Help me Understand

[BeavStu]

I brewed my second batch of home brew ever today. It is a Pliny the Elder clone recipe that I got from the LHBS. Per the recipe the target OG was 1.067. The OG I obtained was 1.076. What does this mean for my beer? Per the recipe the ideal FG is 1.017. I am an amateur brewer and do not quite understand the significance of the OG and FG.

Thanks in advance!

Stuart

 

[JustLooking]

Extract?

 

[mdindy]

extract or all grain?

 

[BeavStu]

Extract. With specialty grains steeped at the beginning.

The recipe I followed used:

Extract: 8.25 lbs Pilsen Light LME
Specialty Grains: .75 lbs Caramel 40, .6 lbs Carapils
Hops: 1 oz Columbus (60 min); 1 oz Columbus/2 oz Simcoe (30 min); 1 oz Centennial/2 oz Simcoe (0 min).
Yeast: Wyeast 1056 American Ale

+ 1 tsp Irish Moss

 

[JustLooking]

If your volumes came out right the gravity has to be right. Your problem is stratification. Beer will be fine.

 

[mdindy]

you might have just boiled off a lot of water changing the concentration. top off some water in the primary next time, happens a lot with extract brewing.

 

[balrog]

+1 what JustLooking says--the gravity points are in the extract, so if you have 5G in the fermenter, you are fine. Extract partial boils with top up water are very interesting to measure gravity because it is difficult to really Really REALLY mix top up water and high-gravity partial boil. I've even used a "mud mixer" on my power drill and will *STILL* get different gravity readings for different samples.

Bottom line is that with extract, final volume (measured carefully of course--so you have to mark your fermenter), you will have the beer expected.

 

[ChelisHubby]

Og is the gravity at the end of the boil. Fg is the gravity after the yeast ferments and eats sugar and some of its buy-products. To understand the relationship you OG minus your Fg times 131 will give you the alcohol content of the beer. Don't be worried if you miss Fg by a few points or the Og it just means how strong the beer is. The kit that you bought gives you a Idea of what the beer will produce in a perfect world!

 

[BeavStu]

Good to know, thank you. I was fairly confident that the beer would be fine. Just trying to understand better what was going on, so that I can learn and improve.

Just to be clear, what is the ideal time to take the OG gravity reading? I took mine right after I poured the wort into fermenter and topped it off to 5 gallons, but before I added the yeast. Is there any reason to take the reading after I have added the yeast?

Thanks again!

 

[ChelisHubby]

I check mine after the Boil has cooled to pitching temp but before I pour into the fermenter, The yeast addition won't change what the hydro reading is. You do want to check it after you have topped off with any water. Then you can check it after 2 weeks or even 3 weeks, The Beer is a strong beer so after 3 weeks would be best. After you check the final reading wait a day and see if the gravity changed by rechecking. If the readings are the same it is time to bottle or keg. Sorry my writing Style Sucks!

 

[TheGambler87]

If its an extract brew, there isn't really any reason to check the OG, unless you didn't follow the recipe or didn't add enough top up water, there isn't really anything to go wrong that would cause your gravity to be off.

 

[VonAle]

If its an extract brew, there isn't really any reason to check the OG, unless you didn't follow the recipe or didn't add enough top up water, there isn't really anything to go wrong that would cause your gravity to be off.

I don't necessarily agree with this statement.
Checking and knowing the OG, among many other steps on brew day, is too important to assume.
What if you don't realize you missed a step in the recipe or used the wrong amount of water.

What a terrible surprise you are in for when you crack open that beer in 2-3 weeks and wonder why it tastes like crap, or at least not what you expected.

I believe in following a check list and keeping detailed notes on brew day. I do this to better predict my volumes and temperatures for future brews and also to avoid mistakes and know what my beer is going to end up as.

 

[TheGambler87]

What if you don't realize you missed a step in the recipe or used the wrong amount of water.

Which is why I said if you didn't follow the recipe or add enough or too much water. I agree its good practice, but not as necessary as it would be doing all-grain.

Then again I think I'm in the minority in not being obsessed about checking gravity. I check pre-boil gravity and FG at bottling, thats about it. Ive got my boil-off rate pretty much dialed in, and unless something happens in the fermenter that I wasn't expecting, 3-4 weeks later it gets bottled/kegged. I'm pretty hands off, and it's worked well for me so far.