Can't hit my OG. Help

I have only brewed four beers in the two months since I started brewing. But everyone of my OGs have been consistently about 3 to 4 points below were they should be. What am I missing?

 

Lots of information is needed here. Such as, extract or all grain?
BTW, that's not too terribly far off TBH.

 

3-4 points off really isn't a problem. Also, given these are extract batches (I assume so given the forum), and your volumes are accurate, you probably are even closer to your expected OG - a known amount of extract dissolved in a known volume of water will yield a known gravity. If you are topping off with fresh water, you are getting a stratified solution - it is very difficult to mix dense wort with less dense water and your gravity sample is likely not reflective of the actual gravity.

 

Yes they are extract brews, so would my actual OG reflect better if I went to full batch boils. Also thinking about investing in a refractometer. I want to be as accurate as I can.

 

If you did full boil with no top-off, then yes your measured OG will be your actual OG as you'll have no issues with stratified wort, which is the cause of getting an inaccurate OG in most extract batches. But since you are doing extract, you know your expected OG and therefore know your true OG (assuming your volume measurements are good).

A refractometer is useful on brewday, especially for all grain batches when you want to know the gravity of the various runnings and throughout the boil. But I don't see how it would be any more useful for extract batches compared to a hydrometer...neither is more accurate than the other...it's a matter of how and when they are used. Also, a refractometer isn't really great to get an FG reading - the alcohol in the finished beer throws off the reading, so most folks use a hydrometer for that (others use a conversion calculator, but I have heard mixed responses about the accuracy of doing that).

 

At 100 degrees Farenheit your gravity will consistently be about 5 points lower than if you measure it at 60 F. E.g. 1.05 at 100F = 1.055 at 60F.

 

Ok cool, thanks Jlem. Still learning so I appreciate any help I can get.

 

One thing I keep forgetting is that hydrometers read at 60 degrees, and my temps are always a bit higher when I take readings. I just started using an app called brew tools that lets you put in your gravity reading and what temp you read it at. Then it compensates for the difference between your reading and the standard 60 degrees.