Adding LME after pitching...

[perschml]

I have an irish stout kit going right now and I pitched it yesterday only to realize I didn't take a gravity reading. So I took one and it was low...

So my question is can I get more LME and add it to the bucket to bring the gravity up or does it need to be boiled to become fermentable? I like a stronger beer so that won't be too much of a question.

 

[nefarious_1_]

What was your target OG and what was the gravity of the reading you took today? Also, what was your recipe?
I may be misunderstanding, but if you pitched your yeast yesterday and you took the gravity reading today, then a low gravity could result from fermentation. Are there active signs of fermentation in your carboy?
Don't add any more extract yet...

 

[perschml]

I pitched it yesterday and took the gravity reading about 10 minutes later before any airlock activity. The kit was from midwest brewers and the paperwork says the OG should be 1.042-1.046 and the reading I took was right about 1.038. I now have airlock activity. I was hoping to get it around 1.050-1.055 range like the last kit I did but I don't want to mess it up by adding more dark LME

 

[Shoppy]

Not really sure about "hoping to get 1.050-1.055".The style of beer should determine the OG and FG. If you were shooting for that OG by adding extra DME to the boil and forgot you could add it now (assuming what nefarious said is taken into consideration). I read that DME should be sterile but I would still boil, chill, then add it. Just my 2cents

 

[pwndabear]

Not really sure about "hoping to get 1.050-1.055".The style of beer should determine the OG and FG. If you were shooting for that OG by adding extra DME to the boil and forgot you could add it now (assuming what nefarious said is taken into consideration). I read that DME should be sterile but I would still boil, chill, then add it. Just my 2cents

im going to partially disagree with this statement. While style guidelines have suggestions on IBUs, ABV, etcetcetc, in all reality, it really is up to you to on how you make your beer. If you make a koelsch and you make it too dark for style guidelines, does that make it NOT a koelsch? No; it's your beer therefore its a koelsch. Granted if you entered it into a contest it probably wouldn't meet style guidelines, but that still doesnt mean its not a koelsch...

Anyways, you hit fairly close to your OG as per described in the kit directions. At this point, I wouldn't mess with it. You'll probably have a lower ABV than you would prefer, but you will still come out with a good beer which in the big-scheme-of-beer-things is what really matters. use it as a learning experience!

 

[nefarious_1_]

I agree. I'd leave it alone at this point, especially since fermentation has already started. It'll probably turn out ok.
As to why you can up short on the OG... Maybe you ended up with a larger volume than the recipe called for?

 

[TimothyChurch]

To branch off this I was wondering if it is safe to add LME to a recently started batch. I just made my batch and it turns out that the LME that the brew store sent me when I ordered was missing 3lb of extra pale LME. Should I boil or heat it with a small amount of water if I do add it?

 

[daksin]

If you've already pitched and waited a day after pitching, then fermentation has likely started and there's just no way to determine what the OG was. You would expect the gravity after 24 hours to be lower than the expected OG, as the yeast should be going nuts on all the fermentable sugars that were initially in your wort.

 

[Elweydoloco]

Best bit of advice I can give is be patient in the primary let it sit at least a month. This will ensure that the yeast eat their by products and lower your FG as much as possible. The lower the FG the higher the alcohol content too. In other words don't bottle it in a week just because the kit says so.

 

[Revvy]

If it's an extract batch that you achieved the correct volume in your fermeter, then the OG of your beer is what the recipe or brewing software says it will be. Since you are not converting starch to sugar yourself, the gravity of your extract kit is what the extract was at the maltser, dilluted by the volume of water you used. It's already been calculated, and if you hit the correct volume, it is foolproof.

It's a pretty common issue for ANYONE topping off with water in the fermenter (and that includes partial mashes, extract or all grain revcipes) to have an error in reading the OG...In fact, it is actually nearly impossible to mix the wort and the top off water in a way to get an accurate OG reading...

Brewers get a low reading if they get more of the top off water than the wort, conversely they get a higher number if they grabbed more of the extract than the top off water in their sample.

When I am doing an extract with grain recipe I make sure to stir for a minimum of 5 minutes (whipping up a froth to aerate as well) before I draw a grav sample and pitch my yeast....It really is an effort to integrate the wort with the top off water...This is a fairly common new brewer issue we get on here...unless you under or over topped off or the final volume for the kit was 5 gallons and you topped off to 5.5, then the issue, sorry to say, is "operator error"

More than likely your true OG is really what it's supposed to be. And it will mix itself fine during fermentation.

And just use the number it says in the instructions as the true OG, because it will be.

 

[smata67]

"It's a pretty common issue for ANYONE topping off with water in the fermenter (and that includes partial mashes, extract or all grain revcipes) to have an error in reading the OG...In fact, it is actually nearly impossible to mix the wort and the top off water in a way to get an accurate OG reading..."

This happened to me on my first or second batch and I would also guess it's what happened here. If you used the proper amount of ingredients and make up water, the OG is going to be pretty close to what it is suppose to be and the measurement is off because of inadequate mixing of the wort and make up water. Good thing is, once this happens to you, you make it a point to get good mixing on subsequent batches.

Also note another point where improperly mixing of things can rear its ugly head is when you prime with sugar prior to bottling. Always give things a gentle stir (not too much, as it will entrain oxygen, undesirable), just before bottling.