Expert: John Snyder - 1/26/2009

Question
Hi,

I had a quick question on an O.G. Reading that I had after brewing my beer. The beer I am making is an IPA. It was made from a kit that I purchased. It used 8 pounds of Canadian Malt Extract and 1.5 pounds of Crystal Malt. Everything went very well. After everything had cooled and before I pitched my yeast, I took a hydrometer reading that came out about 1.052 and the instructions with the kit said it should be around 1.065. Is this going to be a problem during fermentation or will it affect the alcohol content in my brew?

Answer
There will be no fermentation problem.The alcohol content will be lower.

Did you boil the wort long enough to get evaporation?
What was your technique for using the hydrometer?I.E.did you make sure all the bubbles were out of the sample.Did you use a temperature correction.Did you read the top or bottom meniscus?
If all was done correctly,and the hydrometer is accurate,then it was the grain,probably the grind.

           John