IPA OG is way off Estimate

[NewerBrewer28]

Alright, so I've brewed this batch three times before, and for this batch, I decided to make a small change. Instead of 0.50 lbs of Crystal 10L, I used 0.50 lbs of Crystal 20L. Additionally, I left out an ounce of Cascade that normally goes in 15 minutes after the boil is done, deciding to dry hop with Willamette instead. I got everything into the primary fine, and it seemed that the brew had gone fairly smoothly. However, after the sediment settled, it was clear that it was a lighter color than before. I assumed it was just the shift in Crystal, but then I went to read the gravity. The OG was 1.038, way off from the standard 1.063-1.068. Additionally, the initial alcohol reading was 4.5%, making it impossible to get the previous average of 6%. I'm fairly stumped. Maybe it's something super obvious that I'm missing, but this brew seems pretty off. Any ideas?

 

[dave5155]

Is this extract or all grain?

 

[NewerBrewer28]

I'm using some liquid malt extract, as well as steeping a bag of grains, so I believe it is a partial mash, correct?

 

[rjwhite41]

Are you sure you used the same amount of lme?

 

[NewerBrewer28]

It's possible my local brewshop gave me the wrong type or amount, but it should have been 8 lbs liquid malt extract.

 

[trevorc13]

It's extract with grains since you aren't mashing any grains. Since its extract I assume you added water to top up to 5 gallons. If not mixed well enough you may have taken a gravity from the diluted top liquid, while the bottom was separated with higher gravity wort. That's my only thought.

 

[rjwhite41]

It's extract with grains since you aren't mashing any grains. Since its extract I assume you added water to top up to 5 gallons. If not mixed well enough you may have taken a gravity from the diluted top liquid, while the bottom was separated with higher gravity wort. That's my only thought.

I always forget that since I don't do extract. Probably what happened.

 

[NewerBrewer28]

I dunno. That may be it, I'm not sure. After I put the wort in the carboy, I filled it with water until I got to five gallons. I did swish the mixture around a few times in the carboy, although maybe it wasn't enough. The overall color is still much lighter than expected, but luckily the fermentation seems to be going fairly well. The airlock is bubbling pretty frequently, and it's building up a nice krausen.

 

[Frodo]

I'm using some liquid malt extract, as well as steeping a bag of grains, so I believe it is a partial mash, correct?

I concur about it not being mixed well enough. As long as you put the same amount of LME or DME in as you did before, the OG would be the same as long as the volume is the same. As for the color, ??? especially since you used a little bit darker crystal.

As for partial mash - that's when you use some base malt (like 2-row) for their enzymes to convert the starches in other non-steepable grains that don't have enough enzymes to convert their own starches. Crystal malts have already had the sugars converted, so they can be steeped to just dissolve the crystalized sugars into the wort. Some other grains only need steeping as well, like some (or all?) of the roasted malts. There are charts you can look at to see if any particular grain needs to be mashed or can simply be steeped. Pretty sure there is a chart in Palmer's How to Brew, but I can't seem to find it. I thought I've seen one on the Wiki too but can't find that one either...