Beer too Light & Low OG

Pic says it all. Supposed to be a Belgium Wheat. I used 6lbs of Wheat DME, & some hops, but my og is so low. The fermentation is taking off nicely, but I don't want some weak, flavorless beer. Any advice, or can someone tell me what I did wrong? First time using DME only, no LME. I put about 1lb of DME in at the beginning of the boil, more at 1/2 way mark, and the rest at the last 15 min of boil. Is any of that the reason?

Did you use top off water? If so, there is your reason because it is really difficult to mix it well with the more concentrated wort that you put into the fermenter first so you sample is mostly water.

The cloudiness is probably proteins and most of that will settle out. If your beer has started fermenting when you took the sample, then the cloudiness could be suspended yeast too.

No that doesn't make sense that is it that low. Did you draw the sample off the top? If so, as RM-MN said, the heavy malty wort is probably at the bottom and the top off water is sitting above it. Next time you got to really go to town stirring before taking a sample.

After straining the wort into the fermenter, I pour the chilled top off water from a height to help mix & aerate the wort further. Then stir briskly for a couple minutes to mix the two. I get more accurate readings that way. I agree that yours likely wasn't well mixed.

What is the volume in your fermentor?

Thanks for the responses. Yes, I took the sample off the top, like top inch maybe. I stirred and shook it pretty well before I sampled, but the good stuff may have been lower. I've always sampled that way and never had the same problem. Hopefully I can get a better reading once the primary fermentation has subsided. The fermentation is going well. Had to use blow off tube first day.

JustinBeerber said:

Thanks for the responses. Yes, I took the sample off the top, like top inch maybe. I stirred and shook it pretty well before I sampled, but the good stuff may have been lower. I've always sampled that way and never had the same problem. Hopefully I can get a better reading once the primary fermentation has subsided. The fermentation is going well. Had to use blow off tube first day.

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You won't get an OG reading at this point, but it is almost guaranteed that the churning of the yeast has completely mixed your beer. So you will get an accurate FG for the purposes of determining ABV. No worries.

If you give the exact volume of water and the amount of DME, we will be able to tell you exactly what your OG was.

I've done that myself. More than once. Good way of getting it just right is to take a gravity sample before adding the top up water. Then add your measured (volume) water to the measured wort and do a bit of math. The numbers won't lie, and you'll be spot on.

Example
1.100 measurement, 4 gallons = 400 gravity units
Add 1 gallon water 1.000 = 0 gravity units
New volume 5 gallons
400 / 5 = 80
New OG 1.080

freisste said:

You won't get an OG reading at this point, but it is almost guaranteed that the churning of the yeast has completely mixed your beer. So you will get an accurate FG for the purposes of determining ABV. No worries.

If you give the exact volume of water and the amount of DME, we will be able to tell you exactly what your OG was.

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Right, I know I wouldn't get an OG on it, but I'd like to see a higher reading for higher ABV.
I used 6lbs of DME and the volume is 5gal.
Out of curiosity, how might I increase the ABV? More DME?

Thanks again

JustinBeerber said:

Right, I know I wouldn't get an OG on it, but I'd like to see a higher reading for higher ABV.
I used 6lbs of DME and the volume is 5gal.
Out of curiosity, how might I increase the ABV? More DME?

Thanks again

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If you used 6 pounds of DME, and your volume is 5 gallons exactly, the OG is 1.050. I would not try to boost the ABV, because then you'll have to add more hops to keep the beer's balance correct.

Yooper said:

If you used 6 pounds of DME, and your volume is 5 gallons exactly, the OG is 1.050. I would not try to boost the ABV, because then you'll have to add more hops to keep the beer's balance correct.

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Damn, that's like a non-alcoholic beer. I guess I should just dump it. So, for my next batch, of 5gal, how much DME should I use if I want a beer of somewhere between 6 or 7%? I like the DME better than the liquid. I would be using a wheat yeast, as well as DME, and I would add a packet of hoptimus hops.

I've read here you guys recommend adding the DME like 30-45 min into the boil? I put some in at 15 min into boil (hops is all that's in befire), 30, and 45.

That's far from non-alcoholic. It's on the lower side but no reason to waste money and dump it. I say let it finish and taste it. You may actually enjoy it. And start using some software such as beersmith or an online one like brewtoad to put together recipes so you have a better idea of where you will end up.

If you require a beer to be 6 to 7 percent alcohol and feel that a 5% beer is like non alcoholic, I suggest you investigate whether alcoholism is a possibility. I enjoy a 3.5 to 4% beer because they can have as much flavor as any and I'm not so impaired when I finish one.

JustinBeerber said:

Damn, that's like a non-alcoholic beer. I guess I should just dump it. So, for my next batch, of 5gal, how much DME should I use if I want a beer of somewhere between 6 or 7%? I like the DME better than the liquid. I would be using a wheat yeast, as well as DME, and I would add a packet of hoptimus hops.

I've read here you guys recommend adding the DME like 30-45 min into the boil? I put some in at 15 min into boil (hops is all that's in befire), 30, and 45.

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Well, most beer styles don't run 7% and are considered "big" beers, or at least bigger beers. If you want a 7% beer, instead of jacking up the DME and throwing off the hops and balance of the beer, starting with a recipe for a 7% beer is the way to go.

I have many of my beers start at 1.045-1.050. That's 5.25% alcohol when done, and another .25% from bottle carbing so that's generally a good balanced beer style. Many beers, like American wheats, hefeweizens, stouts, pale ales, Scottish ales, etc are in that neighborhood.

You can add the bulk of the extract at flame out instead of boiling it so much. There isn't any reason to do multiple additions of extract. Generally, start with 1 pound of extract per gallon of water in the boil right at the beginning, and then add the rest of the extract at the end of the boil. Adding in at 15 minutes left is ok, but it stops the boil and can interfere with the hopping.

I agree. I like to add the bulk of extract at flame out, since the wort's still boiling hot. And pasteurization happening in seconds @ 160F, it's safe & works well to keep colors lighter & flavors cleaner.

JustinBeerber said:

Damn, that's like a non-alcoholic beer. I guess I should just dump it. So, for my next batch, of 5gal, how much DME should I use if I want a beer of somewhere between 6 or 7%? I like the DME better than the liquid. I would be using a wheat yeast, as well as DME, and I would add a packet of hoptimus hops.

I've read here you guys recommend adding the DME like 30-45 min into the boil? I put some in at 15 min into boil (hops is all that's in befire), 30, and 45.

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I think you must have misread the number. 1.050 is pretty average for most beers and is right where you want to be for a Belgian Wit. If it gets down to 1.012-1.010 it will be around 5%-5.25% ABV like Yooper said. Which would be right where it should be. And it's not too far off from 6% or 7%.

My bad fellers, I did mis-read it. I thought it was 1.005. I'll let it ride. Thanks for the corrections.

I don't need to make a strong 7% kinda beer, but I'd like to if it only meant adding some extra DME, but flavor is the most important thing.

Again, thanks for all the advice.