Allright, just got my first batch into the fermenter

[Thirdeye]

Started the whole thing at 12 this afternoon. Took me 6.5 hrs to get into the fermenter! Hopefully I will get faster at this.

My first gravity reading was 1.062. Is that a typical reading? Recipe was the following

3lbs Extra Light DME
3lbs Amber DME
17 AAU BG bittering hops
6.5 AAU Cascade Finishing hops
11g Nottingham Dry Yeast

 

[Yooper]

Started the whole thing at 12 this afternoon. Took me 6.5 hrs to get into the fermenter! Hopefully I will get faster at this.

My first gravity reading was 1.062. Is that a typical reading? Recipe was the following

3lbs Extra Light DME
3lbs Amber DME
17 AAU BG bittering hops
6.5 AAU Cascade Finishing hops
11g Nottingham Dry Yeast

Your og should be 1.052 with 6 pounds of extract. Did you correct for temperature and stir well?

and each time it goes smoother and easier and faster, I promise!

 

[Thirdeye]

Your og should be 1.052 with 6 pounds of extract. Did you correct for temperature and stir well?

and each time it goes smoother and easier and faster, I promise!

Hmm. I pitched the yeast into 2.5 gallons of pre-boiled water. Then I added the wort by pouring it "aggressively" to oxygenate it well. Thats the only "stirring" I did.

How do you correct for temperature? The fermometer read 76 F at the time I took the reading.

 

[malkore]

your wort wasn't stirred well then. I too would say its more like 1.050-ish for an OG.

i cheat and use this to fix my hydro for a given temp
http://www.rooftopbrew.net/abv.php

 

[Thirdeye]

your wort wasn't stirred well then. I too would say its more like 1.050-ish for an OG.

http://www.rooftopbrew.net/abv.php

I stirred the crap out of it while it was boiling. I almost stood in front of the pot the entire hour. Was I supposed to stir it again after the rapid cool? Like I said, I poured it into the fermenter very aggressively so as to oxygenate it enough.

 

[Yooper]

I stirred the crap out of it while it was boiling. I almost stood in front of the pot the entire hour. Was I supposed to stir it again after the rapid cool? Like I said, I poured it into the fermenter very aggressively so as to oxygenate it enough.

It doesn't really matter as far as fermentation goes- the yeast knows where to find the sugars in there to ferment! But, if the sg matters to you, you really have to stir the wort and cooled water together real well to be able to mix it up for an sg sample. The heavier wort tends to sink while the top up water tends to float. That's why your sample was too low- you didn't have it mixed up all that well. It's no problem.

Stirring while the pot is boiling does't do anything to aerate it. I almost never stir mine unless I'm afraid it's going to scorch on the bottom.

 

[Thirdeye]

It doesn't really matter as far as fermentation goes- the yeast knows where to find the sugars in there to ferment! But, if the sg matters to you, you really have to stir the wort and cooled water together real well to be able to mix it up for an sg sample. The heavier wort tends to sink while the top up water tends to float. That's why your sample was too low- you didn't have it mixed up all that well. It's no problem.

Stirring while the pot is boiling does't do anything to aerate it. I almost never stir mine unless I'm afraid it's going to scorch on the bottom.

Ok cool, Im not too worried about it then. Just out of curiosity though, the cooled water was in the fermenter first. Then came the wort, dumped into the cooled water rapidly. Isnt that enough to mix it up good?

 

[Yooper]

Ok cool, Im not too worried about it then. Just out of curiosity though, the cooled water was in the fermenter first. Then came the wort, dumped into the cooled water rapidly. Isnt that enough to mix it up good?

No, the heavier wort still sinks to the bottom. Picture if you poured cooled honey into cold water. the honey would sink to the bottom only mixing a little. Some places would be thicker with it, and some would be lighter with it.

This explains why your sg was so far off. The sugars are in there, but not mixed up well.