true brew unexpectedly low initial SG

[laynecampbell]

Hi All,

this is my first effort in beer brewing, but I have made Hard apple cider, wine, and moonshine before.

My girlfriend and I thought getting into home brewing together would be fun, so last night we made our first attempt at beer with a true brew nut brown ale ingredients kit.

I am an engineer and my girlfriend is a physicist, and we are both a little anal, so we attempted to follow the included instructions to the letter, but we did have to deviate slightly at the end. The instructions said to "add three gallons of fresh water, cool to 90°F, poor into the fermentation container, and add yeast" To save time, first we cooled the 2 gallons of liquid to 130°F in the sink, then pored it into the caraboy, followed by three gallons of 60°F fresh water to arive at our desired 90°F 5 gallons.

we pulled off a sample of the wort and recorded the specific gravity of 1.025, then we added the yeast. now, 12 hours later it is fermenting VERY actively, but when I looked back at the directions, I noticed that the kit said there should be an initial SG of 1.049-1.051... befuttled, I tested the hydrometer with fresh water and got .999, so it seems accurate.

so my question is, what could have happened? The ingredients are all pre-measured, and everything was added exactly as the instructions dictated.

should I just not sweat it because I know there is 1.5 Kg brown suggar in there, and a two quarts of canned syrup? just chalk it up to a bad measurement?

also, assuming it turns out drinkable, what do folks think of 32oz resealable glass bottles? I figured if I bottled it in those, people would be more likely to return the bottle, as apposed to capping old used long-necks, which take forever for me to accumulate. I know I will give away way more then I will drink, and it would be nice to get the bottle back for the next batch.

thanks in advance

-Layne

 

[CBMbrewer]

My best guess would be that it simply wasn't mixed thoroughly enough. The wort, with a high concentration of sugar is going to have a much different density than h2o. the temperature difference is also a factor. If everything that was supposed to be in the kit was there and you followed the instructions to the letter, it is a pretty safe bet that you are very close to the intended og. Next time be sure to stir up the full volume thoroughly before taking a reading.
On a side note, the reason they say to cool the 2 gallons of wort to 90F before putting it into the fermenter is that, at higher temps, introducing o2 can lead to off flavors later on. Specifically dms, which can have a creamed corn character. You do, however want to have o2 in the wort before pitching the yeast, but you want to add it after it is, preferably, below 80F.
I have bottled in the 32oz growlers several times and it has worked great. Just be very careful to not over carbonate. I would guess a growler bomb would be a hell of a thing.

 

[laynecampbell]

Right on, thanks for the help. Yeah, it is possible that all the suggar mixture was stratified at the bottom of the container and my sample was taken from the top. that is very reassuring.