First ever mix - low OG?

[tomoose]

Hi,

I've just started brewing and have the home brew online keg starter kit. I also bought a coopers english bitter kit to start off with something (hopefully) simple.
http://www.home-brew-online.com/beer-kits-c1/coopers-c6/international-series-english-bitter-kit-p132

I mixed with 500g of spray malt light, then added 2l of boiling water and then topped up to 23l.

Before adding yeast my OG was 1.026, which seems quite low as the kit's abv stated it should finish at 4.6%. I have subsequently added the yeast and it's been going for a couple of hours now.

Is this too low? If so, is there anything I could do to help the process? From the hydrometer pack it suggests adding sugar, but thought getting some advice would be the best thing to do.

Thanks for any help!
Tom Moose

 

[jfk69]

With extracts, it takes a LOT of mixing of the top-off water with the wort to get it uniform. You probably just got more water in the sample than wort. It will be fine. With an extract mix, it's pretty tough to miss your OG, since you are adding a known amount of fermentables.

 

[tomoose]

Thanks for the quick response.
If after 24-48hrs it's still lower than expected, should I think about adding 500g of brewing sugar?
Cheers.

 

[freisste]

If you've already pitched yeast, it is only going to get lower. Leave it alone for the next few weeks.

 

[woozy]

Go to your notebook and scratch out the 1.026 and replace it with what it was supposed to be and you will be fine.

Seriously.

With extract o.g. is not something within your control and not something you can make a mistake on (nor is it something you can improve on).

Gravity is the measurement of the density of sugar in water. The amount of sugar is determined by the amount of extract. Nothing you do will change the amount of sugar in the extract.

The reason your gravity reading was low was probably because your sample was improperly mixed. Or it could be some other error. But it isn't because your gravity is actually low because as long as you have the correct amount of extract and the correct amount of water the gravity can't be anything but what it's supposed to be.