og problem

[evilnoah]

I did an all grain batch this morning

12 lbs 2 row
1 lb crystal 10
8 oz white wheat
8 oz carapils

Mash 152
Sparge 167

My OG was only 1.040.... seems way too low... any ideas...

Hops were

1 oz simco 60 min
1 oz cascade 10 min
1 oz Amarillo 10 min
1 oz cascade 5 min
1 oz Amarillo 5 min
1 oz cascade 2.5 min
1 oz Amarillo 2.5 min
1 oz cascade flame out

 

[sfgoat]

Bad crush maybe? Or perhaps too diluted. Would help to know if you did your gravity reading after diluting or not. Or did you use an uncalibrated refractometer?

 

[evilnoah]

The strange thing is I only ended up with about 4 gallons of wort after the boil. So it wasn't over diluted. I took the gravity reading before I started the boil, I didn't use a refractometer

 

[RM-MN]

1.040 gravity at what volume of wort? How much did you boil off?

With those numbers and the amount of grain, I'd suspect the crush since it is the single most important part of good efficiency.

 

[Yooper]

The strange thing is I only ended up with about 4 gallons of wort after the boil. So it wasn't over diluted. I took the gravity reading before I started the boil, I didn't use a refractometer

What was the reading of the cooled wort after the boil? That's the reading you need.

 

[brew_ny]

I took the gravity reading before I started the boil,

and after the boil it was ?

 

[ajf]

Did you cool the sample before taking the hydrometer reading? Hydrometer readings taken at over about 100F are very inaccurate even if you do apply temperature compensation.
Did you stir the wort before taking the sample? After sparging, you will have high gravity wort at the bottom of the kettle, and low gravity wort at the top. If you don't mix it up, you will get an inaccurate reading.

-a.

 

[evilnoah]

It was well stirred, but not cooled

 

[Yooper]

It was well stirred, but not cooled

You need a cooled post boil reading in order to determine the OG.

A cooled pre-boil reading is helpful to see if you're on track, but you have to take the OG reading after the boil, once the wort is cooled.

 

[HBC]

I agree.. you can use online temperature calculators to find what your real gravity is. If you are reading 1.042 at 150-degrees, the corrected temp would be about 1.061 -- and note: this is NOT NOT ACCURATE -- but shows what generally happens when the temp cools (The gravity reading increases). I like to take my OG gravity readings at 75-degrees. I use http://www.rooftopbrew.net/abv_calculator.php -- to calculate the gravity at all temps.

 

[evilnoah]

Thanks guys... I learned something new!! I never took gravity readings in the 5+ years i brewed extract.... I figured why bother, extract was easy and my beers were always delicious.

This is my 3rd AG batch, and going forward I will take my gravity readings after the boil, and when cooled to yeast pitching temps. I was taking my OG after I dumped my mash and sparge wort into the brew kettle, and not after the boil. love this forum!

 

[Yooper]

When did you brew? Yesterday? It might have already started fermenting, but you could still grab a reading today to get a ballpark OG so you know roughly your efficiency, to help planning your next batch.

I'm guessing based on the preboil reading (inaccurate though it is), and the post boil volume that it's 1.060+ if you indeed have 4 gallons.

 

[Aonghus]

How long did you mash? Did you use a BIAB with too small a bag? That would keep you from getting all your sugars out (bag too full). How did you sparge?