Low OG?

I started my first lager last night using an extract kit from Austin Homebrew Supply called American Amber Lager. According to their directions I was supposed to get an OG of 1.053 but when I took my hydrometer reading, it was only 1.040. I used all of the LME and grains that came with the kit, I hadn't added the yeast yet. I had a total of ~5.5 gallons in the primary. The reading was taken at ~70 F.

Any ideas why the OG would be so low? Could it be my hydrometer is inaccurate....? Any suggestions? I'm not against a lower alcohol lager, it's just not what I was planning on brewing this time around...

The concentrated wort and topup water was not fully combined. You were measuring a higher concentration of water at the time. This is pretty typical. No worries. You can't lose sugar when you use extract. I'd assume it was the OG the kit said it should be.

If you used the correct amount of extract and water then the OG can not be lower. (not by much anyway)

You've either not mixed it enough or you are not using the hydro correctly.

Warning!! Thread HiJack in Progress!!

This question comes up so frequently it makes me wonder about the accuracy of published OG numbers. I mean, how did AHS come up with 1.053? Are malt extracts, and whole malt for that matter, really so standardized as to allow for generic (i.e., not lot specific) estimates of gravity points? Just a thought. I'm going to back to work now.

brloomis said:

Warning!! Thread HiJack in Progress!!

This question comes up so frequently it makes me wonder about the accuracy of published OG numbers. I mean, how did AHS come up with 1.053? Are malt extracts, and whole malt for that matter, really so standardized as to allow for generic (i.e., not lot specific) estimates of gravity points? Just a thought. I'm going to back to work now.

Click to expand...

My sarcasm detector just broke on overload

brloomis said:

Warning!! Thread HiJack in Progress!!

This question comes up so frequently it makes me wonder about the accuracy of published OG numbers. I mean, how did AHS come up with 1.053? Are malt extracts, and whole malt for that matter, really so standardized as to allow for generic (i.e., not lot specific) estimates of gravity points? Just a thought. I'm going to back to work now.

Click to expand...

It is very hard to get an accurate hydrometer reading when you do a partial boil and add water to top it off. The wort doesn't mix well with the water so you will get a false low reading.

Liquid malt extract provides 35 points per pound per gallon (meaning that if you mixed 1 pound of malt extract in one gallon of water your gravity would be 1.035). If you are making a 5 gallon batch and it calls for 7 pounds of extract, you multiply the 7 pounds times 35 points divided by 5 gallons = 49 or 1.049

DME has 42 points per pound per gallon. Specialty grain has 20 points per pound per gallon. Base grain is 28 points per pound per gallon.

So if you have a 5 gallon batch that calls for 7 pounds of extract and a pound of specialty grain the starting gravity would be 49 + 4 = 53 So a original gravity of 1.053 if you make 5 gallons.

I hope this is clear. Let me know if you have any questions.

Forrest
Austin Homebrew Supply

Thanks for the fast responses.

I am confident that I am using the hydrometer correctly, but now that you guys mention it, I imagine I didn't mix up the batch well enough to get a good sample. I poured the wort into the bucket and then added my cool water on top of the wort to reach the recommended level. I stirred it with a sanitized spoon but not for very long so I probably didn't get it mixed up well enough.

Lesson learned, I will be a little more diligent about mixing up the cool water and wort in the future before taking my sample for the OG measurement.

Tonight I will be moving the batch to the fridge to begin the cool down. I'm looking forward to the results of my first lager attempt.


Forrest, Thanks for the info on how you calculate what the OG should be. I have wondered about that numerous times. And on a side note, I saw that you have a Devil Mountain Black Honey Ale clone in your list. I have been wanting more of that brew for about ten years. I see another order in my near future.