First brew last night went great!

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winstonian

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Hefe extract brew w/ specialty grains
Full 6 gal boil (yield just north of 5 gal)

Overall a complete success (so far) but just a couple questions I had coming out:

1) OG on the kit was 1.049-1.053. I ended up with an actual OG of 1.044. I know, not a big deal to be off a bit, and I'm not worried about it, but I'm just curious what part of the process, if any, most greatly affects the OG?

2) House temperature is kept at a steady 68F, so I stuck my primary fermenter in a closet on the main level. This morning the thermometer on the bucket read 74F, so I moved it downstairs to the cooler floor, will check in a bit. Does the fermenter typically run warmer than the ambient home temperature?

The good news is I have consistent airlock activity after just ~9 hrs after pitching the yeast.

Thanks!
 
Well, your gravity is based on the amount of sugar in the wort, which in your case is coming from the extract and the specialty grains. Most likely the sugars extracted from the specialty grains was a little low, I wouldn't worry about it too much, but that is where you would be directly affected.

The primary will run a little warmer than the ambient temperature due to the yeast activity. 74 is a little high, so you did the right thing by moving it to a cooler spot.
 
Thanks, that's helpful. I steeped the specialty grains (8oz) in about 2 quarts of water for 25 minutes, then added the 'tea' to the boiling kettle. I read on here that this is the preferred method. My temp (on an electric stove) was fluctuating and it was hard to keep a consistent ~155F so maybe that played into it as well. Maybe next time I'll try putting the heated tea in the oven at 155F instead.

Anyway, thanks again, can't wait to test the results in a few weeks!
 
I am not sure if I would point to the specialty grains first. They typically contribute very little fermentables to the wort, especially only 8 ounces. I think you have more water in the carboy than expected. Getting your volumes right comes with time, or at least it took me awhile. I wouldn't get too worried about it though.
 
It's most likely that you just didn't get the chilled wort & top off water mixed well. That usually accounts for a lower OG in extract brews.
 
Agree with all of the above.

Congratulations on your first batch! You probably chose the best style to brew as your first batch as the hefeweizen is typically the one that is fastest from brew-to-bottle. It's fast to ferment and a beer you don't have to wait for it to clear as cloudiness is fit to style.

Enjoy!
 
unionrdr said:
It's most likely that you just didn't get the chilled wort & top off water mixed well. That usually accounts for a lower OG in extract brews.

This is what I originally thought and then saw that the op said it was a full boil.

The only other thing I can think of is error taking the gravity reading/not having the wort at the right temperature when taking the reading.
 
With that recipe I agree it's likely the measurement of your volumes. For example if your recipe called for 5 gallons at 1.050 but you ended up with 5.5 that would be about 1.045.

My first kettle didn't have markings or a sight glass, and the buckets can be off also. What helped me was taking a plastic spoon, filling my kettle 1 qt at a time which I could measure accurately, then marking the spoon (actually only marked from like 4-7 gal). If I took my measurement using the spoon before transferring the wort I got much better numbers.

Edit - there's a sticky or a thread on here all about low OG - I think it's Revvy's. Check that out.
 
Congrats on the first batch! Now you are infected by the addiction! To answer your questions:

1. Since the kit comes with a set amount of malt extract, the boil has the biggest affect on the OG. During the boil, you are condensing your wort by boiling off water to increase your OG. The sugars do not evaporate off. To have gotten your OG to the intent range you could have started with less water or boiled longer. A third option is add more malt extract. Dry malt extract (aka DME) is the easiest way to raise the OG. Do yourself a favor and always have a 1-2 lbs. on hand (can be used to raise OG, make a yeast starter, carbonate bottles, etc). Personally, I use Munton Plain Extra Light DME.

2. Yes, the fermenter will typically run a couple degrees above ambient temperature. The yeast give off small amount of heat during the fermentation process. As fermentation slows the temperature will become the same as ambient.

When activity in the air lock slows, the temperature of the fermenter becomes ambient, use your hydrometer to determine when fermentation has stopped. When you get the same gravity reading 3 days in a row your fermentation is complete.

Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew (RDWHAHB)! I like to let my beer ferment and condition on the yeast cake (no secondary fermentation). The yeast will go to work cleaning your beer after the fermentable sugars are consumed. I let my beer sit in the primary for a month or so before bottling or kegging.
 
Appreciate all the advice! I am really liking this forum, you guys are so helpful and kind to us noobs :mug:

I think I added a little too much water in the boil. Since I was doing a full boil, I started with somewhere between 5-6 gallons. My 7.5 gallon kettle has markings at 4 and 6 so it's tough to tell. I like the spoon marking idea and will do that next time. On top of that, I steeped the grains in 2 quarts of water, and added that in on top of the 5.5ish gallons. When I poured into the fermenting bucket I didn't pour it all in b/c I was already past the 5 gallon mark, and the stuff on the bottom was pretty full of hop sediment anyway.

Day 2 and I'm officially hooked!
 
There's your problem then. A little extra water, plus you left some sugar in the pot by stopping early. That should account for the small difference.
 
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