OG on extract low.

[bizmark21]

Started my sixth batch last night and ran into a first for me. I buy extract kits from my local supplier and they have never led me astray. I was doing a high OG ale and the OG was 1.062, but the recipe stated that it would be 1.079+/-. I did a partial boil with 2 gallons of water and topped off the ferment to about 5.5 gallons for the loss in the transfer to the secondary. I feel that other than a bit more water than was called for I followed the steps perfectly. Would a half gallon of water throw the OG off that far? Thanks.

 

[Revvy]

It is really hard to fully incorporate wort and water easily without several minutes of vigorous stirring...the wort will tend to sink to the bottom....A lot of new brewers have their OG readings off...you've simply been lucky so far in previous batches. You must simply not have stirred as vigoriously as before. I used to set a timer for 5 minutes and whip the sucker constantly for the entire time.

It won't harm your beer.

 

[bizmark21]

That has never been mentioned in anything that I have read or come across. Thanks so much for the quick response. I am assuming that the fermentation process churns the wort enough to fully incorporate the water. Thanks again, I have found a new hobby that I love and I find the people that share my passion are some of the nicest people I have ever met.

 

[Revvy]

It's pretty common...People show up here with the same "issue" all the time.

But yeah, active fermentation will mix everything together, so you'll be fine!

 

[petrolero]

The extra water certainly is part of the cause. You can do some calcs and see how much though. Did you see any sludge at the bottom of your boiler? Was your boiloff less than expected?

I also had a problem with my hydrometer on my last batch. You could see condensation in it, which raised red flags. Just dipped it in pure water and saw that it was nowhere near 1.000 like it should have been and tossed it. It read about 1.062 on a beer that, when measured with a correct hydro, came in a 1.077. So bad hydro is a possibility.

But incorrect boiloff is something I've struggled with since starting to brew again here in Colorado. Two batches with a factor of 2 difference in boiloff rates so far. I'm thinking next time I'll just start at the desired volume, boil down, and then top it off to 5. Takes the guesswork out although I'll still try and figure out my boiloff for GP.