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Low OG Question

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HopBlooded

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Dec 31, 2009
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Location
Yakima, WA
Brewed my second batch today, an IPA, and ended up missing my estimated OG by 11 points to the low side (est 1.066, OG 1.055).

I steeped 1 lb of Crystal 60L for 30 minutes in 1 gallon water at 155F. Added 6 gal water to bring to 7 gal, added 9 lb light LME. Boiled 60 min and ended up with ~5.5 gal in the fermenter. Took a sample, pitched the yeast, and sealed the fermenter. Once I had the fermenter sealed, I tested the OG with my hydrometer and got 1.054 at 67F which BeerAlchemy says = 1.055 at 60F (my hydrometer's calibration).

I figure that since it's an extract recipe I couldn't have been that far off on my OG and that it must be a bad sample, but thought I'd post here before doing anything. I don't think that the beer is ruined at all, it will just be lighter and probably less balanced than expected (est. 69 IBU).

So my question is, is it worth opening up the fermenter (which has started bubbling in the airlock) or should I just leave it be and assume I got a bad sample?

Thanks!
 
Thanks. I'm sure it will be fine in the end, but it's one of those things where I'm wondering if something went "wrong" and what, if anything, to correct next time. I think I'll just assume I got a bad sample and try to get a better one next time...
 
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