Original gravity way off

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Doug565

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The kit was supposed to be 1.045 but after the boil it was only 1.030. Does this mean the beer will be weak? What is usually the cause of missing the OG by so much? I used an extract beer kit with specialty grains from northern brewer.

Thanks
 
DId you measure after the wort was cooled down? If its still high then the gravity is gonna read low... immediately after boil its gonna read WAY low. Temperature matters.
 
How did you take the reading? What was your total volume in the primary?

A common mistake when reading the OG with extract brews is that the reading was taken in the primary fermenter after top up water has been added, but not mixed well. The water is lighter than the rest of the wort and will stay on top, giving a lower reading than if you mixed the water in completely.
 
seefresh said:
DId you measure after the wort was cooled down? If its still high then the gravity is gonna read low... immediately after boil its gonna read WAY low. Temperature matters.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Take another reading when it gets to normal "room-temp". Even that will need to be adjusted a bit because hydrometers are calibrated for 60 degrees F.

Not really a concern though if your ambient temperature remains constant between your first reading and your last...

Set you hydrometer aside for a few hours (covered to prevent evaporation and in the same spot you'll be fermenting the beer) and look at the hydromter again.

If it's still low RDWHAHB. You're beer will be fine.

I had an early brew that only hit 1.036. Finished at 1.008 and was a nice drinkable 3.6%.
 
Extract brews are usually pretty close to the estimated OG assuming you used the right amount of extract and water. It's more likely that the gravity is fine and the way you took the sample is affecting the reading.
 
Brewsmith said:
How did you take the reading? What was your total volume in the primary?

A common mistake when reading the OG with extract brews is that the reading was taken in the primary fermenter after top up water has been added, but not mixed well. The water is lighter than the rest of the wort and will stay on top, giving a lower reading than if you mixed the water in completely.
Click to expand...

Thanks,

I'm pretty sure this is the cause of my low reading because i added the top up water but i guess it wasn't mixed well enough.
 
Too many new brewers hear about oxidation problems so they don't stir the wort enough. That's the one time you WANT to wail on it.
 
My last brew (3rd total, first time ive taken an OG) had only a 1.032. The wort was a nice 70 degrees at the time taken, and I had "wailed" on the wort to mix and aerate it before setting it aside. It was a about a 2.5gal wort, added 2.5 gallon preboiled water to cap it at 5gal. The direction sheet that came with it mentioned OG should be 1.048ish. It really only bubbled for the next 36 hours, the most vigorous bubbling ive ever had, and since then...i have not seen it bubble at all. Think those two issues are related?
 
Silverbrain said:
My last brew...had only a 1.032. ...The direction sheet that came with it mentioned OG should be 1.048ish. It really only bubbled for the next 36 hours, the most vigorous bubbling ive ever had, and since then...i have not seen it bubble at all. Think those two issues are related?
Click to expand...

My first extract (English Ale) was at 1.038 and did the same thing. Fermented like crazy for almost exactly 36 hours and then....DONE.

Turned out great. Came in around 3.9% and made a great session ale.
 
I tried a northern brewer recipe last night, pale ale. Still my OG was 1.034 adjusted for temp. Thats 4 batches in a row I cannot seem to get over, or near the target OG. Im starting to wonder what im doing wrong!

Steeping grains 30min @155-160 in a small coleman cooler, juice directly into my 5 gallon pot of water that is brought to a boil. Extract added, never hitting the bottom, as much as I can get out of the packet, brought to boil for 60 min, adding hops when needed. Wort chiller gets it to 75 degress fairly quick, I let it settle for 5 min then siphon into primary bucket. I add preboiled and cooled water to get it to 5 gallons exact, then I stir the heck out of it for a few minutes, then take my OG.

There have been variations I have tried, ie steeping the grains in main pot, pulling out before temp reaches 165.

Anyone notice anything wrong with anything? I realize that 1.034 is not the end of the world, it has been giving an FG of 1.011. I would just like to figure out if im developing a bad habit early, before i actually develop it!

Thanks all!
 
My last two batches have been a bit off on OG as well.

The first was because I had just purchased a 6.5 carboy and eyeballed the top-off - which after I measured was probably 3/4 of a gallon too much! :drunk:

The second I did today though came in at 1.045 rather than the posted 1.054. While waiting for my steep I played around with the hydrometer to get base reading at my room temp of 75 degrees and saw how it was just a notch lower than 1.000. Before my next brew I'm going to figure that thing out though and calibrate using the article I saw on here (somewhere) just to put my mind at ease.

Oh, and the first over watered brew is actually conditioning quite nicely now. :mug:
 
My first thought about the too low gravities was that your supplier isn't giving you as much malt extract as advertised. If they are dry malt extracts, weigh them. Physics don't lie. If you add a certain about of sugar, you will get a certain gravity. If your gravities are coming in low, there isn't enough sugar. Simple.
 
Silverbrain said:
I tried a northern brewer recipe last night, pale ale. Still my OG was 1.034 adjusted for temp. Thats 4 batches in a row I cannot seem to get over, or near the target OG. Im starting to wonder what im doing wrong!

Steeping grains 30min @155-160 in a small coleman cooler, juice directly into my 5 gallon pot of water that is brought to a boil. Extract added, never hitting the bottom, as much as I can get out of the packet, brought to boil for 60 min, adding hops when needed. Wort chiller gets it to 75 degress fairly quick, I let it settle for 5 min then siphon into primary bucket. I add preboiled and cooled water to get it to 5 gallons exact, then I stir the heck out of it for a few minutes, then take my OG.

There have been variations I have tried, ie steeping the grains in main pot, pulling out before temp reaches 165.

Anyone notice anything wrong with anything? I realize that 1.034 is not the end of the world, it has been giving an FG of 1.011. I would just like to figure out if im developing a bad habit early, before i actually develop it!

Thanks all!
Click to expand...

I have also had problem with my first two batches. I brewed two heavy beers. First a Russian Imperial Stout, and now a Double IPA (northern Brewer) and both came out lower than the called for original gravity. The RIS was supposed to be 1.070-1.080 and it ended up 1.065. And the IIPA was supposed to be 1.090 and it came out 1.065.
I have also been wondering i might be doing wrong. One thing i am wondering is...you mentioned adding the extract and not letting it touch the bottom... I believe i am guilty of this. I have had burn marks on the bottom of my brew pot. I am using an electric stove, which IMO sucks! Am i losing sugars when i am doing this? Are there any other adverse effects to burning alittle extract on the bottom? I mean i stir while adding extracts, and the burning is minimal, but definitely noticable when i clean the pot. I have done everything else correctly. The first beer came out great tasting, so it didn't really concern me. any suggestions?

Mike
 
Ó Flannagáin;249142 said:
DId you measure after the wort was cooled down? If its still high then the gravity is gonna read low... immediately after boil its gonna read WAY low. Temperature matters.
Click to expand...

I thought that the higher temp means a lower SG?

So if my Original SG is 1.026 (for example) adjusting to 40c cones out at 1.032 (higher) and adjusting for lower temp of 30c comes out at 1.029.

The higher temp leads to a higher SgG. Am I missing something?
 

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