Is it possible?
Sure. Add some DME.
I take my gravity reading right before pitching. So if my OG is low I could just throw DME in there? No need to boil or anything?
you did not indicate whether you are extract or all grain? If you are doing extract and using a kit and your volume was correct your gravity should be fine. the recipe is formulated for the correct gravity. I would make sure your beer is mixed well after your make up water was added. If the water was not mixed well your gravity reading will show low. make sure the beer is mixed well and recheck the gravity. Your probably fine. If you are all grain you will just have to live with the lower gravity.
^^The OG on an extract kit is what it is if the volume is correct. If it’s all grain, you can boil and cool some extract or sugar and add it, or let it roll and try to figure out where you biffed it.
I was referring to extract brewing. I brewed the Irish Blonde Ale kit and totally missed my OG. I checked it after aeration and it supposed to be somewhere like 1.052 and I was around 1.045. I went ahead and pitched the yeast figuring there wasn’t anything I could do about it. So far so good. The last gravity reading I took was 1.023 not accounting for alcohol. Someone on here mentioned that hydrometers and refractometers don’t account for that and posted a link. So my FG right now according to this calculator is 1.009. The alcohol content is 4.4, besides that it seems ok.
I got greedy and tried to add a bit extra water to account for the trub. Won’t do that next time.
A hydrometer is not effected by alcohol unless I really missed something. Whatever reading you get with it is what the gravity is because it is directly measuring SG of the sample. Temperature can cause a variation in SG and should be corrected for when using a hydrometer. Refractometers are effected by alcohol and readings with them must be corrected.
Check the calibration on your hydrometer. The paper inside can slip and the reading may be off. In plain water it should read 1.000 at its calibrated temperature. If it’s off, then all of your gravity readings would be as well.
Thanks for the info erockrph, I do currently use a refractometer.
Thank you Denny.
It seemed like Greek to me but after further reading and a little research I have a better understanding of Refractometers, hydrometers, gravity and attenuation. I love learning something new or learning more about something I know little about. Thanks once again. I downloaded the log/calculator and will log my current brews and will log future ones.
