Forgot to take OG reading, what should I do?

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iglehart

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So I just finished brewing and pitched yeast, sealed up the fermentor and then realized I forgot to get a OG reading. What should I do?

Leave it alone and not worry about it?

Open the top and carefully gather some wort to get a reading?

Open the spigot and get some wort for a reading?
With this method I am worried the left over wort in the spigot will become contaminated and when I transfer in 2 weeks it will pick this up.

Any suggestions?
 
I did that yesterday and still grabbed some wort and took a quick read. No harm done. As stated above don't worry about it and let her ferment then take a reading in a week or two.

Cheers
 
I would not worry about missing the OG reading. In about two and a half to three weeks begin taking SG readings to find when Final Gravity is reached.

If this was a kit beer and brewed correctly, your OG is most likely the OG stated in the recipe.
 
Thanks,

Not a kit, my 2nd all grain.

Recipe
3 gallons of water.
1 tsp gypsum
2 lbs of English 2 row 3L
2 lbs of Munich 9L
2 lbs of Abbey 17.5L
1 lb of Honey Malt 25L
.5 lb of Crystal 40L
.5 lb of Crystal 60L
.25 lb of Dextrin
1 oz of Fuggles 5.3, Alpha
Wyeast 1968 ESB Ale

Mash
30 minutes at 120-125
5 minites to bring temp up
30 minutes at 150-155
2 gallons of sparge water.

Boil 60 minutes
Added 1 oz of hops with 50 minutes left to boil
Cooled in sink to 70 degrees in 30 minutes with ice bath (Next thing to get is a wort chiller)

Final volume 2.9 gallons, I have a 2.5 gallon corny

Any thought on this recipe? I'll post how it comes out in a few weeks.

:mug:
 
I might be a heretic, but I never worry about OG. The way I look at things, they don't need to be that scientific--the ancient Egyptians were doing this... I let my beer ferment for a week in the primary, rack it over to secondary where I let it sit for another two weeks or so, and then bottle it. I don't care about OG, FG, or alcohol content and just giving things enough time does the trick. As long as everything is properly sterilized I don't stress too much about anything else.

As for the recipe: it looks good to me, but the only real test that I know of is when you drink it. It's already fermenting so there's not much you can do now but wait, relax, and have a homebrew! You've already got pretty good notes on what you've done, and this will let you tweak the recipe at a later date. To me, that's part of the fun. Good luck.
 
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