I screwed up big time. Any ideas?

[tbrrynem]

I'm in China where everything is a bit backwards.
I'd like to blame the country, but it's really my fault.

I got a Chinese hydrometer, which looked a lot different than the one I have back in Canada. I managed to translate some of it and I saw the word Brix, so when I did my gravity reading and got 40, I assumed it was 40 brix. I added water, cause I was way under my 5 gallons, and got the reading to 10 (about 1.040).

Of course, it turns out the the 10 stood for 1.010.

So now I have a wort that basically has no fermentables in it.
It's been sitting in the fermenter for a week like this.

Any way to salvage it?

 

[cpa4ny]

You may want to remove some of the wort, boil it with the necessary amount of DME to bring the gravity up to your initial target, chill the wort and return it back to the fermenter.

 

[PADave]

AG or extract brew? Did you add the proper amount of extract for 5 gallons? If so your OG is correct, would be a mixing issue. Hard to get top up water mixed well when doing extract, which results in a false reading.

 

[neverfadeaway86]

I would take out a few gallons add a few lbs of DME boil for 30 min and stir it up well cool down and re pitch more yeast on it

 

[tbrrynem]

AG or extract brew? Did you add the proper amount of extract for 5 gallons? If so your OG is correct, would be a mixing issue. Hard to get top up water mixed well when doing extract, which results in a false reading.

AG. In fact, my first AG which is why I was so far off my 5 gallon target. I was worried that it might be a mixing issue, but I see no signs of fermentation.

 

[tbrrynem]

Thanks everyone for replying. It's difficult to find extract in China, but I'll see what I can do.
How long will the current wort last?
I'll take half of it, boil it with extract, re-pitch, and ferment. As for the other half, will it last a few weeks? Could I freeze it or something so I can do the same with it?

 

[MaryB]

Yes you can freeze wort just fine!

 

[tbrrynem]

Yes you can freeze wort just fine!

Amazing. I'm thinking St. Patty's Day wort-sicles.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

If your most current reading is accurate and you can't get any extract, your best bet is to boil it down until you reach an acceptable gravity. You will have less than 5 gal but at least it will be real beer. There's no law that says you have to have a 5 gal brew. If you can get more extract and have a big enough fridge to store the wort until you get it, then go for it.