Extract Brewing Low OG

[aceec]

So I just started brewing my second batch yesterday and I came across the same issue both times. My original gravity is ending up really low. I'll list my ingredients and process for both below and let me know if you see anything that I might be doing wrong. I think the below is too much info but I'd rather give too much than not enough. I've tested my hydrometer with normal water and it seems spot on.

BEER 1:
5 gallon Simcoe IPA
No target OG but ended up at 1.032 at 65 degrees.

• 3 gallons tap water heated to 155 degrees to steep below grains for 45 min.
  • 1.5 lbs 7-Row
  • .5 lbs Victory
  • .5 lbs Carapils
• Temperature raised to 190 degrees then turned off and 6.5 lbs of malt extract added.
• 60 min boil with below hops
  • .5 oz Simcoe 60 min
  • .5 oz Simcoe 30 min
    
  • .5 oz Simcoe 5 min
    
  • .5 oz Simcoe 0 min
• Cooled pot in ice bath for 30 min
• Added 3 gallons to glass carboy
• Added wort to glass carboy for total volume between 5 and 5.5 gallons

BEER 2:
5 gallons Citra DIPA
Target OG 1.07 but actual OG 1.042 at 70 degrees

• 3 gallons tap water heated to 165 degrees to steep below grains for 35 min.
  • 1.2 lbs Pale Malt 2-Row
  • .6 lbs Caramel Crystal Malt
  • .6 lbs Weyerman Munich Malt
  • .6 lbs Carapils
  • .3 lbs Honey Malt
  • .3 lbs White Wheat Flakes
• Temperature raised to 190 degrees then turned off and 5 lbs of malt extract added.
• 60 min boil with below hops
  • .75 Amarillo 60 min
  • .5 oz Citra 30 min
  • 1 oz Citra 15 min
  • 1 oz Citra 10 min
  • .5 oz Citra 5 min
• Cooled pot in ice bath 30 minutes
• Added 3 gallons cold tap water to glass carboy
• Added wort to glass carboy for total volume just under 5 gallons

 

[NGD]

Looks like your adding water to hit the intended volume. I did this my first two batches and had the same issue.

Here was my solution, although I’m sure theres a better way to do it.

1. Check your gravity once you’ve cooled the original 3 gallons of wort.
2. Then figure out how much volume you need to add to hit your intended gravity. There are online calculators to do this. Here is an example https://www.brewersfriend.com/dilution-and-boiloff-gravity-calculator/
3. Add your wort to the fermentor
4. Add cooled water til you hit your target volume.

Edit: based on the info you supplied for the first beer I ran through a recipe builder and at 25% efficiency for the steep, you should have hit somewhere around 1.050 OG for the IPA. It appears your overshooting your volume by a fair amount. Try adding only a gallon of cool water first, then wort. If a gravity sample says your numbers are still high..add a little more

 

[bpgreen]

Are you using dme or LME?

I plugged all of the ingredients of the second recipe into BeerSmith using dme and got a predicted gravity of 1.062, but I may have my efficiency set fairly low for the mash portion.

But if I use LME for the first one and don't enter any other ingredients, I get 1.047. So that's basically the floor. You can't get lower than that, even if you didn't get any conversion from the grains.

I suspect you're making a mistake somewhere, either in reading the hydrometer or mixing the wort. Are you mixing the wort well before taking the sample? If not, a sample from the top will have a lower gravity and a sample from the bottom will have a higher gravity.

 

[doug293cz]

The usual low OG problem with extract and fermenter top off is due to inadequate mixing of the concentrated wort and the top off water. It takes a lot more stirring than you would think to homogenize the diluted wort concentration. The concentrated wort has a higher density (SG) and sinks to the bottom of the fermenter. Then an OG sample is pulled from near the top of the fermenter, which is where the less concentrated (lower SG) wort is. The solution is to stir the topped up wort like a mad man/woman. Five minutes of vigorous stirring should do the trick.

 

[TGFV]

The usual low OG problem with extract and fermenter top off is due to inadequate mixing of the concentrated wort and the top off water. It takes a lot more stirring than you would think to homogenize the diluted wort concentration. The concentrated wort has a higher density (SG) and sinks to the bottom of the fermenter. Then an OG sample is pulled from near the top of the fermenter, which is where the less concentrated (lower SG) wort is. The solution is to stir the topped up wort like a mad man/woman. Five minutes of vigorous stirring should do the trick.

Plus this will help to aerate your wort if you don't use oxygen etc.

 

[shoengine]

You steeped 7-row in the first recipe? That is a little... odd.

=D

 

[aceec]

Edit: based on the info you supplied for the first beer I ran through a recipe builder and at 25% efficiency for the steep, you should have hit somewhere around 1.050 OG for the IPA. It appears your overshooting your volume by a fair amount. Try adding only a gallon of cool water first, then wort. If a gravity sample says your numbers are still high..add a little more

I just spent a ton of time playing around with Brewer's Friend software. What an amazing resource. Thanks for the reference. I also hadn't really considered aiming for a mixed gravity rather than a fermenting volume but that makes so much sense now that you mention it. I'll give that a shot next time.

Are you using dme or LME?

I plugged all of the ingredients of the second recipe into BeerSmith using dme and got a predicted gravity of 1.062, but I may have my efficiency set fairly low for the mash portion.

But if I use LME for the first one and don't enter any other ingredients, I get 1.047. So that's basically the floor. You can't get lower than that, even if you didn't get any conversion from the grains.

I suspect you're making a mistake somewhere, either in reading the hydrometer or mixing the wort. Are you mixing the wort well before taking the sample? If not, a sample from the top will have a lower gravity and a sample from the bottom will have a higher gravity.

Not mixing the wort and water in the fermenter properly is exactly what my problem is. I remember specifically that it was lighter on top and darker on the bottom and mixed it a bit but definitely not enough to even things out.

You steeped 7-row in the first recipe? That is a little... odd.

=D

It was a handwritten recipe from the local shop and upon closer inspection it says 2-row.

 

[bpgreen]

Sounds like you know what to do for your next batch.

On the bright side, your current beers will be just fine. The downside is that since you don't have an accurate OG reading, you won't be able to calculate your ABV. I don't think that's a huge deal, really.

 

[NGD]

On the bright side, your current beers will be just fine. The downside is that since you don't have an accurate OG reading, you won't be able to calculate your ABV. I don't think that's a huge deal, really.

You can estimate your ABV via OTM by taste once its done fermenting. Condition in the bottle 2 weeks then cold crash for 24 hrs minimum. Drink one..if you still feel fine, drink another etc. If you start feeling like your the most interesting man in the world while your wife hands you a pillow and points at the couch..thats One To Many. If you continue past this point, the Automatic Balancing Valve may kick in and make it a long night.

For this reason I don’t recommend this method.