Inaccurate reading?

[BuffaloBrew]

I'm still fairly new at this hobby, but I've brewed enough batches with more experienced buddies, to where I feel that I have a fairly good grasp of the process. I flew solo last night for the first time ever.

So, I think I may have taken an inaccurate reading from my hydrometer when I pitched my yeast last night. It was about 12:30am when I finished up so I was a bit tired. I'm brewing an Imperial Coffee Stout, a beer that I've brewed before with GREAT results. I used a total of approximately 4 lbs of assorted grains and another 6 lbs of light DME, and the reading of my 5 gallons that I wrote down was 1.024. That seems awfully low to me, and much lower than I was going for. It just started bubbling, about 12 hours into the primary.

How badly would it F things up if I popped the lid and took another reading?

 

[Yooper]

I'm still fairly new at this hobby, but I've brewed enough batches with more experienced buddies, to where I feel that I have a fairly good grasp of the process. I flew solo last night for the first time ever.

So, I think I may have taken an inaccurate reading from my hydrometer when I pitched my yeast last night. It was about 12:30am when I finished up so I was a bit tired. I'm brewing an Imperial Coffee Stout, a beer that I've brewed before with GREAT results. I used a total of approximately 4 lbs of assorted grains and another 6 lbs of light DME, and the reading of my 5 gallons that I wrote down was 1.024. That seems awfully low to me, and much lower than I was going for. It just started bubbling, about 12 hours into the primary.

How badly would it F things up if I popped the lid and took another reading?

You could take another reading, but I"m not sure how accurate it would be. The reason it's only 1.024 is that the heavier wort sunk to the bottom, and your reading came from near the top. If you put in 4 pounds of grains, used 6 pounds of DME, and the volume is 5 gallons of water, the reading MUST be at least 1.052 (just the DME will give you an OG of 1.052). The four pounds of grains probably contributed some gravity points as well, depending on what they were and if they were mashed or steeped.

 

[BuffaloBrew]

You could take another reading, but I"m not sure how accurate it would be. The reason it's only 1.024 is that the heavier wort sunk to the bottom, and your reading came from near the top. If you put in 4 pounds of grains, used 6 pounds of DME, and the volume is 5 gallons of water, the reading MUST be at least 1.052 (just the DME will give you an OG of 1.052). The four pounds of grains probably contributed some gravity points as well, depending on what they were and if they were mashed or steeped.

Sorry, again, I'm new to this. But I thought steeping was a process of partial mash brewing??? So you think I'm safe to pop the lid and take another reading?

My grain bill was:
1 lb 2-row
1/2 lb carapils
1/2 lb white wheat
3/4 lb coffee malt
2/3 lb black patent
2/3 lb choc malt
then 2- 3 lb bags of light DME.

I used approx 1.25 oz of chinook hops at 60 mins, then 1 oz of kent golding hops at 20 mins, and 1056 american ale yeast.

 

[heferly]

Steeping and mashing are similar, but mashing uses a specific temperature and water volume in the process using base grain (ie 2 row) you may have partial mashed a little, depending on the two factors i listed...steeping usually has a temperature involved, but often uses more water than you would with partial mashing, thus you only get partial conversion...mostly getting color and flavor

 

[mrk305]

Your reading was definately wrong. Like Yooper said, if you used 6 pounds of DME, it has to be in there. At this point there is no reason to take a gravity reading. Maintain the temps for a few weeks and wait for it to finish.

 

[BuffaloBrew]

I discovered what I did, and it's rather embarassing. I was looking at the wrong side of the hydrometer. I rotated it around and got 1.086.... much better. Thanks for the help!