[2425KN??]

I follow recipe instructions to the letter but my starting gravity is always 5 to 10 points low. What am I doing wrong?

[dmtaylor]

Welcome to the forum.

Reduced gravity could come from a lot of possible reasons.  At what temperature are you measuring the specific gravity?  Have you calibrated the instrument?  Are you measuring volumes precisely?  Is this extract, partial mash, or all-grain mash?  If you use grains, who crushes the grains?  If you mash, what was the mash temperature, how long did you mash, what was the pH?

Need to answer these questions as applicable.  Detailed inputs will allow us to give a detailed answer.

[denny]

Do you do a partial boil and add water afterward?

[ravenwater]

As dmtaylor indicates above, more details on your brew process, etc. will be helpful to give a more meaningful response here. First it will be important to know are you talking extract recipes or using grains? I'll say this in advance - IF you are doing all grain brewing then the gravity you end up with from a given quantity of grain very much depends on your individual equipment and brew process. You can't assume your results will be the same as a recipe indicates. You have to, by taking measurements and doing some calculating, determine the specifics for your brew process (such as your mash efficiency just to name one variable). Recipes are often given as weight measurements for grains, and may include a stated "brewhouse efficiency" as a baseline but each brewer has to adjust quantities of ingredients for themselves where you know the parameters of your own system. This can take a bit of trial and error. It's helpful to start thinking of your grains in terms of percentages of each grain in relation to the total malt grain weight in a recipe - this allows you to keep the same percentages but reduce or increase actual weight to get you to the target gravity you're seeking. Give us more detail here and going forward folks on this forum can guide you, answer more questions, and refer you to additional great resources for improving your outcomes. Welcome to the forum!

[ynotbrusum]

I think Denny's point is that taking a measurement from stratified wort and water can mislead a person on gravity measurement.  Back in my extract days, I would commonly ignore the SG and focus on the volumes entirely.

To the OP - all of the points you will hear are hoping to help you with your measurements, but precision with volume and calibrated instruments are also  critical components to an accurate measurement.

[ravenwater]

I think Denny's point is that taking a measurement from stratified wort and water can mislead a person on gravity measurement.  Back in my extract days, I would commonly ignore the SG and focus on the volumes entirely.

To the OP - all of the points you will hear are hoping to help you with your measurements, but precision with volume and calibrated instruments are also  critical components to an accurate measurement.

Agreed!