OG (hopefully) Higher Than Initial Reading?

Hi all,

I finally got to brew this week with some new tools. I recently purchased a Counterflow Chiller, an SS Brewtech Brew Bucket, and the SS Brewtech FTSs2 System. The kit I used was the Fresh Squished IPA Extract Kit from Northern Brewer. The boil started with 2.5 gallons of water + the ~9lbs of Malt Syrup. Before transferring to the fermenter, I added 2 gallons of cold water. After I finished transferring, my volume was 4 gallons, so I added 1 more gallon of cold water.

Here is where I think I screwed up - without thinking, right after pouring the last gallon of cold water on top (didn't even stir up the wort), I used a pipette to extract a sample from the top to use for my gravity readings. The reading (w/ a refractometer) came in at about 1.040, where the target OG is 1.064. I was pretty bummed & figured the batch was going to be weak, but it didn't phase me until the next day that maybe my reading was inaccurate?

I don't want to jinx it now (knock on wood), but the fermentation has been going really strong for what I thought would be a weak beer from my readings. ~8 hours after pitching the yeast, the fermenter was bubbling every 10 seconds. ~14 hours after pitching the yeast, the fermenter was bubbling every 3 seconds. ~ 20 hours after pitching the yeast, it's bubbling once or twice every second. It's been going at this rate now for almost 24 hours.

I know that the rates/progressions I mentioned above seem pretty standard for any type of fermentation, but for a beer that came through at what I thought was 1.040, this seems stronger than that. Would taking a sample from the top after pouring water on top cause my reading to be lower than normal? Do the rates/progressions seem stronger than a 1.040 beer? I appreciate any help/feedback/suggestions, thank you all! Cheers!

Updating to add that I used the Safale US-05 Ale Dry Yeast

 

Thanks all! Feeling a bit better now. Looking forward to kegging in a few weeks & giving it a taste!