Problem with OG. Help.

[Schindl2]

So, I just brewed NB's Marblehead Lager. I tested my OG and it is at 1.030 when it is supposed to be 1.050. I have no idea what went wrong. What can I do at this point to boost it? I was thinking about adding honey, but it has already cooled off and I am not sure how that would work. Any suggestions?

 

[greatschmaltez]

Honey is probably the best thing to add because it is low risk on contamination and concentrated so it won't water your beer down. It will contribute some honey flavor and aroma to your beer. You are going to have to add a butt load to get it up to 1.050. If I was you, I'd be more concerned about how I missed my OG by almost 50%

 

[flars]

Did you use the extract with specialty grains kit? If you did, it is often difficult to get a good mix of the boiled wort and the top off water. This will throw off your OG reading. Chances are if your technique was fairly close to the recipe directions your brew will be fine.

 

[greatschmaltez]

Agree with flars, if you used a kit, my guess is you just got a bad sample

 

[Demus]

Did you end up with 5 gallons? If you ended up with more, that would do it. Also, if you used top off water rather than full boil you may not have fully mixed and taken a sample from a thinner area. Extract is pretty consistent, so it's unlikely there's any issue with that...

 

[Demus]

Shake up your carboy REALLY well and take another sample...

 

[kh54s10]

Did you use the extract with specialty grains kit? If you did, it is often difficult to get a good mix of the boiled wort and the top off water. This will throw off your OG reading. Chances are if your technique was fairly close to the recipe directions your brew will be fine.

Agree with flars, if you used a kit, my guess is you just got a bad sample

Did you end up with 5 gallons? If you ended up with more, that would do it. Also, if you used top off water rather than full boil you may not have fully mixed and taken a sample from a thinner area. Extract is pretty consistent, so it's unlikely there's any issue with that...

Shake up your carboy REALLY well and take another sample...

All of this. Getting a poorly mixed gravity sample is quite common when doing extract brews with top up water. Your actual OG will be within one point of that given in the recipe.

 

[Schindl2]

Thanks for the help everyone. I actually made a rookie mistake on this one. I took the gravity reading before aerating the wort. Once I did, the OG was still off slightly, but very close (1.045 for 1.050).

 

[ACbrewer]

Thanks for the help everyone. I actually made a rookie mistake on this one. I took the gravity reading before aerating the wort. Once I did, the OG was still off slightly, but very close (1.045 for 1.050).

honey will dry out your beer like sugar will. But 1lb of honey will add about .007points on 5 gallons Or you could get some dme and sprinkle it in, it will add about 8 or 9, but not thin/dry the beer