OG Way lower than expected - why?

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing
1

Recently drafted a “Hazy DIPA” recipe in the BrewersFriend recipe builder, with the following Fermentables:

Method: Extract, full-volume for boil 60 minutes.
Started with a volume around 8 gal., finished with probably 5.7 gal.

1LB Flaked Oats(pre-gelatinized, steeped 30)
1LB Flaked Wheat(pre-gelatinized, steeped 30)
1LB Briess White Wheat Malt(Steeped 30)
8oz Viking Wheat Malt(steeped 30)
5LB Ultralight LME(60min)
5LB Ultralight LME(late add, 15 min.)
1LB Dextrose(Late add 15 min.)

According to said recipe builder, if I attained a relatively low efficiency, I should be sitting around 1.075-1.080.

Everything went well during the brew, nothing unexpected. Took my first OG reading when it was cooled properly, and I achieved a whopping…1.060? Look again and maybe even 1.059? This is literally 15-20 points lower than I anticipated, even when factoring in a 10-15% efficiency. Even with a theoretical 0% efficiency from steeping grains, the extract and dextrose alone should have gotten me to 1.070-1.075, correct? There was less than a 1/2 gallon surplus in my fermenter, but that amount shouldn’t affect it by this much. I have no explanation that I can figure, help?

I understand by doing some research that maybe I steeped the oats and wheat at the wrong temps and maybe for too long, but again, that doesn’t really explain why I’m nearly 20% off my target OG. Frustrated and confused and would appreciate some guidance.

Worth noting that I think the beer will still be fantastic, and the batch isn’t ruined or anything like that. Mostly just confusion and wondering how I can accurately predict this in the future.

2

Your wort may have stratified with the more dense portion sinking to the bottom. I’ve had the same thing happen. I like to get a gravity reading right at the end of the boil. That way the wort is still well mixed.

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3

I was sort of thinking something like that. In other words, I figured it may be more likely that my reading is off for some reason than my wort has like 20% less sugar than it should. If I had to use 10lbs of LME and 1lb of dextrose to get a 1.060 I don’t know that I would ever use the stuff.
Because my process was very by-the-book and there wasn’t anything there that would explain that big of a difference.

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4

Did you add water at the end? That’s the only time I’ve had stratification. Are you going for light/dry but hazy with this? Was is your hop schedule? Just the LME at 5.7g should get you to 1.066ish.

5

Wort Stratification is a thing, so vigorous shaking the carboy before reading is important,. The other problem I have is that I have different carboys that are different sizes, and when I try to make it 5.5 Gallons in the carboy, I, at times end up with 6 or 6 and a quart… which may not sound like a lot, but that is 14% more liquid for the same amount of grains.

So, i have put a “5 gallon line” on my carboys now.

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