Starting gravity too high?

Poppleton · 12-28-2008, 11:12 PM

I brewed a malt extract kit (Northern Brewer Breakfast Stout) that stated the original gravity should be 1.030. I took a refractometer Brix index reading of 9.1-9.2 prior to pitching the yeast, which correlates to about spec grav 1.037. Frankly, I'm not that worried, but I was wondering whether there is any downside to a having a high starting gravity.

Also, the temperature of the wort was probably about 60-62 degrees (below ambient temp of about 68 degrees) because my wort chiller was CRAZY efficient. Would this have an effect on the OG?

lordbeermestrength · 12-28-2008, 11:21 PM

the closer to 60dF, the more accurate your hydrometer is...

But since you used a refractometer, it shouldn't affect it as long as you have Automatic Temperature Compensation.

Mine does, and as far as I know, most do. But even if yours doens't it shouldn't have been too far off.

1.030 target gravity is awfully low for an extract kit, but I imagine that the 7 extra points should really only add about 0.5% abv to your end product.

scinerd3000 · 12-28-2008, 11:26 PM

only more alcohol...some people might consider that a bad thing, but mostly only if it bumps a beer out of style. 7 points is not going to make or break you considering a SG of 1.030 is low anyway. As for your temperature throwing off the OG, the only reason it would be off is if your using a hydrometer and you didint adjust for temp. A refractometer has a much larger temp window so your god. Enjoy your beer

Poppleton · 12-29-2008, 03:22 PM

thanks for the reassurance. I just checked and my refractometer does adjust for temperature automatically.