gravity question

[nordoe]

So I am not really good with the science of everything yet. This was only my third homebrew. I have an app on my iphone called brewpal. I was brewing a chocolate cherry stout that I got from Jamil on the homebrewing network. When i put the info for all my ingredients it says my OG should have been 1.079. Mine was 1.072 after adjusting for temperature. Few questions:

1. What could this do to my brew?

2. I added a half ounce of Hershey unsweetened cocoa powder for a one minute boil, the app did not have this as an option, could that have caused the difference?

3. Is that a big difference?

 

[aa_atw]

Hey bro...I am new to brewing, but have a scientific background. you may want to check out this post and then ask again, but temperature, pressure, and your added unsweetened ingredients may have contributed to the difference. I wouldn't worry about it. your brew is still going to ferment and produce alcohol...let me know how that tastes though when it's done...thanks if the link doesnt' work...here it is...https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/altitude-specific-gravity-95814/

 

[dummkauf]

Did you take the temperature of your sample and convert it to determine what the actual gravity is? I believe most hydrometers should be accurate at 60F, but if you sample wasn't at 60 you would need to convert it(not sure the equation, I use qbrew to do the conversion for me).

 

[whatisitgoodfor]

Since you said you corrected for temperature, the next most likely cause for your gravity being off is mixing.

After topping off a partial boil, there can be a pretty substantial difference between the gravity at the top of the fermenter and the gravity at the bottom, even after a fair amount of mixing.

Even if your gravity is off that much it won't make a huge difference in the final brew.

 

[nordoe]

Thanks guys, you make me feel better