what went wrong?

Well i just brewed my 2nd batch about 2 weeks ago and i am not getting the ABV where i want it. My first batch was a total failure so im hopeing this one will turn out better. Here is what the specs are

Brewcraft recipe kit (american ale)

batch size- 5 gal
OG- 1.053
anticipated FG- 1.013
anticipated ABV- 5.2%

So this is what i have

5 gal
OG- 1.040
FG- 1.012
ABV- 3.7%

The beer is still in the fermenter so im wondering if there is a way to bring the ABV up? Thanks -Josh

 

Josh,

To follow up on yoopers comment, if you use top off water, you have to shake the **** out of it and then give it time to let the sugars equally distribute throught the wort to get an accurate reading. Otherwise you could get a sample that is a concentration of wort or overly diluted with top off water.

 

Agreed, just go by the OG on the kit itself. Sounds like everything is going well afterall.

 

Yes i did a partial boil of 3 gallons and then just topped off the carboy and checked my OG. That is what the kit said to do. I did add all the extracts and followed all of the steps. The one thing that i did miss was rehydrating the yeast but many say that it doesnt matter. Was i supposed to check the OG before adding the 2 gallons of water? Thank you for your help. -Josh

 

Oh ok ya i didnt shake it at all. That makes sence. Thanks guys and BTW it tastes good besides not being cold or carbonated. -Josh

 

Yup, that used to happen to me all the time doing partial boils. It's really hard to get it to mix right. Like Yooper said, unless you left out a portion of the extract or added way too much water the low OG is just do to the top off water more or less floating on top of the more concentrated stuff. Just go with the OG that the recipe states. Also, you should be able to tell the difference between a 3.7% beer and a 5% beer when you drink it.

 

Man fast responses thanks. I do have one more question though. I want to keg this beer in stead of bottle it so im wondering how long i can keep it in the carboy so i can get everything to keg it? Also any suggestions on where i should get my stuff at and/or what i should get? Thanks -Josh

 

Another possibility - did you take the gravity measurement when it was still hot? Hot (or warm) wort is less viscous and requires a temperature correction. Ideally the gravity reading is made @ 59°F.

 

It was a little warmer (78*) but using a calculator to find my ABV compensates for that. Thanks for another possibility though. -Josh

 

I did this last month on my 9th batch where I took the hydro sample before I got all of the foam from shaking/aerating the wort. My OG was way down and I was bummed and my son I figured out we did wrong. In avoiding getting to much foam for the hydro making the reading easier I grabbed top off water and not the mixed wort.