Does this SG seem too low?

[fezzman]

Russian Imperial Stout

6.6 lbs Dark Malt LME
2 lbs Dark DME
1 lb Crushed Roasted Barley
1 lb Crushed Crystal Malt 60L
1 oz Yakima Magnum Hops (bittering)
1/3 lb of Lactose
3/4 lb corn sugar

At ~71* the OG was reading .029. This just seems too low. Most of the recipe is a Brewer's Best kit which shows a SG of .070-.080.

The only difference is the lactose and corn sugar. The guy at my lhbs recommended that I add each...lactose to cream the brew and the corn sugar to spike it a bit. Could the addition of those two things cause the gravity to be that off?

Also the ingredient sheet with the kit reads:
8 oz Crushed Roasted Barley
8 oz Crushed Black Patent ?
1 lb Crushed Crystal Malt 60L

That is not what I had though. Instead, there was no Patent and a full pound of the Barley. I didn't notice the difference in ingredients until after I had started. How will this affect the taste? Or could it be that the Patent was mixed with the Barley to make the full pound?

Also, do you agree with my trusty lhbs guy's recommendation on the added ingredients?

Thanks

 

[Blender]

Something is not right,1.029 is to low for the ingredients you have and the addition of the corn sugar would even add to the OG. Have you checked your hydrometer to ensure that it is working properly and was the batch mixed well when you took the reading? If you added top up water it should be mixed really well and then the reading should be drawn and taken. The shop I visit will mix grains so the patent may well have been in there.

 

[the_bird]

Based on what I've screwed up in the past, I suspect that the wort wasn't stirred fully prior to taking the reading. Had the same issue, also a recipe that started with a Brewer's Best kit. The sugars settle, so you need to GENTLY stir to make sure you've got an accurate sample.

 

[fezzman]

On my first two batches (ever) the SG was also reading too low for what the kit specified. I asked the guy at the lhbs about this and he told me that I needed to stir the wort after topping off with fresh, which I couldn't remember if I did.

Because of that, I made sure to stir it well before taking my reading. I started my siphon into my primary and added 1 gallon of cold (had been in the freezer for nearly 2 hrs) water in mid-siphon. After all of the wort had transferred, I topped off with 2 gallons of water that had been in the fridge for 2 hours (not all that cold).

Perhaps when I took my temp reading the wort was actually colder. Maybe I didn't wait long enough for the thermometer to drop down. It seemed like it had stopped though. Or maybe my hydro is off because all three of my batches have read too low.

How can I test my hydro? Should I not worry about what the reading is at this point and just let it do its thing regardless? I'd hate to crack the lid on my primary just to take an adjusted hydro reading. Besides, it is too late for that since the yeast was pitched nearly 2 hrs ago.

 

[Yooper]

You can test your hydrometer by filling the test flask with 60 degree water and then float your hydrometer. If it reads 1.000, it's fine. If not, then that means your hydrometer is off.

I think your reading is off, but like others said, it may be because things were not stirred up and you got mostly water. With those ingredients, there is no way the s.g. could be that low. Dumb question but you did boil your wort, right? You did a 2 gallon boil, and then added 3 gallons of water? And I assume a 60 minute boil.

Check your hydrometer and see what you get. If you get something low, then you can just add the points you're low onto your s.g. of the wort. If your hydrometer is correct, then something else is going on.

Lorena

 

[Blender]

I would let it be. You can test the hydro by measuring the gravity of water at 60 degrees. It sould read 1.000

 

[fezzman]

You can test your hydrometer by filling the test flask with 60 degree water and then float your hydrometer. If it reads 1.000, it's fine. If not, then that means your hydrometer is off.

I think your reading is off, but like others said, it may be because things were not stirred up and you got mostly water. With those ingredients, there is no way the s.g. could be that low. Dumb question but you did boil your wort, right? You did a 2 gallon boil, and then added 3 gallons of water? And I assume a 60 minute boil.

Check your hydrometer and see what you get. If you get something low, then you can just add the points you're low onto your s.g. of the wort. If your hydrometer is correct, then something else is going on.

Lorena

Yup, did a full 60 minute boil with just over 2 gallons. I added all of the malt at one time since it is a dark brew anyways. I suppose that since this particular batch of wort seemed thick, that I didn't get it mixed up entirely. I did stir it though...I was trying to stir out the bubbles from aeration so that I could take my reading. At least I think I can sleep easy knowing that I stirred a second time after pitching the yeast.

It has been a loong day so I'm off to beddy-by. I'll check the hydro in the morning. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[fezzman]

It seems as though I somehow screwed up my reading last night after all. I checked my hydro this morning in 60* water and it did read .000.

So, I'm guessing that I didn't stir enough before taking my reading. I can only hope that I stirred it enough when I pitched the yeast.

As of this morning there is still no activity in the airlock though.

 

[cweston]

So, I'm guessing that I didn't stir enough before taking my reading. I can only hope that I stirred it enough when I pitched the yeast.

This is not a big issue: the action of fermentation will mix the wort completely, once it gets going.

 

[the_bird]

Stirring or not stirring won't impact the beer (the yeast WILL find the sugars ), it just impacts the hydrometer reading. Once the yeast start working, everything gets churned up anyway. This just means that you won't be able to accurately estimate your alcohol content, not a big deal.

 

[fezzman]

Whew!!! Thanks for the good news.

 

[david_42]

If your wort was almost black, then the black patent was mixed with the Roasted Barley. A pound of 60L would only give it a "red" tone. Black patent gives very noticable coffee & charcoal flavors, which is another check. Third, black patent is black, roasted barley is brown. If your spent grains are black & brown, they mixed them for you. Most extract kits put all of the grain in a single bag.

 

[fezzman]

If your wort was almost black, then the black patent was mixed with the Roasted Barley. A pound of 60L would only give it a "red" tone. Black patent gives very noticable coffee & charcoal flavors, which is another check. Third, black patent is black, roasted barley is brown. If your spent grains are black & brown, they mixed them for you. Most extract kits put all of the grain in a single bag.

It was definitely mixed then. The wort was very dark. Thanks.

 

[fezzman]

I primed around 7:30-8:00 last night. I ran home at noon today on my break and there was still no airlock activity.

I am using a new primary bucket (my previous brews were in a different bucket) and I noticed that it was much easier to insert my airlock into the lid. Perhaps I'm just not getting a good seal there.

The lid was raised up in the center, and the airlock bubbled when I pressed on the lid. Am I correct in saying that I am fermenting properly and just have an air leak somewhere?

Would it be bad to take a small amound of dishsoap and place it around the bottom of the airlock...check for leak bubbles?

Thanks again and sorry for so many questions.

 

[the_bird]

It's not even 24 hours yet, WAY too early to stress. No dish soap, even if it's an imperfect seal it'll almost certainly be OK. Relax.

 

[fezzman]

Well, fermentation finally started early this morning. I can finally breathe easy.

Since I screwed up on my SG reading, is there any way to estimate what the ABV will be on this batch? Thanks

 

[chillHayze]

Well, fermentation finally started early this morning. I can finally breathe easy.

Since I screwed up on my SG reading, is there any way to estimate what the ABV will be on this batch? Thanks

Glad to hear it.

As far as estimating, you could take the OG spec the hbs guy gave you and approximate that for your real OG, but you will never know if it is accurate. You could also approximately figure it backwards from the yeast's expected attenuation, but that is probably less accurate than the first method...
With almost 9 lbs of extract and 3/4 lb other fermentable sugar it should have you buzzing fairly quickly! The FG may be a little on the high side (1.018 or so?) due to the lactose and steeped grains.
It sounds like one kickarse stout that will indeed kick your arse!

 

[Desert_Sky]

Since I screwed up on my SG reading, is there any way to estimate what the ABV will be on this batch? Thanks

well, when its done you can see how many you can drink before you passout.

 

[tockeyhockey]

no matter what your hydrometer says, you KNOW how much sugar you put into the wort. trust your own perception of the situation, not the reading of your instruments.

 

[fezzman]

Yeah, this brew was intended to be a special occasion brew and not my everyday drinker. The sheet that came with the kit specified between 7% and 8% but that is not counting the 3/4 lb of sugar.

I even brought a small pot of water to a boil and used that water to get every last drop of lme out of the two cans. I'm really curious to know how this one turns out. I didn't sample any of it before pitching the yeast. Fermentation is kind of slow right now so this may take some time before I rack to secondary.