Yet another "OG lower than expected" thread

[Moonraker]

Steeped 1lb Crystal 40 at 155 for 30 minutes, removed grain, took to the boil, added and dissolved 8lbs light DME. Hopville says OG should be 1.076, I measured 1.054 at 70 degrees = 1.055 at 60. Low OG appears to be a fairly common topic here and the usual explanation seems to be top-up water and wort not mixed properly. I figure enough sugar to drop the SG by 20 (!) points can't have just disappeared so it must have settled to the bottom of the carboy, but I thought I had shaken the hell out of it (side to side and round and round) to aerate and that would mix it pretty well.

So... first, does that even sound plausible (20 points!)?

Second, how should I be mixing wort and top-up to ensure a good gravity reading? I was thinking of getting a solid stopper and turning the carboy upside down a few times, maybe...

 

[cervezarara]

You are probably right about the mixing. That and/or topping up to incorrect volume (over diluting), and/or temperature compensation for hydrometer, could all lead to significantly lower OG measurement. If you think about it, you are trying to mix a wort that is substantially "thicker" than your target gravity into plain water.

What I do is stir for 5 minutes or so with a wine degasser attachment on my electric drill. This mixes all pretty completely and also accomplishes some frothing/aeration of the wort. This won't introduce as much oxygen into the wort as an O2 tank and stone, but it does provide an oxygenated wort for yeast health.

Or you can do what many on the forum suggest and forget the OG measuremant with extract brews, and just RDWHAHB!

 

[ajf]

^ +1
Other solutions are:
Do a full boil
Ferment in a bucket, where you can use a spoon to mix the wort and water.

-a.

 

[unionrdr]

We have a cooper's micro brew FV with a wide lid on it. And a BB ale pale,& a bottling bucket. Those wide openings make many things way easier. When I'm done topping off,I use my long spoon to stir it like mad for 5 minutes till a few inches of froth are seen.
I have the long one with the paddle on order,with a fine mesh 8" ss strainer as well. Should be here with the cooper's OS Lager can from amazon my wife will use as a base in her SA-ish summer ale.
I could've used the strainer for when I drain & squeeze the hop sacks. The long handled paddle (24" one) will be great for aerating/mixing the wort/top off water. Not to mention,mixing in the LME after other flame out additions.

 

[jaycount]

Don't sweat it. If you added in the right amount of extract and have the right volume of water, the OG will be right. You really can't screw up an extract brew

I never could hit my target OG until I started doing full boils, now there's no mixing and no top off water

RDWHAHB

 

[unionrdr]

I'm always within range,usually a bit higher. That comes from vigorously pouring the wort & top off water into the FV. Then spend a solid 5 minutes vigorously stiring the 2 together till a few inches of froth can be seen. Then take the hydrometer reading & pitch the starter.

 

[Moonraker]

What I do is stir for 5 minutes or so with a wine degasser attachment on my electric drill.

I should have known there would be a solution for sale... I think I'll get a paddle too and mix well in the bucket before racking to the primary, then try the degasser there. Maybe take multiple SG readings and see what effect each stage has (I know - RDWHAHB - but I like to know things...)

So, no love for the idea of turning the loosely-stoppered carboy upside down? I can't imagine what could possibly go wrong...

 

[Moonraker]

Update: mixing well with a long plastic paddle ($3.95 from LHBS) did the trick. I also added some (2 gallons) of the top-up water before the wort went in, so that the heavy stuff wasn't just sitting on the bottom. Calculated OG 1.053, measured OG 1.054.

 

[unionrdr]

Just like my situation. It's cheap & it works.