extremely high og reading!

I just brewed up a brewcraft American cream ale and got an og of 1.080. Wth? Is that normal? The estimated fg is 1.012. I've never brewed a beer that claimed a potential abv of 10%!!

what did you put in it.

And go get a blow off tube. You're going to need it.

Just what came in the kit. It was like, 3 or 4 lb dme, 2oz hops, some crystal malt, grains... I have it in a 6 gallon carboy so I'm hoping it won't get too aggressive with it's fermentation.

did you do a partial boil and take the OG reading before adding more water to your fermenter?

did you measure the gravity before you mixed it in with the extra water or did you do a full boil?

If you post the recipe, that would help. No need for hop info.

Was Lake Braddock any good this year in Basket Ball?

Lake Braddock basketball, no idea. I'm more into hockey, myself. They are usually decent, but I've been out of high school so long I wouldn't know you from the area?

Recipe:

3 lb DME, 1pm DME, 1 lb crystal malt, 2-3 lb grains. Pretty much it. Partial boil, 2 gallons of water added later to fermenter. Seemed like a lot of sugar, but who am I to say? I threw out all the bags so I can only burden ate what the ingredients were. I totally forgot. I can say I never really came to a rolling boil as my stove is electric and can't put out a lot of heat. Much of the time I was using a portion of two separate burners trying to get the boil going. Never even came close to a boil over.

Found this: Detailed Description
Cream Ale Brewcraft Premium Beer Ingredients Kit Cream Ale is a style of beer that is pure American. Creaminess of character in the beer can come from corn used as an adjunct, although there is little corn flavor. More importantly, the creamy characteristics of this beer result from low use of very high quality Noble hops, and "hybrid" ale/lager temperature control during fermentation. Start it out as if an ale at 64-67°F, after a week lower the temperature to 48-54°F for 2-3 weeks of lagering, for best results. The finished beer will be light and crisp with a silky, "creamy" mouthfeel. Specifications of this Beer Style (anticipated) Ideal Fermentation Temp= 66°F OG= 1.055 / FG= 1.012 IBU's= 18 / ABV= 5.7% Color= 2.5 SRM Yield= 5 gallons Contents of this Kit Brewing Ingredients Grain Steeping Bag Hop Steeping Bags Priming Sugar Crown Caps Brewing Instruction Sheet Bottling Instructions List of Ingredients Fermentables: 5 lb Briess CBW Pilsen Light Dry Malt Extract 1 lb Brewers Crystals- 56% Maltose Corn Sugar Specialty Grains: 1 lb Flaked Corn 1 lb American 6-row Pale Malt Bittering Hops: 1 oz Liberty Pellet Hops Flavor Hops: .5 oz Liberty Pellet Hops (Or use more if greater hop flavor and aroma is desired) Aroma Hops: None Yeast: 1 Packet Fermentis S-23 This Beer Ingredient Kit Makes 5 US Gal of Premium Cream Ale

Edit: I was wrong, there is the correct ingredients. ^

Yeah, went to LB for 4 years. A long time ago. Hubert Davis days.

BendBrewer said:

Yeah, went to LB for 4 years. A long time ago. Hubert Davis days.

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I was a west Springfield kid, myself. Funny how the world seems to get even smaller as you age!

West Springfield - know it well. Weren't you guys the Pumpkin Heads?

BendBrewer said:

West Springfield - know it well. Weren't you guys the Pumpkin Heads?

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Orange and blue, Spartans. Haha.

If my math is correct and assuming it comes out to the estimated 1.012 reading, it would be a 8.7% beer. Woah! I hope it finishes at maybe 1.040!

Darklordenron said:

If my math is correct and assuming it comes out to the estimated 1.012 reading, it would be a 8.7% beer. Woah! I hope it finishes at maybe 1.040!

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maybe i missed it in your previous post, but when did you take the gravity reading? before or after you added the extra 2 gallons of water to what you boiled?

Darklordenron said:

If my math is correct and assuming it comes out to the estimated 1.012 reading, it would be a 8.7% beer. Woah! I hope it finishes at maybe 1.040!

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No you don't! You'd have bottle bombs.

I think your OG reading is incorrect, unless you did a 2 gallon batch. It's just not possible for 5 pounds of extract in a 5 gallon batch to give you an OG of 1.080. The sugars are already "set", as a set amount. The grain will give you a bit, but definitely not .040! Your OG is more like 1.055.

android said:

maybe i missed it in your previous post, but when did you take the gravity reading? before or after you added the extra 2 gallons of water to what you boiled?

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Right before pitching the yeast after adding water to the carboy. Wort was a bot hot so I let it cool in my hydrometer tube and it now reads even higher. I must be doin' it wrong because this seems illogical! If I didn't hit a full rolling boil, maybe the grain didn't have enough time to steep thus leaving lots of sugars or something? I'm confused here, hah!

There is no way that 4lbs of extract and 3lbs of grain could produce 5 gallons of wort at an OG of 1.080.
Something here is wrong either:
1. You don't have 5 gallons in the fermentor so the sugars are more concentrated
2. You added extra sugars from somewhere (unlikely)
3. You didn't mix in your top up water completely. This is most likely, you really need to stir hard to get the very thick wort to mix with the thin top up water, most likely the sample you measured was not completely mixed.

With partial mash kits its hard to get an OG more than 2-3 points off the anticipated OG if you do indeed have 5 gallons in the fermentor I'd just assume the suggested OG on the kit.

Veinman said:

There is no way that 4lbs of extract and 3lbs of grain could produce 5 gallons of wort at an OG of 1.080.
Something here is wrong either:
1. You don't have 5 gallons in the fermentor so the sugars are more concentrated
2. You added extra sugars from somewhere (unlikely)
3. You didn't mix in your top up water completely. This is most likely, you really need to stir hard to get the very thick wort to mix with the thin top up water, most likely the sample you measured was not completely mixed.

With partial mash kits its hard to get an OG more than 2-3 points off the anticipated OG if you do indeed have 5 gallons in the fermentor I'd just assume the suggested OG on the kit.

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V is on it. That's why we needed your recipe. That doesn't add up at all.

I'd still invest in blowoff... Even in a 6gal.

You'll end up with beer on your ceiling homie

BendBrewer said:

V is on it. That's why we needed your recipe. That doesn't add up at all.

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I posted it. Carboy is still at around 80 degrees. sad face! In a 60 degree basement...either it still hasn't cooled or it's beginning fermentation.

Darklordenron said:

I posted it. Carboy is still at around 80 degrees. sad face! In a 60 degree basement...either it still hasn't cooled or it's beginning fermentation.

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That's going to be a problem, you need to cool that wort down ASAP. Either move it to a cooler location you have in your house or get a very large tub, garbage can etc. and fill it full of cold water and stick the carboy in that.
If you let the beer ferment out at 80F you will most likely create some unpleasant off flavors.

Yea I know. That has been the plaugue of my mr beer kits of yesteryear. Cidery aroma sometimes taste too them probably due to temps in excess of 75. I moved it ouside as soon as I got home and now it is a nice 70 degrees. I'll go down to about 66 and put her back indoors where the temp is the same. I'm sure the og was because of the wort not being mixed with the water correctly, good call on that one! Oh, the joys/problems/eureka moments associated with this obsession! At least I have some smart folks to fall back on when all goes haywire thanks!

Luckily, it doesn't seem to be fermenting yet. Got no bubbles and no visible signs yet. I just hope I didn't kill the yeast before they could get started.

This happened to me once. Turned out I needed to stir the wort. After mixing the reading was where it was supposed to be. Just my $.02

Redpiper said:

This happened to me once. Turned out I needed to stir the wort. After mixing the reading was where it was supposed to be. Just my $.02

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Your 2 cents is worth more than you think. In my rush, I didn't agitate the carboy. Thus, the sugars weren't mixed well with the water. Silly me, I feel like a fool. Now I'm worried mainly about my pitching schedule and temperature issues. Note to self: don't brew and try to rush it. Also, don't brew if you need to go somewhere important and try to finish faster. Mistakes are right around the corner. Lesson learned!

Yo next time you place top of water, pour from really high. It not only mixes better into your wort better, but gets tons of oxygen churning in there as well. That will not only help your fermentation start off well, but will actually cool the wort down too...

How hot was your wort before you put in the fermenter? I mean, 2 gal of cold water should drop it pretty fast. Did you not chill it long after your boil?

I didn't chill the water due to not having space in my freezer or fridge. It was a balmy 70 degrees. My wort was cooled to 66 about ten hours after pitching because I had to leave for a job right after I brewed. you think it will be ok?

Well, it seems to be chugging away so I hope it didn't get any imperfections while the lag phase was going on. This yeast seems pretty resilient to stress. We will see how it all turns out though. Next time I need to chill my wort a LOT faster..

How did this beer turnout?

I just got the brew craft American cream ale kit, it had

3# bag dme
1# bag dme
1# bad dme
1 bag mixed malts & adjuncts (I believe there's some 6row and corn...)
1 bag fermentable sugars
2oz hops ( forget the type)
S23 yeast
2 grain socks

I plan on dryhopping w/ 1.5oz citra hops in my keg in a grain sack behind the pickup tube.

BuckshotBrewing said:

How did this beer turnout?

I just got the brew craft American cream ale kit, it had

3# bag dme
1# bag dme
1# bad dme
1 bag mixed malts & adjuncts (I believe there's some 6row and corn...)
1 bag fermentable sugars
2oz hops ( forget the type)
S23 yeast
2 grain socks

I plan on dryhopping w/ 1.5oz citra hops in my keg in a grain sack behind the pickup tube.

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Sorry for the late reply.
It was freakin' amazing! Everyone loved it. Came out a tad light, much lighter tasting in body than I expected. I was hoping for a more yuengling type body but that's how creme ales are I guess. I would absolutely recommend dry hopping this one however. Seemed to be lacking a bit on the hop taste (and i dont like overly hoppy beers, mind you) Either way, great taste, great head and good carbonation, if only a smidgen much. I recommend it!