O.G. too high, 1.078 & recipe says 1.045

[Rubberband]

I brewed an AHS Classic Amber Ale today and was a little surprised by the OG. It was supposed to be 1.045 but my reading was 1.078. The recipe consisted of the following:

Boil for 60 min.
1 lb. Dextrose
1 lb. Light DME
.25 lb Malto Dextrose
.75 oz. Cluster Hops 6.4 AA
.25 oz. at 15 min.
After Boil
4 lb. DME, Mix and let stand for 10 minutes

Used a chiller to cool my wort to 75 deg., topped off with spring water to bring the total to 5 1/4 gallons. Used air stone with aquarium pump for 15 minutes. Took the gravity sample about 5 minutes after I had started the air stone.

I think I went wrong by taking my gravity sample while I was using the air stone. The hydrometer started to float with less fluid than normal, so I immediately thought that I had too much air in the sample. I waited for about 15 minutes and the reading never moved. Any ideas as to why the reading was so far off from the recipe gravity? Should I worry about this?

There isn't much I can do, I pitched my yeast and put the airlock in place. I am just wondering if it is air or if I may have made a mistake.

 

[flyangler18]

I'd be willing to bet that you didn't stir the wort enough when you topped off and you are getting a false reading. As long as you hit your volumes, it's nearly impossible to be off with an extract recipe.

 

[impatient]

You had to be off. You can't get that high with what you put in.

 

[The Pol]

There is a post like this about once a week. If you topped up to the correct quantity, then it was not mixed well when you took the sample. NO biggie, the beer will be fine... your records will be off.

 

[Rubberband]

I followed the recipe as it was only my third batch and I don't really feel confident enough in what I am doing to make many changes or tweaks with the recipes.

I guess I won't worry about it, at least for a day or two.

I took some time to get the DME to dissolve after the boil. Of course, this was my first experience with DME. I can't really think of anything that was not to script so to speak. If I didn't get it mixed enough with the water, will this affect the batch negatively? Should I go down and give it a few stirs?

 

[Yooper]

I followed the recipe as it was only my third batch and I don't really feel confident enough in what I am doing to make many changes or tweaks with the recipes.

I guess I won't worry about it, at least for a day or two.

I took some time to get the DME to dissolve after the boil. Of course, this was my first experience with DME. I can't really think of anything that was not to script so to speak. If I didn't get it mixed enough with the water, will this affect the batch negatively? Should I go down and give it a few stirs?

Nope, it's fine! The yeast can find the sugars in the DME without you stirring it now. We're just telling you why the OG was so far off. Extract mixed in water is pretty syrupy and if you didn't stir until your arm fell off, your OG reading can be very skewed. That's all. It's not a problem. You can plan on your OG being the OG the kit said. Fermentation will mix that wort up and your FG will be much more accurate!

 

[jmansfield]

You must make sure there are no bubbles attached to the hydrometer, and I really mean none, or you will get a false high reading. Usually this is no problem for wort since it is not yet carbonated but since you aerated with a stone you may still have some entrained air bubbles that are happily sticking to your hydrometer.

 

[DeathBrewer]

You can plan on your OG being the OG the kit said. Fermentation will mix that wort up and your FG will be much more accurate!

Yep, with extract and sugars, you get what you put in. As long as you the required ingredients and the proper total end volume (generally 5-5.25 gallons), you can simply rely on your projected OG or very close to it.

No worries, happens all the time. I don't even take OG readings with my extract batches.

 

[impatient]

I might mention that the hydrometer will want to stick to the sides of the beaker. And, it wants to float right up against it. I think this can throw it off too. I try to be patient and move it around until it floats right in the center without touchin the sides.

 

[DeathBrewer]

True, giving it a light swirl will usually push it off from the sides and allow it to settle and give a decent reading.

But this wouldn't cause it to be off by over 30 points

 

[Rubberband]

Thanks for the advice, it is really appreciated. How many batches does it take before you can say you are an experienced brewer? To date, I haven't had any real surprises but this is the first time I used the air stone.

I am seriously addicted to this board, there is a lot of good information in here. Also, there's always someone willing to help. I guess I'll just follow a little advice I read in a book, RDWHAHB.

 

[DeathBrewer]

Experience just comes from making mistakes. I certainly don't know everything and after years brewing, I am just now delving into lagers. Still learn something new every day in this hobby...that's why it's great!

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the advice, it is really appreciated. How many batches does it take before you can say you are an experienced brewer? To date, I haven't had any real surprises but this is the first time I used the air stone.

I am seriously addicted to this board, there is a lot of good information in here. Also, there's always someone willing to help. I guess I'll just follow a little advice I read in a book, RDWHAHB.

I've made over 250 batches of beer, and probably as much wine. I still feel like a beginner so often! So, my answer to how many batches does it take before you can say you're an experienced brewer is- "I don't know! I'm not there yet!". I can say that each brew is a learning experience, and I am much more comfortable and confident in the things that I DO know. And I'm not shy about asking questions about the things I don't know.

It took about 10 batches to get really comfortable with extract batches, but I still had questions. Then, a couple of partial mash batches before going all-grain. More questions. Of course AG had some issues. Then, I wanted to know about yeast harvesting, kegging, etc. I'm now going to try to learn some water chemistry. It's never ending, I guess.

There are some "real" brewers here though that I always listen to and learn from. Either experts in their fields, or pro brewers. I learn something almost every day. You've come to the right place!

 

[The Pol]

Thanks for the advice, it is really appreciated. How many batches does it take before you can say you are an experienced brewer? To date, I haven't had any real surprises but this is the first time I used the air stone.

I am seriously addicted to this board, there is a lot of good information in here. Also, there's always someone willing to help. I guess I'll just follow a little advice I read in a book, RDWHAHB.

I have been AG brewing for 4 years, I would not call myself experienced... I have brewed some great beer, and built a sweet rig... but I think we are all rookies