Hey all I am on my third batch of brew and am starting to get frustrated that my OG is consistently low. I had though at first that I was not getting a good enough boil since I was using a glass cook top, which is true I had to create a false boil with those batches. I got a propane burner and did a batch today and my OG was still way low than what Beer Smith said. OG was supposed to be 1.061 and I got a 1.044. I had a 2.5 gallon boil and lost just under a gallon in the boil. Any ideas what might be going on? Do you need some more info?
Low OG
- Thread starter Mystwaker
- Start date
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What's a false boil
Is it an extract batch?
If so then it is most likely measurement error. The extract kit will have an OG predetermined by the extract in the correct volume of water.
If you dont mix the wort and top up water well before measuring or take a gravity reading of the mixed wort/water top up at too high a temperature the reading will be way off. Usually too low as the denser wort is at the bottom of the FV.
If you have added all the extract, topped up to the correct volume (don't trust the markings on the bucket), and shaken it completely to homogenize everything you should get an accurate readingof a sample cooled tothe calibration temperature of the hydrometer (60 or 68F usually). Its written on the side in small print.
Is it an extract batch?
If so then it is most likely measurement error. The extract kit will have an OG predetermined by the extract in the correct volume of water.
If you dont mix the wort and top up water well before measuring or take a gravity reading of the mixed wort/water top up at too high a temperature the reading will be way off. Usually too low as the denser wort is at the bottom of the FV.
If you have added all the extract, topped up to the correct volume (don't trust the markings on the bucket), and shaken it completely to homogenize everything you should get an accurate readingof a sample cooled tothe calibration temperature of the hydrometer (60 or 68F usually). Its written on the side in small print.
By false boil I mean I had to cover the kettle with foul and lids to get the wort to boil, it never actually made it to boil temps. This batch I cooked on a propane burner and had a very nice rolling boil for the full 60 minutes. Do you think maybe I lost too much from the boil? I started with 2.5 gallons and ended up with just over 1.5 and then topped up to 5. Did I end up making it too dilute? I have the FV at 80 degrees and mixed well when I took the OG reading. I with temp adjustment that actually puts it at 1.045 but that is still .015 off from what beersmith predicted.
When you got that much boil off your wort is quite concentrated. Getting it to mix well with the top off water is difficult so people quite often get a low OG reading, but the error is in the mixing, not in the measurement. With extract you always get the correct amount of sugars because they are in the malt extract so if you're putting in the correct amount of top off water, the OG will be what the kit says.
A quick way to see what is going on is to put 8 ounces of water into a glass tumbler. Add a teaspoon of honey. Notice that the honey goes right to the bottom. This emulates the concentrated wort you have. Now try to stir in the honey by using a toothpick. That emulates using a big spoon in a 5 gallon fermenter. Notice how hard it is to get the honey mixed? That's what happened to your batch. No worries, the yeast will find the sugar and their action will stir it up better than you can.
