Hey everyone. Today I brewed my first beer and for the most part, it went relatively well although I am well aware I made some mistakes. I have some questions to see if my worrying is valid or if I am just super paranoid.. 1) I didn't have a wort chiller and it took me about 2.5 hours to cool my wort b/c I didn't have enough ice for my water bath. If my lid was sanitized and on, is my wort more than likely infected or is it probably okay? 2) My original gravity was super low on my read (1.029) and I'm pretty sure this is because I took my reading at a non-ideal temperature (took it at like 79 degrees but ideal is like 70) and I had just topped off my wort with two gallons of water (although I did mix it and oxygenate the wort pretty well). Is it worth going back later when it is the right temperature to measure my original gravity again? Or is it too risky for contamination?
It's almost certainly fine. The difference in gravity between 70F and 79F is pretty small. (Also, it's more likely your hydrometer is calibrated for 68F than 70F.) With an extract recipe, it's pretty hard to not hit the target OG. If you got a reading significantly lower than planned, here are several possibilities, alone or in combination... 1) You didn't get all the extract into the kettle (LME stuck in the jug?) 2) You topped off with water to more than 5 gallons 3) You didn't mix the top-off water with the wort thoroughly before measuring the OG 4) You measured the OG while the wort (and top off water) was still hot, and didn't adjust the reading for temperature. [probably not the case here] 5) Some wort was left behind in the bottom of the kettle, so more water was used to top off to reach 5 gallons. 6) Your hydrometer is inaccurate (try checking it with plain water) 7) Operator error on the gravity reading.
Yeah now that I think about it your reasoning makes a lot of sense. I know for a fact that #1 and #5 was the case and I guess I could assume #3 as well cause I did mix but I definitely could have mixed more. Should I just leave it and take note for my next brew? Is it really worth risking contamination to figure out a more accurate OG?
VikeMan assumes that your beer was from an extract recipe rather than all-grain, so just to confirm, was it? If so, I vote for #3 in VikeMan's list of possibilities, with #7 as a second choice.
I wouldn't be very worried about contamination, as long as you have a sanitary way to take a sample. But how long ago did you pitch the yeast? The gravity could be changing already.
I pitched it around 6 hours ago so I know for a fact it has changed now (probably a more accurate reading). I decided not to take another sample because I did not want to risk any sort of contamination and I'm just going to play the waiting game to see how it turned out
What I meant when I said the gravity might be changing already is that fermentation may have started. As soon as the yeast start using sugars, gravity starts to drop. So your gravity would no longer be "original."
I wouldn’t even bother taking a FG either since Your OG was messed up. Just wait two weeks and package. Don’t open the fermenter unless dry hopping or getting ready to package.
