brewing my first batch now

No.

 

It will have more of an impact on a light style beer than a porter or stout. It will darken the color (negligibly) and might add a bit of flavor from a maillard reaction. Just a touch of caramel to simplify it. If this is the worst thing you did on your first brew session, you've got it made.

 

RDWHAHB

 

If by malt, you mean extract (dry or liquid) there is no way your OG is off that much.

Did you do a partial boil then top off with water afterward? If so, the top-off water likely didn't mix enough with the wort, causing the lighter water mixture on top to give you an off reading.

It doesn't matter what your reading was.....the "real reading" in an extract batch is what it said it would be in the recipe or beersmith....Whether or not you mixed it up enough before you took the reading, it mixed itself up fine during fermentation.

 

He did a full boil, as stated earlier in the thread, and ended up with too much wort at the end. However, to end up at that (true) gravity, he would have had to have wound up with about 6.8 gallons post boil. OP: Here's a list of things that can throw the measured OG (real or measured) off in an extract batch...

1) The kit was short on extract
2) Not all the extract made it into the kettle
3) You topped off with water to more than 5 gallons (or didn't boil off enough if full boil)
4) You didn't mix the top-off water with the wort thoroughly before measuring the OG
5) You measured the OG while the wort (and top off water) was still hot, and didn't adjust the reading for temperature.

#4 doesn't apply to your case. Sounds like #3 does, to some extent. You say you 'felt' like you had more liquid than you started with. How much did you actually end up with? This is important if you want to troubleshoot the rest. Is it possible that #1, #2, or #5 also apply in your case?

 

Okay, lets assume 0 from the crystal (though I'm sure there was something)...
7 lbs of DME in 5 gallons should give an OG of about 1.063
1 lb of honey in 5 gallons should give an OG of roughly about 1.007-ish

So your expected OG should have been at least 1.070. Even if you boiled off nothing, you should have got an OG of at least 1.058 in 6 gallons. The only things left that I can think of are that you lost a bunch of extract in your boilover, or screwed the pooch on the reading. You could take another reading today, but it would only be meaningful if the yeast haven't taken off yet.

 

Two things I can think of are that you should check your final volume that made it into the fermenter. It sounds like your sugar is now divided by 6.5 gallons, instead of the intended 5. Easy to do if you have an ale pale with hash marks on the side. You should also plug your recipe into beercalculus.com See how your batch volume adds up to your intended original gravity.

On a brighter note, a lower grav beer typically sets up faster and drinks easier than a heavy beer. Hopefully you can handle the extra hoppiness in you your brew. Who doesn't need a session beer with this heat!

 

I wouldn't call it a disaster just yet. Everthing taken into consideration, my best guess is that your gravity was actually higher than you think. Worst case is you'll have a hoppy dry pale ale.

One last thought... I'd check the hydrometer with plain water (either at standard temp or corrected for temp). Should read 1.00. I've seen some that are pretty inaccurate.

 

IMO, adding more honey might make the cure worse than the symptom. This is already going to be pretty dry for its gravity, given the original pound of honey. My first thought would be to not tinker with it and see what you get.

 

Most of that stuff will settle to the bottom and the yeast will have no problem feasting. The purpose of shaking isn't necessarily to mix in the yeast, but rather to aerate the wort so there is sufficient oxygen for the yeasties.

When you poured the wort from your kettle to the fermenter you incorporated some oxygen and you will be fine.

Anything you do to try and fix these minor "mistakes" are more risky than just letting it ride.

 

It probably won't be as bad as you think. Most people, myself included, benefit by practicing. As you brew subsequent batches, you will improve your procedures, and after you have enjoyed a couple of beers that you have successfully made, despite any mistakes you remember making at the time, you will also develop confidence that it will work out. The advice that it is better to keep to the original plan as best as possible and see how it turns out, rather than trying to fix a perceived error, is good advice, too.