Overshooting OG effects

Hey everyone,

I have done 3 AG batches now, and have overshot my OG every time. I was just curious of what the effects are on the final product??

My first batch was a cream ale @ 1.042...i Hit 1.050.
Batch 2 American Pale ale @ 1.050...I hit 1.060.
Batch 3 Scottish 60/- @ 1033...I hit 1.042

My cream ale is in the keg and is almost gone. Tasted good to me...maybe a twinge of "alcohol" flavor...but good. The other 2 are in primary.

Thanks for any input.

Aside from slurred speech, stumbling and an urge to sing karaoke you should be fine. The only time I'd worry about it is if I was submitting a beer for competition.

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not really worried about it, I am just curious as to what affects it has on flavor, body,etc. Does it make it a different beer? ...etc...

Thanks again.

You may want to up the bittering slightly, but it'll taste good regardless.

What are you using to calculate your O.G. ? you might want to bump up the efficincy setting to beter hit your expected O.G.

if you're desperate to hit O.G you can add a bit of water if you're over. dont think you're supposed to as it's not particularly hygenic but it works. or just have a stronger beer, none of my mates have ever complained if im over OG.

I am using pro-mash, and I will definitely be adjusting my efficiency setting up.

If you were judging 2 identical recipes, but one had a 10 point higher OG, what would be the differences you would note as a judge? I am just trying to get a better understanding of the effects efficiency and nailing the expected OG.

Thanks again.

well, that depends on FG but, the one with 10 points more, will either be sweeter (as there's more sugar in it) or will be stronger and will definatly taste more alcoholy.

mgable said:

What are you using to calculate your O.G. ? you might want to bump up the efficincy setting to beter hit your expected O.G.

Click to expand...

This is true. The same thing happened to me on my first 3 batches. I had much higher efficiency than I predicted or felt comfortable admitting (since everyone else seems to get 70s, maybe 80s). I used to keep a couple quarts of pre-boiled water on hand after the boil to bring the OG back down. Just keep slightly increasing your efficiency number in the software until you start hitting your target OGs.

Leaving it with a higher OG will change a few things but won't be a big deal. The beer will end up with a higher ABV, usually a higher FG, and the bitterness ratio will be decreased. I've had two batches of the same recipe end up at different OGs (by like 4 points) and did notice a slight flavor difference, but not that much.

Thanks menschmaschine,

That is what I am looking for. I am not concerned so much with whether I am off or not at this point, though I will be adjusting my settings to match up better with my efficiency as I move along.

I actually killed my yeast on one batch. I forgot to open the valve on my CFC...and after I had a gallon of hot wort in the fermentor, I pitched my yeast. (American 1056) WHOOPS!! I turned the chiller back on and finished filling up, put the airlock on and let it sit for 2 days thinking maybe I didn't kill it... There was steam coming out of the fermentor after I pitched my yeast....so I'm pretty sure I put that yeast out of it's miserey. 3rd day i just threw a packet of Nottingham in there. Bubbling away 8 hrs later.

Should be interesting to taste....can't wait. Glad I had the extra packet. I have really enjoyed moving into all grain, even the mess ups have been entertaining.

Thanks again for all the input.

Jaybrinks

Jaybrinks - I think this is a first for me, someone who has done 3 AG batchs and is worried about high efficiency.
Usually (myself included) were moaning about how poor ours was.
Congratulations and I don't think you will notice too much of a difference, but a .010 up is a good amount.
Just tune in your software and volumes and keep on brewing.

Thanks Kauai_Kahuna,

I am definitely not complaining about my efficiency. I was pleasantly surprised at how high it was. I was expecting it to be horrible.... things usually don't go well for beginners. (especially me!! lol)

My reason for asking is that I assume certain styles have certain OG values for certain reasons. So I was trying to understand how and why hitting these #'s are important. I understand its not a huge deal...I am definitely not worried about overshooting it...I will get that down in soon enough.

Just a general "education" question.

Thanks,

Jaybrinks

High mash efficiency can be a problem if you're not adjusting your recipes to account for it especially if you are trying to make beers that adhere to any particular style. It can result in beers that are excessively high in either malt or alcohol character while reducing your hop efficiency in the boil and can throw your brew completely out of whack. Reducing your base malt is the first thing that comes to mind as far as adjusting for high efficiency.

Thanks eddie, Good info!!

On the subject of adjustments?....Do you reduce just your base malt, or do you also adjust a % of your specialty malts?

Just the base malts.