But that's just me, because I hate boil-over's.
 

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