Couple newbie questions

[takethecake]

Hey all, I just recently got into the hobby, and after sending my second batch of beer to the fermenter, I had a couple questions about brewing.

1) What is the best way to measure the OG before fermenting? What I've done is after adding the wort to the fermentator, I add about a gallon of water, mix well, and then siphon a sample out to measure with my hydrometer. Then I add a little more water, and repeat. I've done it 3 or 4 times on both my batches, and I was just wondering if someone had an easier way to do it. I thought just floating the hydrometer in the fermenter as I add water might work, but the diameter of the carboy keeps the liquid level too low for it to work.

2) My first brew was a Brewer's Best American Pale Ale. I got a pretty low OG reading for it, which I think was a result of adding too much water rather than not mixing well enough. Are there some taste/smell symptoms of having a low OG? I noticed that although it had a good flavor, it tasted like it was a little over-carbonated. Does that sound about right, or are there other things I should look for? I'm not necessarily worried or anything, just curious.


Thanks for any input! Brewing seems really cool so far!

 

[JasonInBTR]

1) Just take the sample out and measure. I use a thief and it works great.
2) The only thing a lower than target OG will get you is a lower ABV and potentially a weaker taste. Will not cause any off flavors.

I'm only on my fourth batch but have learned tons from the guys (and gals) on this site.

 

[BendBrewer]

Well if you want to do it that way you could take a reading of your pre-mixed wort and do some math to know exactly how much water to add to hit a target OG.

Can't really help you on #2 with that info but if it tastes good, drink it.

 

[RugenBrau]

Are you adding H20 to hit a specific OG? Can't you use the dilution tool on Beersmith? I think that is what is for but I'm not sure.

 

[KevinW]

OG should be fairly consistent with extract brewing since you are adding a very specific amount of sugars for example, 6.6lbs of extract in 5 gallons should provide about 1.050 gravity(just guessing here).
So in all reality you just need to keep track of how much water you have pre-boil then how much you need to top off to make 5 or 5.5 gallons post boil. Once you know how much water you lose in your boil then it can be a lot easier to predict the OG and you won't need to take so many samples.

But you don't have to take my word for it, just keep brewing and enjoying your awesome brews!!