coppersdad
Member
Brewed my first batch today and when I took my OG reading it only read 1.022. I assume I've done something wrong, but I can't find anything in my "brew" books to explain what I might have done wrong.
Low OG reading...
- Thread starter coppersdad
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Did you take the reading while the wort was really hot/warm? If so, do you have any idea what the temp might have been? The OG is somewhat temp dependent but I don't know if this could account for your number. Others might mention to see if your hydrometer was calibrated by measuring the OG of the water you used for brewing.
If you brewed from an extract kit do you know what the OG should have been?
If you brewed from an extract kit do you know what the OG should have been?
If you brewed from a kit, it will be close to what the kit says, and your reading is wrong.
Maybe everything didn't mix. It seems a lot of people get low readings when taking wort from the top of the fermenter and many get high readings with wort taken from a spigot at the bottom. Need to ensure everything is well mixed.
Keep reading some of these threads and you will see lots of this.
Maybe everything didn't mix. It seems a lot of people get low readings when taking wort from the top of the fermenter and many get high readings with wort taken from a spigot at the bottom. Need to ensure everything is well mixed.
Keep reading some of these threads and you will see lots of this.
this is one of the most common ist timer posts on here, and the answer is the same.
One thing to realize is the it is hard to miss your OG in an extract batch, and in reality you more than likely DIDN'T.....It's just that it is USUALLY difficult for the original gravity to actually REFLECT this fact.
It's a pretty common issue for ANYONE topping off with water in the fermenter (and that includes partial mashes, extract or all grain revcipes) 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.
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"
If your target volume was correct, then it will be fine.
More than likely your true OG is really what it's supposed to be. And it will mix itself fine during fermentation.
This is one of the most common newb first time posting topics on here. It happens to everybody.
Your beer is fine, and you don't need to mess with it, or try to fix it
One thing to realize is the it is hard to miss your OG in an extract batch, and in reality you more than likely DIDN'T.....It's just that it is USUALLY difficult for the original gravity to actually REFLECT this fact.
It's a pretty common issue for ANYONE topping off with water in the fermenter (and that includes partial mashes, extract or all grain revcipes) 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.
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"
If your target volume was correct, then it will be fine.
More than likely your true OG is really what it's supposed to be. And it will mix itself fine during fermentation.
This is one of the most common newb first time posting topics on here. It happens to everybody.
Your beer is fine, and you don't need to mess with it, or try to fix it
