Low OG, adding to primary

[Phil_Ozzy_Fer]

So, I've got a few brews under my belt now and am refining my All Grain process, but on this current batch something went wrong.

Here's my recipe (in metric because that's how my store works):

2.5K Smoked Malt
1.5K 2 Row
.5K Chocolate Malt
.5K Wheat

28 Grams of East Kent Goldings (Boiled for 60)

Yeast: Safale 4

OG 1.030

Batch is currently fermenting (only 1 and half at time of posting) at ambient temperature (16C-20C/60F-68F)

The problem is that low OG. I'm not sure if this is the result of:
my fault for miscalculating the recipe
my mash wasn't as efficient as it could have been
a slightly lower boil (99C/210F as opposed to 104C/220F) temp than previous brews lead to less water loss
Or maybe something I just missed

As it stands, my target had been 1.045. Is there anything I can do to up the ABV while it is fermenting? (And I'm not adding vodka!https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/images/smilies/buck.gif)

Perhaps adding about .5K of a dark sugar, and/or doing a mini mash of rolled oats (maybe.5K to 1K), and adding that to the primary? I thought if mashed the oats they would be taste neutral enough that it would add to the beer without affecting the smokiness. Any thoughts/suggestions?

 

[twistr25]

What size batch is this? What was your final volume? Did you crush the grains or did the store? What was your mash temp and time?

Just putting those ingredients in Brewer's Friend I got an OG of 1.054 even. Out of anything I would think adding some DME might be the best option, but I would figure out exactly what went wrong first to make sure you missed your OG

Is your hydrometer calibrated properly?

 

[Phil_Ozzy_Fer]

I had aimed for 23L, but ended up with 25. I know its a discrepancy, but I'm not sure that's where the problem is. The store crushed the grains, and my mash temp was 154 for 60 min. At the moment I don't have my notes with me, but I sparged at, I believe, 75C/168F with 10L/2.5 gal.

I ran my numbers through the same calculator and had the same thing, and I initially though maybe the wort hadn't mixed with the water in the primary enough.

As for the hydrometer, I have checked it with water, though not for this batch, and it gives an accurate reading.

I thought about adding some DME, but I wasn't sure if adding more malt would alter the final taste of the beer. I may up the temperature again for my next boil to see if the water loss is more significant. That may account for at least part of the difference. If I had to point the finger at something, it would be poor extraction, but that's more gut instinct than science. Next time I may fly-sparge to try and control the process more.

 

[Phil_Ozzy_Fer]

I actually think I may have isolated my problem. Due to space restrictions I've concentrating/diluting my wort into water, and have miscalculated the dilution for this batch. C'est la vie. I'll re-evaluate my brew process for the next one. Thank you for the help though.

 

[Demus]

I actually think I may have isolated my problem. Due to space restrictions I've concentrating/diluting my wort into water, and have miscalculated the dilution for this batch. C'est la vie. I'll re-evaluate my brew process for the next one. Thank you for the help though.

Something that really helped me work with recipes and identify problems is the concept of "gravity points". The amount of sugars you extracted from the grains is fixed when you start the boil. It concentrates as you boil off water, or dilutes if you add water, but the sugar content doesn't change.

Here's the concept:
Let's say you collect 5 gallons of 1.050 wort. 1.0 is the water right? So the .050 is the sugar. Drop the decimal and simply call it 50, and you have 5 gallons of it so you have 250 points (5x50). Now you can figure what the gravity will be if you boil off 1 gallon. 250/4=62.5, or about 1.063. Or perhaps you had the 5 gallons of 1.050 (250 points) after the boil and wanted to add a gallon. Now it would be 250/6=41.6 or about 1.042. This extremely simple formula can really help you hit target gravity when all grain brewing. Personally, I just use the big 7.5 gallon pail fermentors so if I overshoot, I just make a bigger batch. If you undershoot, you can either make a smaller batch or add more fermentables, but you don't have to settle for the wrong OG.

To put this in practice, let's say your recipe called for 5 gallons of 1.050 wort. Remember that's 250 points. Let's say you generally boil off one gallon per hour. So collect 6 gallons take your reading. If it's 1.042 you're set, you nailed it. But what if it's only 1.038? You can keep the sparge going for another half gallon. Now you'd have the 250 points needed. 38x6.5=247. Now just add 30 minutes to your boil to get down to 5 gallons and you're good to go...

 

[Phil_Ozzy_Fer]

Thank you for the good advice. I'll try and put it to work for future attempts.

 

[Calder]

I actually think I may have isolated my problem. Due to space restrictions I've concentrating/diluting my wort into water, and have miscalculated the dilution for this batch.

That was my thought as I read through the post. You mashed 11 lbs of grain, and still added water to the primary. If your mash is too thick the enzymes can't get around, and you leave a large percentage of the liquid in the grain.

= low mash efficiency.

Mashing oats on their own is no good - Oats do not have any enzymes and needs to be mashed with 2-row (or similar).

What to add to up the effective OG depends on what you are trying to brew. A 154 mash temp will leave plenty of body, so you could get away with some simple sugar, however don't go over about 10% of the fermentables, which would be in the region of 0.5 lbs. Any more, you should use extract.

 

[Phil_Ozzy_Fer]

I wasn't sure for the oats, but thank yo for pointing that out about the need for for mashing them with malt. It was just for the sake of looking for something that wouldn't alter the taste. In the end though I just left it and decided I would re-categorize it a "Smoked Mild" as opposed to the Smoked Porter it was intended to be.