Can I fix the OG?

[aMillionDreams]

I just made a batch and the OG was 1.045 when it was supposed to be 1.050. Is there anything I can do to fix that? For future reference is there a way to fix the opposite problem?

 

[Revvy]

Five points off is really no big deal. A lot of brewing software gives gravities as a range in a recipe, NOT a single number. You're in the ball park. I wouldn't do anything.

 

[pericles]

I agree with Revvy that you're close enough - especially because your instruments aren't perfect, and your temperature probably isn't exactly 60F (remember that your hydrometer only is accurate at 60F, so you'll have to convert if your wort isn't at 60F).

That said, you can always fast-boil a small batch at a higher gravity using DME (say for about 5 minutes, just to sanitize the extract and water,) and add it to your batch. Mix it all together well, and you'll have upped your OG. Add a little bit at a time to make sure you hit your target instead of dumping in too much and going over.

 

[munche]

I wouldn't worry about that batch, but I've used extract to fix my batches where I screwed up and missed my OG target. There are formulas out there you can use to calculate how much you need to add

 

[Malintent]

I just made a batch and the OG was 1.045 when it was supposed to be 1.050. Is there anything I can do to fix that? For future reference is there a way to fix the opposite problem?

easy. Just pull upwards on the hydrometer slightly and you should get the reading you are looking for.

but in all seriousness... if you want higher gravity either boil longer to concentrate or add some sugar. If you want lower gravity, simply add water.

 

[aMillionDreams]

I agree with Revvy that you're close enough - especially because your instruments aren't perfect, and your temperature probably isn't exactly 60F (remember that your hydrometer only is accurate at 60F, so you'll have to convert if your wort isn't at 60F).

That said, you can always fast-boil a small batch at a higher gravity using DME (say for about 5 minutes, just to sanitize the extract and water,) and add it to your batch. Mix it all together well, and you'll have upped your OG. Add a little bit at a time to make sure you hit your target instead of dumping in too much and going over.

I didn't realize that. What's the conversion? My wort was at 70F when I took the reading.

 

[munche]

Conversion table on here:

http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixA.html

 

[businesstime]

That's pretty close, I call it success when I'm within 0.05. To add to what others said about temperature, if you're doing an extract and used top off water, than that can throw it off, too. With top-off water, there's a good chance that the wort is not evenly mixed and your sample contained more of the water and less of the sweet wort.