What to do if you fall short on your O.G.?

[Pugs13]

So we just brewed an All-Grain recipe of an IPA. Our O.G. should have been 1.061 and for some reason it turned out to be 1.041?!?!? Is there anything we can do at this point? We just put it into the primary and pitched the yeast. This has never happened before...Every beer we have made we have hit our O.G. dead on. Any suggestions? Thanks

 

[Hang Glider]

Temperature corrections were made for sample temp? Any top-off water? Grains properly milled?

 

[DoubleAught]

you could add DME to raise it.

 

[Special Hops]

top of water and no stiring prior to taking reading. Is a typical, culprit - especially if using extract.

 

[Curtis2010]

Well, even though 1.041 is lower than your target it is still in fermentable range -- you could just go ahead and pitch. You won't get what you planned, but you will still get brew....maybe call it "IPA Lite". Or, you could raise the OG first using DME.

 

[kbuzz]

I missed my OG pretty bad once and just added a bit of dextrose...dried it out, but it got me to where I wanted to be ABV-wise.

 

[Pugs13]

Well, even though 1.041 is lower than your target it is still in fermentable range -- you could just go ahead and pitch. You won't get what you planned, but you will still get brew....maybe call it "IPA Lite". Or, you could raise the OG first using DME.

How long after could you raise it with DME? The yeast is already pitched and tomorrow is Sunday so not sure of that method...but we have some priming sugar?

 

[DoubleAught]

You can pitch the dme almost anytime, make a mini boil with it, cool it, pitch it.

 

[usfmikeb]

Won't help you here, since you're already in the carboy with yeast pitched, but will help you detect and correct in the future. As soon as you complete the sparge process, and get all the wort into the kettle, get three pieces of information: volume, temperature, and gravity. With those three pieces of information, you can calculate what your OG will be after the boil's complete. I keep light DME in stock for when this happens, and add it as the wort comes to boil. This way, I never miss my OG.

 

[Pugs13]

Won't help you here, since you're already in the carboy with yeast pitched, but will help you detect and correct in the future. As soon as you complete the sparge process, and get all the wort into the kettle, get three pieces of information: volume, temperature, and gravity. With those three pieces of information, you can calculate what your OG will be after the boil's complete. I keep light DME in stock for when this happens, and add it as the wort comes to boil. This way, I never miss my OG.

Good to know...

 

[kiwibrew]

How long after could you raise it with DME? The yeast is already pitched and tomorrow is Sunday so not sure of that method...but we have some priming sugar?

I made raspberry wheat that I intended to be a light easy drinking beer, but when I transferred it out of the primary onto the fruit and tasted it I thought it tasted watery so I mixed up and boiled a lb of DME with enough water to dissolve and added it to the secondary 2 weeks after fermentation had started, and I ended up pretty happy with the result.

 

[Pugs13]

I am thinking of going tomorrow to the local brewing store and getting some DME. I will boil it up and throw it in until I reach our OG

 

[usfmikeb]

Probably a good idea, given that you're probably at higher IBUs than intended as well due to lower gravity, and getting some more malt flavor in there will help offset it a bit.

 

[Pugs13]

Probably a good idea, given that you're probably at higher IBUs than intended as well due to lower gravity, and getting some more malt flavor in there will help offset it a bit.

Well woke up this morning and fermentation is going really well already. Is it okay to still boil up some DME and throw right in? Can I take a gravity reading to get close with yeast going nuts like it is? I am assuming I will have to take a reading right before pitching the dme and then see how much the yeast has already eaten from our OG and figure out how much to put in...do you think that 1lbs. of dme would be enough to get us back up to 1.061...being it was only 1.041 to start off with? Thanks I appreciate it...

 

[hogwash]

There are online calculators that can help you calculate how much DME to add. I had this same problem with my last brew and added it to the primary but my fermentation had not taken off yet. I wouldn't bother with taking any readings now that fermentation has started, just use the calculator to figure out how much to add according to your 1.041 and add it in.

I ended up boiling about 2lbs in only a couple quarts and the beer turned out great. I don't see why you couldn't add it in now or even tomorrow, it will just be more food for the yeast.

 

[Pugs13]

There are online calculators that can help you calculate how much DME to add. I had this same problem with my last brew and added it to the primary but my fermentation had not taken off yet. I wouldn't bother with taking any readings now that fermentation has started, just use the calculator to figure out how much to add according to your 1.041 and add it in.

I ended up boiling about 2lbs in only a couple quarts and the beer turned out great. I don't see why you couldn't add it in now or even tomorrow, it will just be more food for the yeast.

Well I saw this equation and 2lbs. should do the trick. My actual gravity was 1.041 when I was going for 1.061.
5gal.x61=305
5gal.x41=205
305-205=100
100/45=2.22
So I think I am just going to use 2lbs. and be done with it. Thanks!

 

[Curtis2010]

You can pitch the dme almost anytime, make a mini boil with it, cool it, pitch it.

Yes this should work fine. You might consider decanting off some of the wort to use to make your DME mix. This way you are not increasing your volume by adding the DME mix volume. I would just pasteurize rather than bringing to a full boil -- you just want to mix it well and avoid contamination.

You should pre-calculate the volume/gravity you will need in the DME addition to hit your target OG.

You could just use your priming sugar (or any sugar for that matter), but most sugars will also lighten the body of the beer and maybe change the taste a in ways that are not stylistically desirable for an IPA. I would go with DME if at all possible.

 

[Curtis2010]

... I keep light DME in stock...

Me too. Comes in handy for all sorts of things.

 

[Pugs13]

Yes this should work fine. You might consider decanting off some of the wort to use to make your DME mix. This way you are not increasing your volume by adding the DME mix volume. I would just pasteurize rather than bringing to a full boil -- you just want to mix it well and avoid contamination.

You should pre-calculate the volume/gravity you will need in the DME addition to hit your target OG.

You could just use your priming sugar (or any sugar for that matter), but most sugars will also lighten the body of the beer and maybe change the taste a in ways that are not stylistically desirable for an IPA. I would go with DME if at all possible.

What if there is active fermentation going on now? Can I still use the wort to heat up with the dme? Thanks for the help!

 

[kiwibrew]

What if there is active fermentation going on now? Can I still use the wort to heat up with the dme? Thanks for the help!

Yes, you will only be killing the yeast you boil, there will be plenty left, but if you have space in your fermentor it probably isn't neccessary

 

[Pugs13]

Alright guys, here is the story again. Our recipe calls for an O.G. of 1.061. After brewing for some reason we only hit 1.041!?!?...So I did what you guys had suggested to get back up there. I took a reading before I started and it was 1.038 down from 1.041. So technically I needed to get to 1.058. By the time it was all said and done (fermentation was still going strong and bubbling into my blow-off bucket during this whole procedure) I was able to get a gravity of 1.056 which I am thinking should be right around where need to be. Wasn't too tough but very time consuming. Thanks again for all the help everyone!

 

[Pugs13]

Let me know if this sounds right? Any input will help!

 

[kiwibrew]

you will have beer, you may even like it

 

[BrewKnurd]

Alright guys, here is the story again. Our recipe calls for an O.G. of 1.061. After brewing for some reason we only hit 1.041!?!?...So I did what you guys had suggested to get back up there. I took a reading before I started and it was 1.038 down from 1.041. So technically I needed to get to 1.058. By the time it was all said and done (fermentation was still going strong and bubbling into my blow-off bucket during this whole procedure) I was able to get a gravity of 1.056 which I am thinking should be right around where need to be. Wasn't too tough but very time consuming. Thanks again for all the help everyone!

How long had it been fermenting at this point?

 

[Pugs13]

How long had it been fermenting at this point?

Not even a full day...15hrs or so...but it was fermenting very well before I did this process and it is fermenting just as good if not better now...so must have done something right...

 

[Curtis2010]

Sounds reasonable to me. Let us know how it turns out.

Might want to rig a blow-off tube just in case this really kicks ferm into high-gear.

 

[Denny]

So we just brewed an All-Grain recipe of an IPA. Our O.G. should have been 1.061 and for some reason it turned out to be 1.041?!?!? Is there anything we can do at this point? We just put it into the primary and pitched the yeast. This has never happened before...Every beer we have made we have hit our O.G. dead on. Any suggestions? Thanks

It's too late now, but I take a gravity reading about 15 min. before what I think the end of the boil will be. If I'm not close, I keep boiling until I am, then add the finishing hops.

 

[Hang Glider]

It's too late now, but I take a gravity reading about 15 min. before what I think the end of the boil will be. If I'm not close, I keep boiling until I am, then add the finishing hops.

this.

and this is where a refractometer comes in handy - one drop has cooled by the time I'm looking thru the device, so no temp corrections. If I know what I want my target to be, I can adjust up or down (malt or water) prior to completing that step.