Strange readings on a new Mash.

[jon1163]

So I got free dextrose monohydrate and I modified my usual bird watchers recipe. Following is what I did;

25 gallons water
65 lbs dextrose monohydrate
4 lemons
30 oz tomato paste

I heated the water up to about 125 degrees and added dextrose until I got a reading of about 1.09. I mixed the lemons and tomato paste up with a gallon of water and added it to the wash. I pitched an appropriate amount of yeast at 85 degrees and it started bubbling within hours.

4 days later, today, it's still bubbling like crazy. I put my ear up to the barrel and it sounds like a bubbling brook inside. I have a good head of yeast capping the top and it appears healthy. It tastes a bit sweet but not like when I started. The temperature is now at 72 degrees and holding. I tested the gravity today and it was at 1.08.

My pH strips suck but the pH appears normal as to what I should expect. It's still bubbling very strongly so I know it's working but I'm wondering why it's only dropped 100th of a point in four days.

I guess my specific gravity thermometer could be off but that doesn't seem right because I test it periodically. Plus a glass of tube is pretty hard to break or mess up. Also the specific gravity thermometer is still reading zero in water.

Shrug...