Low OG reading

[johnnie]

Just did a Coopers English bitter kit tonight using 500g of malt extract as suggested on the tin. The OG was only 1026 which means I'd end up with a very weak beer of around 2%. I quickly mixed up another 500g with about a litre of water and dumped this in. The reading then went up to 1040. Which is a bit more reasonable. Anyone any ideas why the first reading was so low or did I get the amounts of dried malt wrong?

 

[pittsy]

what did the tin suggest in total just 500g as normaly it around 1kg to 1.5kg and how many litres did it say to do and how many have you done ?
also what was expected og ?

 

[abi]

Just did a Coopers English bitter kit tonight using 500g of malt extract as suggested on the tin. The OG was only 1026 which means I'd end up with a very weak beer of around 2%. I quickly mixed up another 500g with about a litre of water and dumped this in. The reading then went up to 1040. Which is a bit more reasonable. Anyone any ideas why the first reading was so low or did I get the amounts of dried malt wrong?

you did, you are suppose to add 1000 g to your kit , a bit more is not uncommon

 

[johnnie]

500g "coopers" light dry malt. 23litres and it didn't give an expected OG or FG.

 

[johnnie]

Why does the tin and the instructions say 500g then?

 

[calumscott]

IIRC Coopers kits are 500g spray malt + 300g sugar...?

 

[johnnie]

Quote from the Coopers website "**Recommended to be brewed with 500g of Coopers Light Dry Malt**"
Where does the sugar come in? The Australian Pale Ale, European Lager and Mexican Cerveza can all be brewed with 500g of light dry malt and 250g of sugar but theres no mention of sugar with the English Bitter.
Am I missing something? Is The Australian Dry malt twice as strong as The english dry malt? Is there an error on their tins and website?
Not that it matters now as the gravity is up to 1040 which will hopefully give an ABV of around 4%

 

[RobWalker]

Whoa, calm down guys. It's because extract doesn't mix that well and due to that, readings don't work well. In reality the correct amount of sugar is in there. Always Ho by the measurements on all extract or kit brews. It's only for finishing the beer, or using a mash process, that you need a hydrometer. I literally would rather not bother stirring for the risk of infection than try to gain a good reading, just not worth the hassle!

Your beer may be a little sweeter than expected now, but not to worry, it should taste great

 

[calumscott]

Johnnie, the sugar came from my notes on the coopers IPA I did last year. Just figured it would be the same.

 

[johnnie]

Well that clears that up then. So I'll probably just have a stronger brew then (and sweeter).
Think I'll stick to what the tin says and chuck the hydrometer. Cheers guys