Low OG

[mattmarion]

Hey guys,

I just did up my first batch ever of homebrew and decided to do all grain because that's just how I do things. Everything went off great except that my OG was way too low at about 1.032 compared to the 1.056 it was supposed to be.

Couple notes:
-I've had it fermenting for 4 days and it went crazy days 1/2 then the krausen fell and not it's sitting, still going decently.
-My current gravity is around 1.01 or maybe a tiny bit lower

Now I'm fairly certain as to why this happened and that it's a combination of not sparging long enough and not boiling hot enough (with the latter in front as I ended up with more wort than I should have so didn't get enough boil off, my start volume was right on).

What I'm wondering is: What will the beer taste like? When I open the bucket and take a smell I want to just jump in it smells so bloody good, definitely like a beer, that's for sure.

I'd rather not toss it if I don't have to and will wait it out and see what happens. It's my first time so I figured something would go wrong. I measured the OG while just finishing the boil (cooled the sample first) and it was at 1.03 which at the time (ok, so too many beers drunk might also have played a part, lol) I could have sworn was what the recipe called for but after checking it... Hahaha, nope.

Anyway, I can't find much info about this and having to do with all grain other than why it might be low OG. What I want to know is, given that it's low OG, what can I expect of it?

This is so much fun, lol. I want to brew my next batch already but I'll need more equipment for simultaneous batches...

Cheers,

Matt M

 

[mattmarion]

Note: I realize the "emergency, low OG" has been asked before, hence why I have a wealth of info as to how to fix it. What I'm wondering is a hint as to whether the beer will still taste good or not. The recipe was a hobgoblin clone.

 

[GrogNerd]

it may taste foul, but you are obligated to drink it all anyway, as a lesson learned

no, really... don't dump it. it won't be bad at all. I did so many horrible things to my first batch and when I finally did try it, it was the best G.D. beer I had ever had to that point

this is a very forgiving hobby and you have to really TRY to ruin your beer to actually ruin it. we're doing what mutts like us have been doing for a couple 1000 years, while we have the better technique, equipment, ingredients and knowledge.

 

[twistr25]

How much did you end up with in your fermenter? You must have left an awful lot in the pot to drop that many points. How did you do the mash i.e. temps and water amount? Did you crush or did the store crush?

 

[Paps]

It will taste like.....................................
beer.
RDWHAHB
it will be fine.
live and learn and your next batch will be even better.

 

[mattmarion]

My next batch will be awesome. Here's what I did wrong:

Sparging:
-I did batch sparging which is fine. What I didn't do was put enough back each round (had to do it in three rounds) to get it clear enough. When I poured it back in, I could possibly have done a better job of spreading it out. I'm using a 5 gallon round mash tun. I also likely didn't stir enough before letting each batch sit or wait long enough before starting to let it out again. I did, however, make sure the water was 170 the entire sparge time, that was easy enough.

Boiling:
-I'm positive I didn't boil it down enough. I used a 1 litre measuring cup to measure out the the water for each step as in the instructions. My pot has no numbers on it so I had to do it this way. Judging by how much head space I have in the bucket I'm fairly certain I ended up with more beer than I should have.

It's a combination of these two that I think is my problem... Or thought was my problem...

Crush, good point, I hadn't even thought of that although I did read it in posts. I crushed it but using the store's mill. Next time I'm going to get my buddies mill and do it. His is brand new. Combine a loose mill with too little time sparging and slightly too little boil would probably drop me a few points for sure.

What I was really hoping was that it was a bad reading on the hydrometer but I've done a bunch of readings to make sure I'm doing it right and I am, it's not rocket science (there's only so many websites/youtube videos to look at before you come to the realization that it's not a bad reading, lol). What I've learned is that the hydrometer is my friend and to take readings throughout (keeping in mind temperature). I was too excited about just doing everything that I only really checked it at the end when it was too late.

My next mission, first, is that I need to cool my beer. The pour thing is now fermenting at about 73. For the last couple years it's been cold in my apartment because the air conditioning was on in the other apartment and it naturally cooled mine down to freezing (basement apartment). They just moved and the new ones haven't turn on the air. The only room I have is 69. I'm torn between modifying a fridge/freezer or building a son of a fermentation chiller. The first would be harder but in the long run much easier. The second would cost less so please my wife (who is pregnant and therefore not as thrilled as I about alcoholic beverages) but results in more maintenance... Hmmmmm

 

[twistr25]

Could also just go with a swamp cooler, cheapest option and doesn't take a lot of space.

 

[Qhrumphf]

A combination of overshooting volume and lower efficiency will certainly knock you down a bit.

I love session beers, and 1.032 to 1.010 is a great thing (although it may well drop further than that depending on mash temp and grain bill). Only thing is that if the hopping wasn't adjusted, you're going to have a lot more hop character than you intended. I didn't see a style mentioned, but if it's an IPA that may be a good thing. If it was something more malt oriented, the balance is going to be off. However, for a first beer, it should still be a perfectly drinkable beer.

And +1 on the swamp cooler. The poor man's fermentation chamber.

 

[mattmarion]

Crap, completely forgot to post the recipe.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/All-grain_brewing

Hobgoblin from that little guide. That's a great little guide to have sitting open for quick reference, I must say. Likely it will all become second nature soon enough but for now. I figured it would also be easier to step through the first all grain if I had a step by step that also included the recipe.