where did my gravity go???

[thooper41]

Alright this is the 3rd time making this beer without looking up my recipe ill explain what happened 1st 2 times my starting gravity was 1.072 and I used

7lbs LHBS made liquid extract
1lb 2row
1lb Carmel 40L
1lb carpils

Gravity on both was 1.072

3rd batch only variables that changed... moved to boiling in a keg so moved to full boil started at 6.5 gal water boiled it down to I would say 5.2 gal at most with was left after put the Wort into the fermenter. Changed the grains to

SAME 7lbs of LHBS made liquid extract
1lb of 2 row
1lb of victory malt
.5lb of Carmel 20L
.5lb of carpils
.5lb of Munich malt

Gravity was 1.047

I can see a little lost to not boiling down to the full 5 gallons and being about 5.2 gal total but that couldn’t affect it that bad. Did I get bad extract?

 

[kb9vzh]

What was your temp. when you took your SG/FG reading? You gain about 1 point per 7 Degrees F.

wort is 60F-No correction/adjustment needed
70F-add 1 point
77F-add 2 points
84F-add 3 points
95F-add 5 points
105F-add 7 points

Example: If wort temperature is 77F
OG is 1.050
Adjustment needed: 2 points
Correct OG is 1.052

http://homebrewzone.com/hydrometer.htm

Any change in recipe or evaporation can change this as well.

 

[TheJadedDog]

According to ProMash I get an OG of 1.067. I'm guessing that your wort was not thoroughly mixed with top-up water when using a partial boil which would account for the high OG there, I'm not sure why you are getting a low OG when you are doing a full boil though.

 

[Trencher]

According to ProMash I get an OG of 1.067. I'm guessing that your wort was not thoroughly mixed with top-up water when using a partial boil which would account for the high OG there, I'm not sure why you are getting a low OG when you are doing a full boil though.

If the wort and top-off weren't mixed properly it would make the SG read low, not high. The higher density wort would sink to the bottom of the vessel. Right?

Sounds like you only used half the LME, but that doesn't make much sense either...

 

[ohiobrewtus]

This is confusing indeed. There are several factors that could contribute to a small variation in OG readings, but going from 1.072 to 1.047 is certainly no small variation.

I'd guess that it's one of 2 things. Either your LME was somehow 'bad' or 'old' or your grains weren't crushed properly. Even if it was a poor crush it wouldn't account for a .025 point difference.

 

[TheJadedDog]

If the wort and top-off weren't mixed properly it would make the SG read low, not high. The higher density wort would sink to the bottom of the vessel. Right?

Depends on where you take the sample from; I use a wine thief so my sample comes from the bottom resulting in higher OGs if I've not mixed well enough.

 

[Trencher]

Depends on where you take the sample from; I use a wine thief so my sample comes from the bottom resulting in higher OGs if I've not mixed well enough.

Well that makes sense! I need to check out this Wine Thief, sounds a lot more effective than my turkey baster.

 

[Chris_B]

How sure are you that you actually got the full 7 pounds of extract? I mail-order my ingredients and the store defaults to putting the LME in one tub. I once ordered a two-extract brew (like 5# wheat and 2# Munich) and I am pretty sure the second extract didn't get added to the tub.

I remember thinking "huh - they must have used a larger tub this time" while stirring in my extract. I did catch it though since I have the habit of taking a gravity measurement BEFORE adding any top-up water and nixed the top-up to keep the gravity close to normal. So here is what I do now:

1. I Request that all grains and extracts be packed in separate bags/containers so I can inventory them upon arrival. I have also acquired a kitchen scale to double-check anything that seems odd.

2. Measure my gravity BEFORE topping-off. If it is really off, stir it well and measure it a second time before taking corrective action. I can then reduce the top-up water or add some more fermentables.

3. Keep a few pounds of light DME around just in case. Try to rotate it out to keep it from being too old.


Chris

 

[thooper41]

Ill try to answer a few questions...

I used a thief to get both readings after it has been cooled down to 70 deg and used BeerSmith to correct the reading. BeerSmith also said the gravity from the malt extract alone should be 1.050 and it was dead on with my 1.072 readings from the 1st 2 batches when I had that combo put in. The extract buy I think is made by the store because they put there name on it and every time it’s full to the top, never actually put it on a scale though.

only thing I can think of is the extract some how bad?