Missed my OG in an Oatmeal Stout - now what?

[HappyFermentations]

Long story short - I did a BIAB with this recipe today - http://www.morebeer.com/products/oatmeal-stout-grain-beer-kit-advanced.html

The recipe says you can expect 1.050-1.060 ish or so... I got 1.027... No idea how it hit that low. My last BIAB with the same setup hit right on the money.

So - I now have 5 gallons of wort in a bucket. I've read how much dme I need etc. but unfortunately I don't have any at home and the lhbs isn't open until tomorrow morning.

Should I pitch tonight and add dme tomorrow am, or wait to pitch overnight until I can add the DME?

Also, what dme would you suggest? I'm guessing a dark?

Thanks!

 

[chuckcomm]

Did you dd top off water to the wort to get to 5 gallons? If so make sure it is mixed well by slowly stirring then take a reading again.

If that doesnt work I would add some dark DME

 

[JimRausch]

Going with the link you provided, this was a partial mash with 6lb of LME?
If that's the case, then hopefully this is another case of the old wort stratification bugaboo. In other words, the LME didn't mix in well and your OG is actually closer to the predicted OG.
If I'm misreading the recipe, then I apologize. If it was an AG batch then here's one way you could fix it: An additional 3lb DME will get you around 1.051, 4lb will get you around 1.059. I would use a light color DME as essentially it's replacing what you would get from your base malt. You should have gotten your color from the specialty grains. If you keep your wort chilled and sealed overnight, it should keep until tomorrow. I wouldn't pitch my yeast until after adding the DME.

 

[HappyFermentations]

Sorry - it was the AG version.

Yep - it has plenty of color, but the gravity just isn't there. I'll seal it and throw it in the fridge overnight until I can get the extract tomorrow morning

 

[HappyFermentations]

I'm also trying to figure out where I went wrong. I think my strike water may have been too high - close to 168ish - would that have had a huge impact on the yield?

 

[Britinusa]

My strike water is normally in the 160f range because of grain temps, how good was your grain crush?

 

[HappyFermentations]

I ordered it from more beer already milled - so I'm honestly not really sure. May be time to invest in a grain mill soon...

 

[estricklin]

I ordered it from more beer already milled - so I'm honestly not really sure. May be time to invest in a grain mill soon...

If your BIAB you need to crush the HELL out of it. Check out the "ugly Corona Mill" thread if you get a chance. Lots of good info a perfectly good $30 mill.

Get some DME boiled and mix it in there, soon as you can, otherwise boil a little table sugar and water and go with that. 1.027 is pretty low, even getting to 1.035 is going to get you leaps and bounds closer to something you'll want.

 

[HappyFermentations]

Sorry - double post

 

[HappyFermentations]

If your BIAB you need to crush the HELL out of it. Check out the "ugly Corona Mill" thread if you get a chance. Lots of good info a perfectly good $30 mill.



Get some DME boiled and mix it in there, soon as you can, otherwise boil a little table sugar and water and go with that. 1.027 is pretty low, even getting to 1.035 is going to get you leaps and bounds closer to something you'll want.

Awesome - thanks! Do you think I should pitch now, or wait until morning when I can get DME? It's currently sealed and in the fridge in my bucket.

 

[Matt_W]

I had the opposite issue this afternoon. I somehow overshot my OG. I was supposed to get 1.090 and hit 1.101.

I'm assuming it should be fine anyway. I used a 2000ml yeast starter that was going quite well when pitched.

 

[passedpawn]

How did you measure the OG? What was the temperature of the wort when yo measured it?

Pitch the yeast right now. You can add the DME later. I don't know too much about extract, but dark seems like the obvious choice.

I don't think there's a good reason to boil it. No bacteria could live on that stuff long. It's mega-hydrophillic- it absorbs any water near it. So, technically you could just use a wide-mouth funnel or similar and just pour it right into the fermentor. Might clump like crazy, but the yeast have no problem munching through it. On the other hand, I like to sterilize everything I put in my fermentor, so if you don't mind making a slurry and boiling, that would be the safest bet.

Long story short - I did a BIAB with this recipe today - http://www.morebeer.com/products/oatmeal-stout-grain-beer-kit-advanced.html

The recipe says you can expect 1.050-1.060 ish or so... I got 1.027... No idea how it hit that low. My last BIAB with the same setup hit right on the money.

So - I now have 5 gallons of wort in a bucket. I've read how much dme I need etc. but unfortunately I don't have any at home and the lhbs isn't open until tomorrow morning.

Should I pitch tonight and add dme tomorrow am, or wait to pitch overnight until I can add the DME?

Also, what dme would you suggest? I'm guessing a dark?

Thanks!

 

[chickypad]

I agree crush is usually the first thing to look at, but you're at about 29% efficiency there. Unless it was completely uncrushed I think there's also something else going on, like way overshooting your mash temp. You didn't measure the mash after doughing in? Also all the other usual measuring troubleshooting - i.e. did you cool the sample like suggested above, are thermometers calibrated, etc. What is your full process?