Reasons extremely low O.G.

When i checked the O.G. of my IPA batch it was 1.023, and the target was around 1.060. The recipe was for a 5 gallon batch and thats how much i brewed. The gravity is at 1.011 now and it basically tastes like water with a little beer mixed in, as i expected it would. I'll probably throw out this batch and attempt a different IPA, but before i do i was wondering why exactly it turned out so poor. The OG of my past batches have been slightly lower than the target but never this bad. Are there any common mistakes that can lead to this? or am i just screwing up really badly somewhere along the line

Are you doing a full or partial boil?

partial, sorry forgot to mention that

Can you post your recipe? More than likely you're just getting a wrong gravity reading because it is nearly impossible to thoroughly mix the top off water with the wort in a partial boil, obviously resulting in an inaccurate reading.

Some of your process info would be helpful also.

I can't find the recipe online. I picked it up at a local brew store and there were loads of spelling errors that i didn't notice in the store leading me to think that it was a faulty recipe. i'll try to mix the beer in my carboy and then taste it again to see if it changes at all

I would just leave it alone, especially if you've already added the yeast. Let it ferment and go from there. No need to pour out perfectly good beer. If you followed a good recipe there's really no way you can mess up the OG. Relax.:rockin:

Can you recall how much extract you used? That would seal the dispute.

Sounds like not enough extract was added. Did you top of the wort with more water trying to compensate for water loss during boil? I've done that once and had an OG off by .015 and it still turned out with the FG close to estimate.

phatspade said:

Sounds like not enough extract was added. Did you top of the wort with more water trying to compensate for water loss during boil? I've done that once and had an OG off by .015 and it still turned out with the FG close to estimate.

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Why do you say this? He/she never said how much extract was added.

DirtyDirty said:

Why do you say this? He/she never said how much extract was added.

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Because it's obvious with the "water" part.

OP how many lbs of sugar total?

DirtyDirty said:

Why do you say this? He/she never said how much extract was added.

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Exactly what badbrew said. If it's "watery" and not a malty/sugar tasting the wort is lacking. It'll still turn out but with a lower abv and taste slighty light.

Lol all the extract probably sank to the bottom and the water to the top. You probably took the reading with a sample off the top which was mostly watered down. Shake it up. I have had that problem twice, I mix it up and I get the target FG

Question for the OP. Do you add the cooled wort to the top off water in the fermenter, or vice versa?

Either way should sufficiently mix the two, although additional agitation should be added to aerate the wort.

I've always added wort to top off water and have never had separation or oddly low OG reading. Or, watered down taste for that matter.

Finding the recipe would help.

I forgot to add that I take my reading after shaking the fermenter to aerate the wort. just let the sample sit for a bit. If you add the top off water first and then the cooled wort, you prolly could get a good sample to use since the wort will mix with the water.