My original specific gravity is very different from what the recipe suggested. What is wrong?
This is a somewhat common question, especially among extract brewers who boil a portion of the wort and top it off with cold water in the fermenter. The problem is that the different densities of the concentrated wort and water do not allow them to mix easily; they tend to stratify even after stirring. This results in erroneous specific gravity readings depending on whether mostly wort or water is being measured. Accurate readings require the wort and water to be mixed extremely well.
