Higher than calculated OG?

Hey all, I'm fairly new to brewing, I just finished my second extract brew a week ago. The Recipe is as follows:

Boiled 4G for 60 Minutes, topped up to 5G in primary.

7lbs Pale LME
1lbs Cara-Pils
1lbs Crystal 10L

both steeped at 150 for 30 minutes.

0.75oz mt hood @ 60
0.75oz mt hood @ 20
0.5oz citra @ 5

Safale US-O5, rehydrated and pitched at 70~F

Now beersmith had my calculated OG at 1.048, but I came in at 1.066. That seems like quite a big jump from the calculated OG.

It started fermentation pretty quick, still has a healthy looking kraussen thats dropped a bit now that its been 7 days since pitching. I took a sample and hydrometer reading today and its at 1.03, which still seems high to me for after 7 days of fermentation. Any ideas why my numbers seem high? I tested my hydrometer with water and it read 1.000 so I dont know if it's out of whack or whats going on.

lme never mixes evenly, you probally just hit a patch with a high density of it.

Agreed with Kharnyb about the mixing. If you used the proper amount of extract and added the correct amount of water, then your OG HAS to be within a couple points of prediction. This question is an incredibly common issue.
As far as your SG only 1.030 at this point, it's only been 7 days. Granted, often FG can be reached within 4-5 days, but the yeast work at their own schedule, so it could take as long as a couple weeks. US-05 is a workhouse of a yeast, and should take your beer down to the limit of the recipe(which often seems to be around 1.020 for extract recipes). I think you're just fine at this point.

Thanks guys! That's kinda what I thought with extract, its already got a set amount of sugar to convert, just wanted to double check.

Also note that your hydrometer is calibrated at either 59 F or 68 F. If your wort is much warmer than the calibration, you might need to correct for it. Higher temps make the wort less dense, so your hydrometer floats lower, giving higher SG readings.

MannyEdwards said:

Also note that your hydrometer is calibrated at either 59 F or 68 F. If your wort is much warmer than the calibration, you might need to correct for it. Higher temps make the wort less dense, so your hydrometer floats lower, giving higher SG readings.

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Actually, this works opposite. Manny is correct that the higher temperatures make the wort less dense, but the hydrometer will float higher, giving lower gravity readings than at the calibration temperature of the hydrometer.

Oginme said:

Actually, this works opposite. Manny is correct that the higher temperatures make the wort less dense, but the hydrometer will float higher, giving lower gravity readings than at the calibration temperature of the hydrometer.

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The more dense the liquid, the higher an object floats. It's why more dense things (like metal) sink. It's why you can practically walk on water in the Dead Sea -- it's so dense with extra salt.

But you're right that it yields lower readings -- the lower the hydrometer floats, the lower the SG of the liquid it's in. In my head I had the scale going backwards.

Manny, you are correct, I was thinking of the scale upside down.

My apologies if there was any confusion.

MannyEdwards said:

Also note that your hydrometer is calibrated at either 59 F or 68 F. If your wort is much warmer than the calibration, you might need to correct for it. Higher temps make the wort less dense, so your hydrometer floats lower, giving higher SG readings.

Click to expand...

Oginme said:

Actually, this works opposite. Manny is correct that the higher temperatures make the wort less dense, but the hydrometer will float higher, giving lower gravity readings than at the calibration temperature of the hydrometer.

Click to expand...

Maybe I'm screwed up, but I think you are both wrong. Higher temps make the wort less dense, so the hydrometer floats lower, giving lower SG readings

Calder said:

Maybe I'm screwed up, but I think you are both wrong. Higher temps make the wort less dense, so the hydrometer floats lower, giving lower SG readings

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You're not screwed up; you're right. We have now all reached the same conclusion - I just had the scale backwards, what with my bad memory. I had to go look at it to be sure. Your last sentence is the way I wish I had said it.