The gravity on my beer went up!

[g0dluvsugly]

I made a Stout that had an original gravity of 1.070. Primary fermentation was successful up to 1.020. I reracked to a secondary to add some Oak Chips that had been soaking in Bourbon for about 6 months. The oak aging occurred for two weeks. I went to bottle last night and found that the FG was 1.030.

Can anyone explain why? How should I measure the final ABV?

Thanks for your help. Still tastes great, in case you were wondering.

 

[soccerdad]

Are these hydrometer readings -- or refracto? Did you record beer temp each time - or just gravity?

 

[mrgrimm101]

Varying temps can skew the gravity readings. Ideally, you want to take a reading at the same temp every time. They say 60F is the magic number. If the temp of the sample was 70F, for example, it would skew the reading by about .02 - .04. This wouldn't explain why it was .10 higher than before, but it could factor into it.

 

[Rockn_M]

Was this an extract? If so, was it stirred properly to mix the water in?

 

[g0dluvsugly]

These are hydrometer readings. I didnt note the temperatures when I took the readings, but I would say the temperatures were roughly the same (I live in Long Beach and it's kind of always 65 degrees around this time of year). This was an all grain recipe for an Imperial Stout in which I failed to achieve the target OG of 1.090. It's a Stone Russian Stout clone and is something like 17lbs two-row, 1.25 roasted barley, 1.25 crystal 40, 1.25 black malt.

 

[FourSeasonAngler]

Re-check the accuracy of your hydrometer in tap water. It should read just about 1.000. I have a feeling that at some point the slip of paper in the hydrometer slipped 1/4" and now you're reading 10 points high.

It happened to me.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Did yiou have significant evaporation? check your airlock and fermenter seals.

 

[Bobcatbrewing42]

I find that my OG changes a lot when I let suspended solids settle out first.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Were you using the same hydrometer both times?