noob OG question

I'm on my third homebrew and learning as I go. The first two batches were from kits provided by Williams Brewing. I purchased a Hefe kit from a local store that was different than I am used to. It was not Malt "syrup" but powder. Upon completion the OG was 1.070. This seems drastic compared to the 1.050 OG I had on the first two kits. Can anyone tell me if this is normal/OK, or if there was something done wrong?

Thanks
Ryan

Post your recipe and we can calculate your OG. I assume you are doing extract and a partial boil? Did you thoroughly mix in the top off water?

The instructions should tell what your expected OG should have been. Odds are if you got something different from that, your top up water wasn't totally mixed up.

Did you take the reading after you topped to the 5 gallon mark. I could be totally wrong here but: it takes less dry extract to equate to liquid extract.

just some numbers in beersmith
6.5 lbs of amber liquid extract will give an og of 1.047
6.5 lbs of amber dry extract will give an og of 1.057

I think the grinning feline nailed it; top off water not mixed well enough for accurate reading.

Wow...thanks for the quick reply! Unfortunately, I don't have the recipe with me right now...It did say the OG should be 1.054 not he 1.070 I got. I didn't give the brew a good stir prior to taking the reading and capping it...I simply added the top off water to the wort...so is this just a false reading and everything will work itself out, or did I make a fatal mistake?

The fermentation is well on it's way, and I was going to give it a week or two to compete before bottling.

rybo1 said:

Wow...thanks for the quick reply! Unfortunately, I don't have the recipe with me right now...It did say the OG should be 1.054 not he 1.070 I got. I didn't give the brew a good stir prior to taking the reading and capping it...I simply added the top off water to the wort...so is this just a false reading and everything will work itself out, or did I make a fatal mistake?

The fermentation is well on it's way, and I was going to give it a week or two to compete before bottling.

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It sounds like the heavier wort sunk, and the lighter water floated, and your reading was of the heavier wort. No worries- the yeast know where to find the sugar, and it'll turn out great.

I'd suggest, though, giving it at least two weeks before thinking about bottling. Fermentation should be finished in a week, but after the active fermentation period is over, the yeast still work. They actually digest their own waste products when there is no sugar left for them to eat. That means better tasting, "cleaner" beer for you, and more sediment will drop to the bottom. That means less sediment in the bottle for you, and a better beer in general. I like to wait at least three weeks before considering bottling for those reasons.

Unless you got really druck while brewing and decided to add in a few pounds of sugar or something and then blacked out and forgot it... you're fine. The wort is heavier than water, so when you poured in your top off water, it just floated on top. Then when you took your sample, you got a bunch of the heavy stuff off the bottom. The yeast'll find it all no matter where it's sitting in the carboy.

If you can keep your hands off it for at least two weeks, if not three or four, you'll be rewarded. But we know how hard it can be. For me, the living hell that is called "bottling" is enough to make me want to put it off for as long as possible.

Dang, the Yoopernatrix types faster than I do.

ChshreCat said:

Dang, the Yoopernatrix types faster than I do.

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AND looks better in leather.

I don't look bad in leather either...



Just don't have the hair anymore...

Very nice...Thank You. You pegged what happened. And, no I didn't add a few extra pounds of sugar

Thanks for the help!!