sg way too low but why?

[Hopstep]

I am brewing an IPA with 7lbs of muntons light dme. The sg should have been 1.064 but when I took my reading I got 1.032. I know the amount of water is accurate having brewed previously. I took my reading prior to pitching the yeast the only thing I did differently was a late extract addition instead of a full boil. This is my first time using dme and I am wondering if I might not have shook the carboy enough to mix it together when I topped off with water but I did shake and swirl pretty vigorously, enough to create foam anyway. Any ideas?

 

[llazy_llama]

I am brewing an IPA with 7lbs of muntons light dme. The sg should have been 1.064 but when I took my reading I got 1.032. I know the amount of water is accurate having brewed previously. I took my reading prior to pitching the yeast the only thing I did differently was a late extract addition instead of a full boil. This is my first time using dme and I am wondering if I might not have shook the carboy enough to mix it together when I topped off with water but I did shake and swirl pretty vigorously, enough to create foam anyway. Any ideas?

Yep, that's the usual suspect right there. If this was an extract kit, or a tried and true extract recipe, it's pretty hard to miss the target OG. Most likely, you just didn't mix it up enough.

No worries, I did the same thing on my first batch or two. It'll be just fine when all is said and done.

 

[Hopstep]

The only other I forgot to mention is when I steeped the grains I forgot to bust them up. After I began boiling them I strained them out crushed them and put them back in to finish. Would this throw the sg off by .032.

 

[Yooper]

No, because steeping grains are just for flavor and color, unless you used base grains. Think of tea as an example- color and flavor, but no sugar comes out of the leaves. So, when you steep grains, you're basically making tea.

However, you shouldn't boil the grains. They are for steeping, and shouldn't be in water over 170 degrees. You can extract tannins and get some astringency from boiling grains.

Next time, loosely put the grains in a grain bag (don't pack- make sure they're nice and loose) and steep at 150-160 degrees for 20 minutes. Lift them to remove them, and then bring the resulting "tea" up to a boil.

 

[llazy_llama]

Next time, loosely put the grains in a grain bag (don't pack- make sure they're nice and loose) and steep at 150-160 degrees for 20 minutes. Lift them to remove them, and then bring the resulting "tea" up to a boil.

One thing I'd add to that, is a reminder not to squeeze the heck out of your grain bag. The temptation is high to get every last bit of liquid out of them, but in so doing, you can also extract tannins that you don't want.

 

[Hopstep]

165F not boil bad choice of words but thanks for the tips all.

 

[Graeme]

I had the same problem despite doing a full boil, I put it down to the fact that after the wort was chilled its possible that I didn't give it a good long stir to ensure temperature was even all the way through..that's what I'm hoping, either way I guess I won't really know the ABV of my latest batch, bit of a pain

 

[cuinrearview]

I had the same problem despite doing a full boil, I put it down to the fact that after the wort was chilled its possible that I didn't give it a good long stir to ensure temperature was even all the way through..that's what I'm hoping, either way I guess I won't really know the ABV of my latest batch, bit of a pain

Meh, I've found that if you put your recipe into a calculator with extract brews you'll get a pretty good idea of what to expect gravity-wise. Unless I'm on round two of a really good recipe that I want to post up here I don't usually take O.G.s, just F.G.s to make sure it's done.:fro: