1.023 after mash and boil HELP!

[Mikelush78]

Wht do I do? was making a all grain American Pale Ale, my 2nd all grain batch. first came out great this one I used the mill at the store and I thing it did a horrible job milling, I noticed it but am still a rookie so did the brew anyway. Should I boil some sugar to raise the Gravity Reading?

 

[m3n00b]

Wht do I do? was making a all grain American Pale Ale, my 2nd all grain batch. first came out great this one I used the mill at the store and I thing it did a horrible job milling, I noticed it but am still a rookie so did the brew anyway. Should I boil some sugar to raise the Gravity Reading?

I wouldn't add sugar. If it truly is .023 then I would scrap the batch.

 

[Mikelush78]

I have a refractometer and regular tester and they both read it... Really don't want to scrap the batch, any other thoughts on salvage... I have not pitched yeast yet...

I'll do it if that is what must be done however i dont want to really do that obviously

 

[JDGator]

i'd at some DME or LME. you have nothing to lose.

 

[Mikelush78]

good thought, thanks

 

[m3n00b]

i'd at some DME or LME. you have nothing to lose.

This is a great idea.....I forgot about ME. Too early.

 

[roastquake]

i'd at some DME or LME. you have nothing to lose.

I'll second that, don't scrap it whatever you do, too much work to go down the drain. Someone might have a different idea of how to handle the yeast, but if you don't have malt extract on hand, I would go ahead and pitch, and work on getting some DME. I live an hour away from the nearest HBS so that's why I would go that route, I would have to order it and add it after the yeast has done some work

 

[JDGator]

your only making beer. no harm in trying anything you want. it's hopefully not a life and death situation your in where someone is going to harm you or your family if the beer tastes like crap.

always more then one way to skin a cat!!!

 

[Mikelush78]

I used the rest of the DME I had on hand and now have it at 1.036... should I go get more DME or add Sugar or go get more DME from the store or scrap it?

 

[fizgig]

I would toss it, I got a bad crush once and it was super astringent and husky. I bottled it hoping it would age out, but it got worse as the hops faded. Then I had to dump each one, a lot of work for nothing.

 

[roastquake]

If your OG was too low and you say the crush was bad, I assume you didn't crush fine enough and your mash efficiency suffered from it. It's happenned to me and I did just what we're suggesting, added DME, astringincy probably wont be a problem because you may not have tore up many of the barley husks. What kind of mill is it?

 

[roastquake]

And there's very very few reasons I can think of to scrap a whole batch before it even ferments, chances are, it will be fine

 

[peterj]

I used the rest of the DME I had on hand and now have it at 1.036... should I go get more DME or add Sugar or go get more DME from the store or scrap it?

Don't add sugar, that'll just add alcohol and no flavor or body so you'll end up with a thin flavorless beer. Go get some more extract and add enough to get you to your target OG. If you can go now then you can wait to pitch the yeast until after you add the extract, but if it will be a while before you can get it I would go ahead and pitch the yeast and just add the extract whenever you get it. You should be able to calculate how much extract will get you to the OG that you wanted.

 

[gbx]

Don't worry about fixing this batch, worry about fixing your next batch. Do not dump it, do not mess around with adding anything else, just pitch the yeast and consider this a learning experience/large yeast starter for your next batch. At 1.036, you might get a nice 3% session ale you can dump through your liver. Next time add a few more pounds of base malt and have some extract on hand.

 

[CBMbrewer]

For the love of god, don't dump it! It may turn out to be a great session ale. I will never understand how people who have a less then perfect brew day can pour it down the drain.
Such a waste...

 

[whitehause]

If it won't be to hard to get some more DME, I'd do that. pitch your yeast to get the ferm started, then either get a pound of dme and add it(after you boil it with a little water) or just let it run.
As others have said....Don't add sugar. your better off letting it at .036 than adding plain sugar.

 

[JSager89]

This may be a totally ridiculous question, but what temp was it when you took the hydrometer to it? If it was still relatively hot it can read VERY low.

I have freaked out before because of this, only to find out later that at room temp I was right on. Just a thought.

 

[dpatrickv]

I can't believe nobody has asked for his recipe or process...or what temp the wort was at when he took his reading.

 

[whitehause]

I can't believe nobody has asked for his recipe or process...or what temp the wort was at when he took his reading.

I know right. That's seems to be the first thing everyone parrots out.

I figure he said he made it before and it was good, so he seems to have a basic grasp on what to do. He said he got the same reading on a Refract, and a Hydrometer. He noted that the crush was suspect, and at this point there is nothing he can do about the crush or process for this brew.

 

[Mozart]

I used the rest of the DME I had on hand and now have it at 1.036... should I go get more DME or add Sugar or go get more DME from the store or scrap it?

It's your brew, but were it mine, I wouldn't add sugar... just too darn dry.

If DME or LME are hard to come by, have you considered turning it into a Graf?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/graff-malty-slightly-hopped-cider-117117/

Since I'm guessing you've already topped off to volume, perhaps some warmed up concentrated apple juice? You won't get what you were originally going for, but just tossing the idea out there for your consideration.

 

[gbx]

Seriously? 1.036 is not the end of the world. Don't **** with it. It will likely be in the 3.5% range which is FINE. My first AG was an attempted ESB that turned out to be an ordinary bitter. The only potential problems from the lowered gravity is the IBUs will be higher than expected -not the end of the world. This is a text book example of RDWHAHB. Pitch the yeast, don't add anything else, enjoy your low gravity session beer, worry about fixing the problem on your NEXT batch.