Low OG

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sieglere

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So I brewed an IPA yesterday and my OG seemed a bit low. I had an OG of about 1.052 after an adjustment for temp (the original was 1.050 @74.9° F).

My grain bill is as follows:
6 lbs amber dme
1 lb crystal 60L
0.5 lb biscuit malt
0.5 lb toasted malt

What I think it's the most likely culprit is not fully mixed wert, as the extract alone should give me about 1.054. I understand that programs provide only estimates, but I was wondering what your opinions were on the subject.
Either way, I'm sure it'll still become delicious beer!
 
Too much volume in the fermenter (i.e. larger than 5 gallons), or (as you suggested) stratification of the high gravity wort where the more dense sugary wort sinks and leaves the more watery wort on top. But like you said, I'm sure it'll still become delicious beer!
 
The crystal 60, biscuit malt, and toasted malt don't add to the OG.

Only the Amber DME adds to the OG, and the dry malt extract has a set OG, so as long as you put it all in, you added all of the gravity points.

At that point, the only way the OG could be off would be too much water or a bad gravity reading, which could be caused by a bad mix or just improper technique.

Either way, as long as you hit your target volume, dumped in all of the DME, and mixed well, the OG can't be off.
 
The crystal 60, biscuit malt, and toasted malt don't add to the OG.

Only the Amber DME adds to the OG, and the dry malt extract has a set OG, so as long as you put it all in, you added all of the gravity points.

At that point, the only way the OG could be off would be too much water or a bad gravity reading, which could be caused by a bad mix or just improper technique.

Either way, as long as you hit your target volume, dumped in all of the DME, and mixed well, the OG can't be off.

Really? How can adding sugars not add to the gravity?
 
Those particular malts have ZERO diastiatic power, meaning their starches WILL NOT convert to sugars on their own because the grains don't have alpha and beta amalyse enzymes. They only add color and flavor to a extract batch, NO gravity points.

If he were doing an all-grain batch with a base malt, the enzymes from the base malt would convert some sugars from those grains in the mash, but with an extract batch where you are not mashing, those grains only contribute color and flavor, no sugar. They can't convert themselves without the help of a base malt and a mash step at proper temps to activate their enzymes.
 
The crystal malt has sugars that should add to the gravity, but not the others. Likely, the crystal will only account for a couple points but still a couple.
 
The starches in crystal malts are converted to sugars in the malting process, that's how the sugars are "caramelized".
 
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