Don't have DME. To prevent low OG, should I boil with less water than normal?

[polishdude20]

I'll be brewing tomorrow and don't have any DME. I've heard that if your OG is too low, adding DME is what you can do to raise it.

Without DME though, I'm wondering, can I make my wort with slightly less water so that my OG errs on the side of too high so that I can add water in after to lower it? I'd rather have it higher and then lower it with water than lower and not have DME on hand. So maybe add in 10% less strike water than needed?

Thoughts?

 

[BruceH]

What are you making and what is the grain bill?

 

[polishdude20]

Making this witbier recipe:

https://byo.com/article/witbier-style-profile/
Blanche Oreiller
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.050 (12.4 °P) FG = 1.011 (2.8 °P)
IBU = 20 SRM: 4 ABV = 5.0%

Ingredients

4.5 lb. (2.0 kg) flaked wheat (1 °L)
4.9 lb. (2.2 kg) Pilsner malt (1.6 °L)
1.1 lb. (0.5 kg) flaked oats (1 °L)
0.25 lb. (113 g) Munich malt (8 °L)
0.5 lb. (227 g) rice hulls or other natural filter
4 AAU Hallertau hops (60 mins) (1.0 oz/28 g of 4% alpha acids)
1.5 oz. (43 g) fresh citrus zest (5 mins)
0.4 oz. (11 g) crushed coriander seed (5 mins)
0.03 oz. (1 g) dried chamomile flowers (5 mins)
Wyeast 3944 (Belgian Witbier), White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale) or Brewferm Blanche dried yeast

 

[BruceH]

I'd just brew it normally and not sweat the OG. Pretty sure you will be fine, maybe even higher than predicted without a dme addition.

 

[polishdude20]

Oh really? For the sake of learning, why do you think I should be fine? Is it that you think the amount of grain I'm using in that recipe will not give me any problems? Does it help to mention I'm doing this BIAB style?

 

[BruceH]

www.brewersfriend.com Go to the beer recipe calculator and input your grains for predicted og.

I brew biab and get better efficiency than I'm supposed to. I think it has something to do with grinding my own malt with a corona type mill.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Thoughts?

One typically attempts to prevent low OG by knowing the mash efficiency and boil off rate for the equipment one is brewing with, then revising the recipe to account for the specifics of the system.

 

[RM-MN]

Without DME though, I'm wondering, can I make my wort with slightly less water so that my OG errs on the side of too high so that I can add water in after to lower it? I'd rather have it higher and then lower it with water than lower and not have DME on hand. So maybe add in 10% less strike water than needed?

Less water means more concentrated wort so yes this is a valid idea. However, less water for the mash can also contribute to a lower mash efficiency and you are then lower in OG again. A better method might be to brew as normal and if the OG is too low, boil longer to concentrate the wort. This isn't perfect as it can cause darkening of the wort due to the Maillard reaction.

What I would do is brew with the lesser amount of water and then use the extra water as a sparge step, either pouring it over the bag of grains or setting the bag of grains in a vessel with the water in it to extract the extra sugar. This has worked well for me after I adjusted the recipe for the higher efficiency.

One other method that is sometimes used is to brew as normal and if the OG is too low add table sugar or dextrose (corn sugar) to bring the OG up.