OG lower than predicted

[snail71]

So I brewed my second brew ever this weekend. It was a variation of SD_SLIM's Blood Orange Hefeweizen. I wanted the recipe to be a little milder in ABV than the original and I am using a 5 gallon carboy so I needed the first part to be 4 gallons in the carboy so adding the syrup would bring it up to a total of 5 gallons.

My recipe for 4 gallons was:
4 lbs 2 row
3 lbs white wheat
1 lbs Vienna
1 lbs light brown sugar (was supposed to be 8 oz but I accidentally poured a whole pound)
8 oz rice hulls

According to BrewTarget OG should be 1.060. I mashed at 153 for 60 minutes. This was a fly sparge that took 50 minutes to collect 5.25 gallons pre boil. I boiled for 60 minutes. I drained off a sample into the test jar and put it into the fridge to cool down. When I tested it at the sample was at 76 degrees and measured 1.046. I mashed and sparged the same way as I did my first brew which was Cream of Three crops and it hit OG right on for 75% efficiency. What could I have done wrong this time?

I pitched this when the carboy cooled to 72 degrees with Wyeast 1007 that had a liter 24 hour started on a stir plate. This thing took off. Within hours it foaming away.

 

[bransona]

You said you were adding the syrup directly to the fermenter? If so, there's your problem. You measured sans syrup, whereas the calculator includes all fermentables.

 

[snail71]

You said you were adding the syrup directly to the fermenter? If so, there's your problem. You measured sans syrup, whereas the calculator includes all fermentables.

I am not including the syrup at all in this. The syrup doesn't go in for another couple days and I didn't include it in the ingredients for estimated OG.

 

[chickypad]

It may have been crush. Wheat kernels are typically smaller so many folks crush their wheat separately with a tighter gap. I use mostly Great Western white wheat which has bigger kernels so I don't change my gap, but I do for other types of wheat.

 

[Abilor]

You did stir the wort aggressively before taking the sample to chill, yes? The heavy stuff sits on the bottom otherwise, and gives you a false OG reading. I had a 1.060 test as a 1.042 once with just that problem. Once I rubbed the lamp, the Gravity Genie came out and granted my sugary wishes...

 

[snail71]

You did stir the wort aggressively before taking the sample to chill, yes? The heavy stuff sits on the bottom otherwise, and gives you a false OG reading. I had a 1.060 test as a 1.042 once with just that problem. Once I rubbed the lamp, the Gravity Genie came out and granted my sugary wishes...

That is an interesting thought. Actually what I did was placed my kettle in a ice bath. Let it sit for a couple of hours. Then took a sample straight out of the valve on the kettle before transferring the rest to the carboy so I bet you are correct. Sitting a while probably cause the sugars to settle.

 

[Abilor]

That is an interesting thought. Actually what I did was placed my kettle in a ice bath. Let it sit for a couple of hours. Then took a sample straight out of the valve on the kettle before transferring the rest to the carboy so I bet you are correct. Sitting a while probably cause the sugars to settle.

:fro: There you go. Try another sample down the road before you add the other syrups/sugars and after stirring. Hope it works out!!

 

[chickypad]

But this is an all grain batch with full boil, OP said he didn't add the sugar yet and was figuring the OG based on the grains. I think you need to look elsewhere, the reading should be fine the way you're taking it.

 

[snail71]

But this is an all grain batch with full boil, OP said he didn't add the sugar yet and was figuring the OG based on the grains. I think you need to look elsewhere, the reading should be fine the way you're taking it.

The brown sugar was added late in the boil. The syrup (simply lemonaide and Torani) will be added later. The calculated OG was based on grains and the brown sugar. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

For future reference, if I have a simple all grain recipe should my method of taking the sample work?

 

[chickypad]

The brown sugar was added late in the boil. The syrup (simply lemonaide and Torani) will be added later. The calculated OG was based on grains and the brown sugar. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

For future reference, if I have a simple all grain recipe should my method of taking the sample work?

I suppose it's possible then that the sugar wasn't mixed in - when did you add it and how did you stir? I think I would still be worried about something else going on though as you were 14 pts off your regular efficiency, and the crush issue with wheat is well known. Normally this mixing/stratification issue is almost exclusively for extract or partial boil batches, where you are adding a lot of extract at the end and/or topping off with water. On a full rolling boil the sugars are going to be well mixed so the wort should be uniform at the end of the boil. Taking the sample from the valve either before or after chilling is standard procedure.