Low OG

medlington · Oct 18, 2010

Hi,

Just put my 3rd brew on and my OG seems really low.

This is a Cordon Brew lager and the OG is 1.018 my last 2 brews the OG was around 1.038. I've put more sugar in this one too around about 1.1Kg instead of 1Kg.

The only thing I can think of that could be making it low is that I've used bottled water instead of tap water but wouldnt of thought this would have that much effect.

Am I going to end up with a really week brew or will it just ferment lower to say around 980?

Thanks

Bru4u · Oct 18, 2010

sounds like the sugar and malt are not disolved in the water, the water type will not effect it, give it a good stir and test again :thumb:

medlington · Oct 18, 2010

Thanks for the advice, I started this on Saturday so its probably a bit late now to be stirring it up, the gravitys gone up to 1.020 now.

Heres a pic of my brew:

None of my brews seem to get really active like some of the ones I've seen on here but the last one did drop from 1.038 to 998 so I think its working ok.

What can I do to make my brews overflow like the ones I see on here? Does it actually make any difference? I think it could be that Im using the yeast from the kit or that its too cold in my flat to really get it going.

Hawks · Oct 18, 2010

Not done a kit for a long time, but a couple of thoughts.

A beer down to .998 :hmm: sounds very low, I have never got below 1.009 - have you checked your hydrometer?

In terms of yeast, you could try ditching the kit yeast and using something like S-04. Also make sure your wort is really well aerated - a good thrashing before adding the yeast will also ensure your sugar is mixed in.

The good news is it looks like you'll have beer anyway :thumb:

medlington · Oct 18, 2010

I am starting to think my hydrometer could be a little off. Whats the best way to test it? just drop it in some normal water and see if it hits 1.000?

I have also heard that the hydrometers are set to work at a certain temp so it could well be the temp thats throwing it out, should it say what temp its designed for on it?

I actually did thrash this one quite hard after reading other threads before I started but didnt seem to make much difference.

Think Il try some new yeast next time

Brewmarc · Oct 18, 2010

medlington said:
I am starting to think my hydrometer could be a little off. Whats the best way to test it? just drop it in some normal water and see if it hits 1.000?

I have also heard that the hydrometers are set to work at a certain temp so it could well be the temp thats throwing it out, should it say what temp its designed for on it?

I actually did thrash this one quite hard after reading other threads before I started but didnt seem to make much difference.

Think Il try some new yeast next time

It should have the temperature to which the hydrometer is calibrated printed on it somewhare usually 20C :thumb: drop it into some water at this temp to test,should read 1.000. There is a hydrometer temperature correction in the calculators top left of this page : cheers:

philip5660 · Oct 22, 2010

Regarding overflowing brews. I'm only on my second brew and both have overflowed a lot for the first couple of days, airlock needing cleaned and refilled every time I checked it. I did nowt special, used kit yeast, brewing sugar and Tesco ashbeck water. One thing I do have is a heated fridge and a steady temp of 22 degrees. First kit was coopers canadian and I have a coopers real ale in right now.