High Original Gravity!!!

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gmeyers

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I just brewed a Fat Tire clone and took the Original Gravity and came up with 1.114 This seems really high. The target number was 1. 050 I followed the directions and everything seemed normal. What went wrong? Here is the reciepe that I followed. I did use WLP001 for the yeast, but that shouldnt matter just yet.

Belgium Amber Ale
Ingredients
5 lbs. Laaglander plain extra-light DME
1/2 lb. Crystal malt (20° Lovibond)
1/2 lb. Crystal malt (40° Lovibond)
1/2 lb. Carapils malt
1/2 lb. Munich malt
1/2 lb. Biscuit malt
1/2 lb. Chocolate malt
3 AAUs Willamette pellet hops (0.66 oz. at 4.5% alpha acid)
1.33 AAUs Fuggle pellet hops (0.33 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
AAUs Fuggle pellet hops (0.50 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
1 tsp. Irish moss
2 2/3 to 3/4 cup corn sugar to prime
3 Wyeast 1056 or BrewTek CL-10
Preparation, step by step:
Steep specialty grains in 3 gallons of water at 154° F for 45 minutes. Remove grains and add dried malt extract. Bring to boil and add 0.66 oz. Willamette pellet hops. Boil for 60 minutes and add Irish moss. Boil 10 minutes and then add 0.50 oz. Fuggle hops. Boil another 20 minutes, add remaining Fuggles and remove from heat. Cool to about 70° F and transfer to fermenting vessel with yeast. Ferment at 64° to 68° F until complete (7 to 10 days), then transfer to a secondary vessel, or rack into bottles or keg with corn sugar. (Try lowering the amount of priming sugar to mimic the low carbonation level of Fat Tire.) Lay the beer down for at least a few months to mellow and mature for best results.
All-grain option: Omit extract and mash 6 lbs. pale malt with specialty malts in 9 quarts of water to get a single infusion mash temperature of 154° F for 45 minutes. Sparge with hot water of 170° F or more to get 5.5 gallons of wort. Bring to boil and use above hopping and fermentation schedule.
 
that gravity reading can't be right. when did you take the reading? after cooling and topping off?

-walker
 
On second thought, I bought 2 bags of 3lbs of the DME from my LHS. SHe told me to take about 1 cup of the malt out to get the 5 lbs that the reciepe calls for. Does this sound like good advise?
 
i think 2 cups is a pound...youd be better off weighing it though, i get innacurate results measuring dme with dry measuring cups...

that still doesnt account for that apparent high gravity....
 
I boiled the 3 gals like it said, then I cooled down and started to siphon. at the start of the siphon i filled the gravity tube. and then continued to fill the carboy. I topped off right before i airated and then added yeast.
 
gmeyers said:
I boiled the 3 gals like it said, then I cooled down and started to siphon. at the start of the siphon i filled the gravity tube. and then continued to fill the carboy. I topped off right before i airated and then added yeast.

Dude, you took a gravity reading before you diluted the wort. It is going to be higher than it should... Take another gravity reading now......
 
gmeyers said:
I boiled the 3 gals like it said, then I cooled down and started to siphon. at the start of the siphon i filled the gravity tube. and then continued to fill the carboy. I topped off right before i airated and then added yeast.

Gravity is a consentration reading so you have enough sugars for a five gallon batch but only had 2.5 gallons when you took the reading. As the dude said take another reading or if you want a rough estimate divide by 2.
 
Dude, it's very Un-Dude of you to change your name and Avatar just when us noob's are getting to know you. Ya freakin rug-pisser.:D :D
 
Brewing rught now 5 gallons:

Jim Nielson's Hop Mothra devaition:
9 lbs Ultra light LME
1 LB ligh DME
3 lbs clover honey (added)
8 oz Crystal 15L
8 oz Crysal 40L
8 oz Crystal 75L
1 Whirlfloc @ 20 min

1.5 oz Columbus@ 60 min (was 30)
.5 oz Centennial@ 30 min(was 20)
1 oz Perle @ 10 min
.5 oz. Cascade @ 1 min (was 10)

1.086 corrected for temp
WPL099 High Gravity Ale Yeast with 2L Starter pitched at 72F
:tank:
 

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