Help needed - low starting gravity IPA

[emerty]

Hi,

Making an IPA and the starting gravity is 1.036.

This seems way too low and I still only have 5 gallons in the fermentation bin.

Should I add some DME to boost it? 1lb? can I just add it straight in there or does it need to be boiled with water first?

Thanks

 

[david_42]

Post your recipe.

 

[emerty]

3.6 kg LME
90g goldings hops
30g goldings finishings

19litres (5 gallon) total

 

[emerty]

i boiled up a kilo of DME and added it. brought the SG to 1.054...

 

[phantom]

Where did you get the recipe from? What is the recipe?

It sounds low to me, but I have seen some IPA recipes with wimpy grain bills, but insane hop schedules.

If you just want to add DME to the wort, I would take a gallon or two and boil it with the new DME, if for no other reason than to make it easier to dissolve.

 

[emerty]

Hi,

Just realised my mistake. I made 5 UK gallons instead of US... hope someone else can read this and avoid making the same one.

 

[sonvolt]

It can't be an IPA with that starting gravity. This would simply be a very hoppy pale ale. IPAs must be higher in terms of gravity by definition. 1.054 is closer to the mark, though.

 

[mbreen01]

Just FYI:

Following your recipe, 3.6 kg LME into 19 L should give an OG around 1.057.

You can also find the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines here.

Marc.

 

[emerty]

thanks.

I made 22.5 litres not 19 - UK US gallon mixup... by adding the extra kilo of DME it brought it up to the required startin gravity.

more luck than judgement.

Is there a simple equasion for working out SG from your "recipe".. I tend to make a recipe up as I go so am not quite sure what I should be aiming for...

 

[mbreen01]

(U.S. pounds of DME used * 47) / total volume in U.S. gallons = approx OG.

i.e. 7 lbs of DME would give you an approx 1.066 OG. [(7*47)/5 = 66], of course these are all using US measurements. I'm sure you could throw some quick conversions in to develop your own formula.

Calculating OG is really easy for extract recipes because the fermentable sugar is primarily derived from the DME. Any steeped grains you use don't really contribute any fermentable sugar, so you don't have to worry about adding that into the equation. Calculating OG for all grain recipes is a little more involved. If you're heading that direction, then I'd definitely try to do a little reading and research on your own. Papazian's guide is a good starter and then try out "Designing Great Beers" by Ray Daniels.

Marc.

 

[emerty]

thanks, appreciate your help

 

[Walker]

Is there a simple equasion for working out SG from your "recipe".. I tend to make a recipe up as I go so am not quite sure what I should be aiming for...

That depends on what you are putting into your beer. If it's JUST extract, you can use some rules of thumb like what mbreen01 posten, but if you start adding specialty grains and other adjuncts, they will each have their own gravity contributions.

There are some free tools out there to aid you in recipe creation. One of the ones I use often to get ball-park numbers for color, IBU, and OG is The Recipator.

http://hbd.org/recipator/