OG way too low. :(

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Hi there.
I finally got around to trying my recipe: https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/817828/smashbomb-atomic-inspired-ipa
When I finished brewing last night, I measured the OG and it was only at 1.040 instead of 1.055.
I’ve been doing some reading about how to adjust the amount of sugar after the fact ... but all the articles I’m reading refer to DME kits but I dont’ have access to any of that. Can I add honey?
Can someone point me to a good article on how to do this?
The other option i guess is is just to leave it as is ...
Thoughts? Opinions?
Thanks guys
 
Hi there.
I finally got around to trying my recipe: https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/817828/smashbomb-atomic-inspired-ipa
When I finished brewing last night, I measured the OG and it was only at 1.040 instead of 1.055.
I’ve been doing some reading about how to adjust the amount of sugar after the fact ... but all the articles I’m reading refer to DME kits but I dont’ have access to any of that. Can I add honey?
Can someone point me to a good article on how to do this?
The other option i guess is is just to leave it as is ...
Thoughts? Opinions?
Thanks guys
Not sure how many brew sessions you've done but maybe adjust your efficiency lower so next brew your original gravity will more closely reflect the recipie your trying to brew. I suppose that stands for recipies other than your own you have to adjust them to suit your brew requirements losses ect ECT.
 
Not sure how many brew sessions you've done but maybe adjust your efficiency lower so next brew your original gravity will more closely reflect the recipie your trying to brew. I suppose that stands for recipies other than your own you have to adjust them to suit your brew requirements losses ect ECT.
Hm. So maybe 80% was too high to begin with you mean? If i change my recipe now to 60% efficiency then it changes my OG to 1.041 which is close to what I hit, and the FG to 1.007. Should I readjust these numbers and then try to hit 1.007? Is that the best way to go?
Sorry for being such a noob
 
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Hm. So maybe 80% was too high to begin with you mean? If you’re just new to brewing ... how do you know what value to plug in ? Sorry for being such a newbie.
Well your first steps already done (conduct a brew session) record your losses and your efficiency. You'll find it'll improve a bit from your first brew but use that number as a bench Mark setting for your recipie setting.
So what efficiency percentage did you get in that brew session 70%? Therefore when creating or adopting another recipie to brew next you know to adjust the efficiency setting to around that number to achieve the desired OG going into the fermentor.
 
Well your first steps already done (conduct a brew session) record your losses and your efficiency. You'll find it'll improve a bit from your first brew but use that number as a bench Mark setting for your recipie setting.
So what efficiency percentage did you get in that brew session 70%? Therefore when creating or adopting another recipie to brew next you know to adjust the efficiency setting to around that number to achieve the desired OG going into the fermentor.
Ok. So after playing with the calculator, i see that if i plug in 60% efficiency, then the OG changes to around 1.041 which is close to what I got... and the FG is now at 1.007.
I guess I wait now to see what happens at the end of my first fermentation period
 
What you need to do is scale the recipe to the newly learned efficiency number, that will adjust all of your ingredients to achieve the desired OG. First change the efficiency back to the original value, 80% I believe you said. Then in recipe edit mode under tools, select scale recipe, it then gives you two options scale by volume, or scale by efficiency. Enter the new efficiency value on the appropriate field, and click on accept, or execute, or whatever it says to perform the change.
 
What you need to do is scale the recipe to the newly learned efficiency number, that will adjust all of your ingredients to achieve the desired OG. First change the efficiency back to the original value, 80% I believe you said. Then in recipe edit mode under tools, select scale recipe, it then gives you two options scale by volume, or scale by efficiency. Enter the new efficiency value on the appropriate field, and click on accept, or execute, or whatever it says to perform the change.
Ok cool. That helps for future brews.
Any suggestions for the stuff I’ve already made?
 
One question: when you took your OG reading, what temperature was the sample at? Just making sure you corrected for temp, if need be. It's an easy thing to forget...to that I can attest. :oops:
 
One question: when you took your OG reading, what temperature was the sample at? Just making sure you corrected for temp, if need be. It's an easy thing to forget...to that I can attest. :oops:
I’m guessing the temperature was somewhere around 21 C.
I didn’t realize this was a thing! Learn something new every time i brew. It’s great!
I just googled my specific hydrometer and it says it’s ideal for measuring at 60F which is 15C. Now I just need to know how to adjust my calculation.
 
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I’m guessing the temperature was somewhere around 21 C.
I didn’t realize this was a thing! Learn something new every time i brew. It’s great!
I just googled my specific hydrometer and it says it’s ideal for measuring at 60F which is 15C. Now I just need to know how to adjust my calculation.
Yeah it's (calibration temperature) on your hydrometer. Mines calibrated to 20c
 
I’m guessing the temperature was somewhere around 21 C.
I didn’t realize this was a thing! Learn something new every time i brew. It’s great!
I just googled my specific hydrometer and it says it’s ideal for measuring at 60F which is 15C. Now I just need to know how to adjust my calculation.
Yeah it's (calibration temperature) on your hydrometer. Mines calibrated to 20c
 
And actually, now that I’ve done more reading about how to use my hydrometer, it might not be so bad. I just realized too that I should read from the bottom point of meniscus, not the top.. which makes sense. (This is the article I was reading https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/how-to-take-an-accurate-hydrometer-reading/). So I think it’s likely my OG was somewhere between 1.056 and 1.058... I’ve attached the picture i took and you can see the angle of the picture is more from the top ... and it’s right at the 1.040 line.
Thoughts?
 

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Like Most says, carry on and call it beer.

Is this your first crack at brewing beer?
Reason I ask is that there is a beginner's tutorial in the beginners forum which is a great thread. There are answers there to questions that you may not even know to ask yet.
 
Like Most says, carry on and call it beer.

Is this your first crack at brewing beer?
Reason I ask is that there is a beginner's tutorial in the beginners forum which is a great thread. There are answers there to questions that you may not even know to ask yet.
Yes. Well, i’ve Brewed 2 times before but guided / babysat by a master brew person. This was my first time brewing solo and first time using my own recipe. Thanks for the tip to check the tutorials. I’ll do that.
 
And actually, now that I’ve done more reading about how to use my hydrometer, it might not be so bad. I just realized too that I should read from the bottom point of meniscus, not the top.. which makes sense. (This is the article I was reading https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/how-to-take-an-accurate-hydrometer-reading/). So I think it’s likely my OG was somewhere between 1.056 and 1.058... I’ve attached the picture i took and you can see the angle of the picture is more from the top ... and it’s right at the 1.040 line.
Thoughts?
I wouldn't sweat it. You have made beer, and learned something about the process, ferment it and start planning your next batch.

One thing that I would suggest is to rebrew this recipe until you get it to be the same every time. Each time you brew you will learn something new. Nobody became a brew master after their second batch.
 
One thing that I would suggest is to rebrew this recipe until you get it to be the same every time. Each time you brew you will learn something new.
(Nosy sheds a little tear as he realizes he's created a new generation of brewing process geeks). Sound advice!
 
I failed to provide credit for my advice where credit is due
 
Just happy to see others taking up the reproducibility mantle.
 
This was my first time brewing solo and first time using my own recipe.
New brewers are always eager to use their "own recipe" but the best thing you could do is to use proven, trusted recipes brewed by a lot of brewers so that you have something to gauge results against. There are dozens if not hundreds in all styles in the data bass that fit the bill.
The truth is that the ingredient list is a very small part of what makes a beer. Ideally you could start with one malt, one hops and one yeast and learn the variations in the process inside out and make far, far better beer than coming up with a dozen recipes.
I’m guessing the temperature was somewhere around 21 C.
I didn’t realize this was a thing! Learn something new every time i brew. It’s great!
I just googled my specific hydrometer and it says it’s ideal for measuring at 60F which is 15C. Now I just need to know how to adjust my calculation.
The difference in readings ends up being about a point (.001) per 10 degrees if it's anywhere within 40 degrees of it's calibration. Readings seldom account for more than a point or two in discrepancy. Big differences usually come from wrong settings in the editor or inaccurate volume readings. A half gallon either way doesn't look like much in a 5 gallon carboy but it can account for 5 points of gravity difference.
 
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