Suggested O.G. Reading Vs. What I Actually Read???

Ok Brothers and Sisters... I need some help understanding
I will list all the info on this batch i can, and if i am missing something, let me know and i will add it in for ya...

I tried a Stone Ruination Clone, with this ingredient list...

7 lbs Muntons light liquid
1 lb Muntons light Dry
1/2 lb Muntons extra light Dry

1 lb Briess 2 Row
1 lb Briess 10 L

2.25 oz Summit 16.5% AA (substituted for Magnum)
3.50 oz Centennial 9.7% AA (2.0 oz of it used for Dry hop in secondary)

Wyeast 1056

After brew wort was completed, i got wort down to about 80 degrees... took a original gravity reading and got 1.045, according to the instruction sheet that came with the hydrometer, i should add .003 to the reading for taking it at the 80 degree mark... so that would bring me to an original gravity reading of 1.048.....

QUESTION #1 ... The suggested reading from the internet site i pulled the recipie from stated that the O.G reading should be from 1.065 - 1.075 ??? can anyone tell me why the descrepency???? did i do something wrong??

Then after all fermentation appeared to stop 11 days later, i racked to the secondary, and took another reading ... and got 1.014... then added the 2 oz of Centennial for the dry hopping...

I let dry hop for 7 days and then decided to rack again to another carboy to get rid of all the hops and hop leaves from the wort... i was going to take a reading at this time.... but ... broke the friggin Hydrometer in a fall to the floor... DOH!

I let settle again for 3 days and i noticed a bunch of floaty granuals,,, didnt know if it was yeasties or particles from the hops... so today i racked again to a carboy and strained it to get all particles i could and any of the last remaninig particles of the leaf hops... successful, and used the new hydrometer i purchased today to take yet another reading... this time i got a 1.017 (taking the reading at 68 degrees)....

WTF>>>> I dont know what the heck is happening now... I am going to let this sit and settle out for another 5 days before i keg and will plan on bottling a 12 pack....

I used Stew Brews alchol calculator and it is showing that this brew is going to come out at like a 4.3%???? Way lower than the 6.6 % that was estimated on the internet link???

Does this sound wackko... can anyone explain my problem, or even my errors???

Please help me out in explaning my frustration.... Thanks much in advance!

I'm getting around 1.068 just from the extract alone (8.5lbsX40/5) then the 2 lbs of grain will add another 1.010 (2X35/5X.70)

So if you are at 70% efficiency for the 2lbs you should be around 1.078.

Was this a full boil or partial boil?

If it was a partial boil, you probably didn't mix the top-off water well enough and your OG reading was off.

i did 3 gal boil then added to 2 gal in the fermentor... so you are thinking that i didnt mix the 2 well enough or long enough before the reading???...

A4J said:

Was this a full boil or partial boil?

If it was a partial boil, you probably didn't mix the top-off water well enough and your OG reading was off.

Click to expand...

+1. That's about the only explanation that makes sense with that amount of extract.

-a.

thanks everyone...

so how do i not make that mistake again...?

when i "sparged" (is that the correct term?) did i not stir enough to mix the two well? or did i not let cool to the 75 degree recommended temp?

thanks much... AGAIN

Sparge is not the right term. In simple terms, sparging means rinsing the grains.

If you're fermenting in a bucket, take your sanitized spoon and just stir like crazy. If you're using a carboy/better bottle, rock it back and forth or swirl it or whatever.

The problem occurs when adding your wort with a gravity of 1.??? to water with a gravity of 1.000. The heavier wort will tend to sink to the bottom, leaving a higher gravity at the bottom of the fermenter, and a lower gravity at the top. As A4J said, stirring like crazy mixes up the wort and water and gives you a constant gravity from top to bottom. It can take a surprising amount of stirring to get it really mixed thoroughly.

-a.

Thanks guys ... i truly appriciate it..

can anyone explain the 1.014 reading towards the end and now a 1.017 with the new hydrometer... and #2 with the "off" original gravity reading in the beginning... with the alchol content or fermenting process be off in the overall result of the beer?

thanks again

sounds like you're dead on where you should be. 1.068>1.017 would be 75% apparent attenuation. :rockin: (OG-FG/OG)