I have so far brewed 3 batches of beer. The first was an Amber Ale with an
expected OG of 1.042 and the actual OG was 1.038 (not too bad). My second
batch was a stout with an expected OG of 1.066 and the actual OG was 1.061.
My third batch was a Guinness Clone with an expected OG of 1.043 and an
actual OG of 1.032.

This last one really disappointed me as I was hoping that my brewing skills
have been improving with experience. I was using SUDSW to calculate the
expected OG, is there a way I can work it out by hand and compare?

During the brewing process, what will affect the OG the most? Could the
actual be lower than expected because I'm only doing a 3gal partial boil?

-Nick

Were these extract/grain kits. I've done about 14 of these and they
usually are close to the mark. You just have to make sure you get as
much as possible out of the extract can/bottle/jug. I am usually within
about .003 of the expected OG. Also, if you are using a hydrometer to
get your OG make sure you are at about 60 F. At 70 F add .001, at 60 F
add .002.

Cheers
Mike

N. Rundle wrote:[color=blue]
> I have so far brewed 3 batches of beer. The first was an Amber Ale with an
> expected OG of 1.042 and the actual OG was 1.038 (not too bad). My second
> batch was a stout with an expected OG of 1.066 and the actual OG was 1.061.
> My third batch was a Guinness Clone with an expected OG of 1.043 and an
> actual OG of 1.032.
>
> This last one really disappointed me as I was hoping that my brewing skills
> have been improving with experience. I was using SUDSW to calculate the
> expected OG, is there a way I can work it out by hand and compare?
>
> During the brewing process, what will affect the OG the most? Could the
> actual be lower than expected because I'm only doing a 3gal partial boil?
>
> -Nick
>
>[/color]

It is an extract/grain brew. I scrape the jug as best I can so I guess I
got most of the malt out. I do adjust my hydrometer reading accordingly as
I took the sample then pitched the yeast at 68 degrees.

I noticed that I should have gotten a OG of 1.032 if I only used the Pale
malt and it goes up to 1.043 with the roasted and flaked barley grains that
I added. When adding grains is there a formula, or some method to get the
most sugars out of the grains? I put them all in 1 grain bag and steep in
the water for 30 minutes as the water heats to 170 degrees then remove them.

-Nick


"DragonTail" <mherrenbruck@wi.rr.com> wrote in message
news:LrHId.241198$T02.150088@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...[color=blue]
> Were these extract/grain kits. I've done about 14 of these and they
> usually are close to the mark. You just have to make sure you get as
> much as possible out of the extract can/bottle/jug. I am usually within
> about .003 of the expected OG. Also, if you are using a hydrometer to
> get your OG make sure you are at about 60 F. At 70 F add .001, at 60 F
> add .002.
>
> Cheers
> Mike
>
> N. Rundle wrote:[color=green]
> > I have so far brewed 3 batches of beer. The first was an Amber Ale with[/color][/color]
an[color=blue][color=green]
> > expected OG of 1.042 and the actual OG was 1.038 (not too bad). My[/color][/color]
second[color=blue][color=green]
> > batch was a stout with an expected OG of 1.066 and the actual OG was[/color][/color]
1.061.[color=blue][color=green]
> > My third batch was a Guinness Clone with an expected OG of 1.043 and an
> > actual OG of 1.032.
> >
> > This last one really disappointed me as I was hoping that my brewing[/color][/color]
skills[color=blue][color=green]
> > have been improving with experience. I was using SUDSW to calculate the
> > expected OG, is there a way I can work it out by hand and compare?
> >
> > During the brewing process, what will affect the OG the most? Could the
> > actual be lower than expected because I'm only doing a 3gal partial[/color][/color]
boil?[color=blue][color=green]
> >
> > -Nick
> >
> >[/color][/color]

"N. Rundle" wrote:[color=blue]
>
> It is an extract/grain brew. I scrape the jug as best I can so I guess I
> got most of the malt out. I do adjust my hydrometer reading accordingly as
> I took the sample then pitched the yeast at 68 degrees.
>
> I noticed that I should have gotten a OG of 1.032 if I only used the Pale
> malt and it goes up to 1.043 with the roasted and flaked barley grains that
> I added. When adding grains is there a formula, or some method to get the
> most sugars out of the grains? I put them all in 1 grain bag and steep in
> the water for 30 minutes as the water heats to 170 degrees then remove them.[/color]

If you use the proper amount of extract and water, you're pretty much
guranteed to get the right OG. The problem is probably related to your
partial boils. When you only boil part of the wort and top up with
water in the fermenter, the wort is heavier than the water and sinks to
the bottom of the fermenter, so when you take your OG reading you're
getting mainly the less dense water at the top of the fermenter. No
matter how well you think you mixed it, it still doesn't usually get
mixed enough to get an acurate reading.

---------->Denny

--
Life begins at 60 - 1.060, that is.

Reply to denny_at_projectoneaudio_dot_com

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 09:31:17 -0600, "N. Rundle"
<ask.me.4.it@gotta.ask.com> said in alt.beer.home-brewing:
[color=blue]
>It is an extract/grain brew. I scrape the jug as best I can[/color]

You should be pouring/scraping into hot water so be careful:

(Heat the can before you open it - just put it into a sauce pan with
water and boil the water for a while - until the extract is close to
as hot as you can handle it. If you have a really good oven mit, you
can heat the can almost to boiling. Hot extract flows much better
than cold extract. )

After pouring/scraping out as much as you can, pour some wort
(water/extract mixture that you're cooking) back into the can. Use
this to dissolve the remaining little bit of extract - swirl it
around, tilt the can so the wort comes almost to the top and turn it,
etc. You may have to do it 3 or 4 times to get the last little bit
out, but it shouldn't take more than a minute, all told.
[color=blue]
>When adding grains is there a formula, or some method to get the
>most sugars out of the grains? I put them all in 1 grain bag and steep in
>the water for 30 minutes as the water heats to 170 degrees then remove them.[/color]

You're not really getting much sugar out of them. Dunk them, the way
you would a teabag. Dunking about 10 times (squeeze the wort out with
each dunk - fast, it's hot) every 5 minutes seems to get a lot of the
flavor out of the grain.
[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
>> >Could the
>> > actual be lower than expected because I'm only doing a 3gal partial boil?[/color][/color][/color]

It sure can. Look for a turkey fryer. You can usually get one that's
at least 8 gallons - large enough for a 5 gallon boil, if you keep the
flame down. (The burner on most of them is around 170,000 BTU, so you
can boil 8 gallons of wort down to about 3 gallons, by spilling it
over the top, faster than you'd believe if you leave the pot for a
minute.)

BTW, getting 5 gallons of cold water to 160 with a turkey fryer burner
doesn't take very long. It's a lot easier (and faster) to brew this
way than to brew with a 3 gallon pot on a home stove.

And try to brew using dry extract. It's a little harder to get it to
dissolve, but you have more control over what you're doing. Pretty
soon you'll probably graduate to whole grain.