My OG was way off. What could have happened?

Hey everyone. First time brewer first time posting.

My first batch seems to be fermenting nicely. I am a little concerned however that my OG was only 1.030 @ 68 degF, so adjusting for temperature maybe 1.031. I'm using an ingredient kit that claimed my OG would be between 1.048 to 1.050 and typically contain around 4.7% ABV.

I had a very slight boil-over. Could this be the cause?

Or was I off with my reading? My hydrometer seems to be accurate. I tested straight tap water and got 1.000.

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

You'll need to give us a bit more info to help. Was this an extract brew, or an all grain? Usually boilovers just make you lose total volume, and maybe some hops for hops utilization. Usually w/ extract, its pretty straightforward, you get the right amount of dme or lme and add it. maybe you added a bit too much water?

too hard to guess w/o more information. tell us the details and we'll see what we can suggest.

It's an extract batch, right?

It's a pretty common issue for ANYONE using extract and then topping off with water (and that includes partial mashes) 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"

it doesn't matter what your reading was.....the "real reading" in an extract batch is what it said it would be in the recipe or beersmith....Whether or not you mixed it up enough before you took the reading it mixed itself up fine during fermentation.

So unless you had a final volume a gallon or so higher than 5 gallons....you recipe will be fine and at the OG it was supposed to be,

I bet your OG is EXACTLY what it is supposed to be.

And during fermentation the wort and water will mix up just fine on it's own.

THANKS pompeiisneaks and revvy

Thanks for the help. I think I should be alright. You guessed right it was an extract batch. And yes the kit was for a final volume of 5 gallons. I may have been a hair over 5 but definitely not a full half gallon over. And I filled it right on the money to where the guy who sold me the kit said.

I topped it off. Let it settle. Then transfered to my fermentor. Half way through taking a sample. At that point I pitched my yeast and then stirred for a few minutes.
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What you are saying I should do next time is Transfer. Stir. Sample. Pitch the yeast. ?

mikeinternet said:

What you are saying I should do next time is Transfer. Stir. Sample. Pitch the yeast. ?

Click to expand...

Basically, or try to beat the wort and water into a froth and then take a reading. Mine usually are fairly close. But I know now to expect that it might be off and just don't worry if it is.

now that you understand what the issue is and that it is common, and you know your beer will be fine, you calso can just go by the gravity written in your instructions.

Revvy said:

Basically, or try to beat the wort and water into a froth and then take a reading. Mine usually are fairly close. But I know now to expect that it might be off and just don't worry if it is.

now that you understand what the issue is and that it is common, and you know your beer will be fine, you calso can just go by the gravity written in your instructions.

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the help. I'll try that next time just to experiment.

Also, not sure if I should start a new thread with this question but I had krausen fill my airlock overnight. By this morning the tiny air holes were clogged. Luckily nothing happened more than that. I removed it, cleaned, sanitized, and added the proper amount of water back to the airlock, only to have it happen quickly two more times. I switch to another airlock method I've read about called a "blow-off". I'm sure you guys know what I'm talking about.

This seems to be working fine. My only question is... is one way better than the other? Airlock Vs. Blow-Off?

Blowoff just takes up more space. Airlock is more compact but doesn't work well w/ heavy fermentations trying to exit the fermentation chamber. Its best to do blowoff for the first heav fermentation and then go to airlock for compactness. Either works fine for the fermentation sanitation control, so long as used properly.

If you have foam in your airlock then you need a blow off.

when dealing with liquid extract it's good to get every last drop of extract out of the container. The way I do it is to pour most out. Then put the entire container into the brew pot. The hot wort in the brew pot will melt the extract. Pull out the container after all the extract has dissolved. Remember to stir it a whole lot before you turn the heat back on. You don't want undissolved extract to burn on the bottom of the pot.

Thanks guys.

The blow-off seems to be doing the trick. Maybe at one week I'll switch back to the airlock just to have a closer look and make sure it's done bubbling.