Very low OG on DrSmurto GA batch

[andyforssman]

Hey guys, new to brewing and new to AHB.
I hope this is in the right place for this post.

Today i attempted a batch of Dr Surtos Golden Ale.
The problem is that the OG reading is sitting around 1.020

Here is the recipe I used
1 can Coopers Lager
1 can Coopers Wheat Malt
250g crystal (caramalt, caramunich, carabohemian, light/medium english crystal)
20g Amarillo @ 15 and 0
US-05
Topped up to 20L (not 23L).

My precudure:
steeped the grain in 750ml water @70 degrees for 30mins
brought wort to the boil, rinsed grain and added this water to the boil, approx 1lt.
Added 20g Amarillo to the boil then boiled for 15 mins
Another 20g at the end of boil
Added contents of Cooper lager can and LME to fermenter
Added about a litre of hot water to fermenter and partially dissolved extract
Strained wort into the fermenter
Stirred
Topped up to 20lt
temp was sitting at about 21-22
Pitched Yeast

Took a reading and as i mentioned its around the 1.020.

Of the 3-4 brews i have done so far this has not been the case. Usually about 1.045.

Where did i go wrong?
Can this be rectified?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Andy

 

[paulyman]

Hey Andy,

Welcome to forum. I often had weird OG readings when I was Kit and Kilo and Extract brewing. Often the extract doesn't mix very well and it appears you get a density gradient. To help I used to pour a bit through the tap and discard, or taste test and then discard, then pour a second sample and measure that. Even then my readings were often a bit weird.

Using software you can pretty accurately predict your K&K and/or extract OG, trust that and not your initial reading if in doubt. After a few days the extract will have all dissolved and you will be getting accurate readings.

#edit - forgot to mention, your procedure looks good and the brew should be fine.

 

[manticle]

What temp was the reading?
You can very simply boil up some extra malt or sugar and gently add it in if you have missed out an ingredient.

Double check your figures though - haven't run through software but off the top of my head, those ingredients should give more, suggesting user error.

 

[andyforssman]

My concern was that i should have added the LME to the boil, as opposed to straight into fermenter. Or is this part OK?

 

[paulyman]

That won't affect the OG. It will affect the hop utilisation, so you aren't getting all that you can from the hops.

 

[andyforssman]

Thanks heaps guys.
Peace of mind for the time being.
Time will tell

 

[stewy]

Don't bother taking OG reading with extract brewing, waste of time. The software is very accurate, trust it. As others have said, low OG prob due to lack of even mix of extract