Missed target OG- is this why?

[Ludesbrews]

This morning I brewed the NB Zoomin Pale Ale, which is a 20 minute boil. Pretty cool. Whole process was about 1.5 hours.

The target OG was 1.052, I came out to 1.048

Not complaining, whatever. When the boil was done and I was cleaning up I realize I left about 3/4 cup of the LME in the container. Whoops.

Could this account for me not hitting the target OG?

Thanks
151

 

[eric19312]

I think so. A Briess data sheet puts LME at 11.78 pounds per gallon. Brewers Friend puts LME at 37 points per pound.

Your 3/4 cup would be 0.55 pounds...which is 20 "points" so if you had a 5 gallon recipe 20/5 = 4 points per gallon left in the can. Pretty darn close to what you did and measured.

 

[kh54s10]

Not sure about the exact difference, but leaving out the LME will lower the OG. It is also common to get a bad reading because it is often difficult to get the wort and the top up water (assuming that was done) to fully mix. I would take the remaining LME, mix with a little water, bring to a boil then cool and add it to the fermenter.

 

[BrewInspector]

That and your accuracy in measuring water volume and hydrometer scales.

If you did a full boil, your boil off rate may have had an impact as well.

Did you end up with exactly X gallons (whatever your kit was designed for) going into the fermenter?

I am not sure that amount of DME is enough to account for your entire amount of lost gravity. (Someone here will) It's more likely a combination of several factors including measurements of water, reading the hydrometer, wort stratification...

 

[NGD]

Not sure about the exact difference, but leaving out the LME will lower the OG. It is also common to get a bad reading because it is often difficult to get the wort and the top up water (assuming that was done) to fully mix. I would take the remaining LME, mix with a little water, bring to a boil then cool and add it to the fermenter.

+1 if its still bubbling away, or let it ride and have a slightly lower ABV brew. Either way your rockin a homebrew.