Hydrometer Problems?

[keef]

I am brewing my first beer today from a kit. It is a better brew imperial pale ale kit.

When I put my hydrometer in to test the OG of the beer, after adding all the ingredients and letting it cool, it was less than the lowest number on the hydrometer. I followed the directions spot on in the kit, I don't know why that would happen.

 

[ShakerD]

Can you take a picture?

Try it in water? Maybe the paper inside has slipped.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

Check it against water, make sure the hydrometer reads 1.000 and nothing less/more. Also, how many gallons was the recipe for, and how many did you end up with? Could be a bit diluted. Was this purely an extract brew, or was it steep and extract?

When you say it was less than the lowest number on the hydrometer, do you mean it was lower than the expected OG for the kit, or it was off the scale (too low) of the hydrometer itself?

 

[keef]

The reading on the hydrometer was near the bulb part of the hydrometer, completely off of the scale below zero. The recipe was a steep and extract for 5 gallons.

I tried it in water and it read 1. I put the beer in the fermenter even though I didn't get a reading, so I can't provide a picture.

 

[keef]

I picked up the wrong hydrometer at the store. I grabbed a proof and tralle hydrometer, used only for distilled alcohol I guess.

Thanks for the help though. Can't wait to see how the brew turns out.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

No worries, as a steep and extract if you followed the recipe exactly you should be within a point or two of the expected. Let us know how it turns out!