Low O.G. on my second batch

[Legions]

I brewed a 5 gallon batch of Imperial Mild (from Northern Brewer) which is supposed to have an original gravity of 1.062. My hydrometer read 1.058.

What could be causing this? Is this something I should be concerned with?

thanks in advance

 

[Yooper]

That's a difference of .004. It's possible that your volume measurements are a bit off- if you added a quart of water more in your fermenter than the recipe called for, that could explain it. Another explanation is that a bit of the extract stuck in the container, and you were short a couple of ounces.

 

[nanop]

I wouldn't be concerned... 1.062 is definitely "close enough" to 1.058... Maybe you added a bit too much water or didn't steep the grains long enough...?

 

[Legions]

I wouldn't be concerned... 1.062 is definitely "close enough" to 1.058... Maybe you added a bit too much water or didn't steep the grains long enough...?

i actually steeped the grains 5 minutes longer than the 20 minutes that was instructed.

 

[Legions]

would adding too much water be the most likely cause? i don't think that that's what i did, but seeing as how i'm new to brewing i'm not too sure what variables can affect the OG.

 

[snowman]

I use the NB extracts exclusively so far .... lots of syrup can stick to the containers so I put them in simmering water while I soak the grain and get up to a boil.... I put the caps on and let them sit upside down then drain another 1/8 cup of syrup into the boil within a half hour...

I've had nothing but excellent beers with their syrup.

 

[Legions]

I use the NB extracts exclusively so far .... lots of syrup can stick to the containers so I put them in simmering water while I soak the grain and get up to a boil.... I put the caps on and let them sit upside down then drain another 1/8 cup of syrup into the boil within a half hour...

I've had nothing but excellent beers with their syrup.

i'll definitely be getting another recipe kit from NB, satisfied with them so far (we'll see what happens with the end result!), but all of the malt in this recipe kit was dry malt, no syrup, so i know that the syrup was not the problem

 

[nanop]

would adding too much water be the most likely cause?

It could be. Yooper's correct - For a 5-gallon batch, it would only take an extra quart of water to bring a 1.062 batch down to 1.058.

FWIW, I sometimes intentionally add a little extra water to higher-gravity kits so I get a few extra bottles of beer.

 

[mk78]

Depending on how well you mixed in the added water, you may have just gotten a sample that was a little low in sugars if you added the wort, added the water, and then sampled off the top. Either way it's probably not enough to worry about.