I finally figured out my OG measurment problem

General Homebrew Discussion
1

Lately I have come up consistently with low OG readings.  I do partial boil so it seemed logical that it was a poor mixture problem with the wort and the added water and I was right.  I thought that I was mixing the wort/water up enough but yesterday, as I was getting ready to take a gravity sample, I noticed that the wort at the bottom was slightly warmer than that at the top.  After doing a lot more agitating, I took a gravity sample and it was consistent with the expected value.  I now have a new agitation method that seems to work better.

2

You might look into getting a MixStir.  Not only will it thoroughly mix your wort and top off water, it does a killer job of aeration as it mixes!

3

MixStir?  I’ve never heard of this.  I’ll have to look it up.

4

Like this…http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=6040 . Fits in a drill.  Usually under $20.

5

Thanks for the link Denny.  The two places that I shop at (they ship to APO addresses) do not carry them.  I take it that the two ‘wings’ will collapse enough to fit through the bung of a carboy.

6

Yeah, the wings collapse to fit in the carboy, then spread due to centrifugal forced when it spins.  Bummer that your regular retailers don’t carry them.  Maybe you can find something comparable somewhere.  If you ferment in buckets, you can even use a paint mixer!

7

I use a plastic coat hanger. Take the long bottom and cut it into a ‘J’. Fits carboys and buckets and makes up some killer froth on top. Plus, it’s cheap and easy!

8

My “wine whip” (also called a “degasser”) does double duty for wine and beer.

If the places you shop sell wine then I’m sure they’ll have one of these.

9

I traced my OG reading problems back to excessive consumption on the brew floor.  :wink:

10

Well, yeah, there’s that, too!  :smiley:

11

Why oh why didn’t I think of that. I spent hours trying to bend one of those plastic rods that open and close blinds with a hair dryer to do the same thing ::slight_smile:

12

Get a pump and shoot it into your fermenter. It works so well , that I usually have to stop and let the foam subside before I can get all of the wort into it.