What could cause high OG?

[HenryKDuff]

I brewed Jim Baumann's Milk Stout kit from MoreBeer! today. The instructions indicate the OG should be 1.055-1.059. I took a sample before pitching the yeast and got 1.066 at 60 degrees. I followed the instructions mostly to the letter. The only change I made was adding 4 oz of lactose at the beginning of the boil and 4 oz with 15 minutes left (instructions were for all 8 oz at the start of the boil). I also did not use the whirlfloc tablet that was included.

Does anyone have ideas as to what caused my high OG? I calibrated my hydrometer and it checked out fine (60 degree water at 1.000). Could the late addition of half the lactose cause that much of a difference? So far, I'm RDWHAHB, but I'm trying to tighten up my technique and I'm curious if I'm doing something wrong.

 

[Revvy]

It's a pretty common issue for ANYONE using extract and then topping off with water (and that includes partial mashes) to have an error in reading the OG...In fact, it is actually nearly impossible to mix the wort and the top off water in a way to get an accurate OG reading...

Brewers get a low reading if they get more of the top off water than the wort, conversely they get a higher number if they grabbed more of the extract than the top off water in their sample.

When I am doing an extract with grain recipe I make sure to stir for a minimum of 5 minutes (whipping up a froth to aerate as well) before I draw a grav sample and pitch my yeast....It really is an effort to integrate the wort with the top off water...This is a fairly common new brewer issue we get on here...unless you under or over topped off or the final volume for the kit was 5 gallons and you topped off to 5.5, then the issue, sorry to say, is "operator error"

it doesn't matter what your reading was.....the "real reading" in an extract batch is what it said it would be in the recipe or beersmith....Whether or not you mixed it up enough before you took the reading it mixed itself up fine during fermentation.

So unless you had a final volume a gallon or so higher than 5 gallons....you recipe will be fine and at the OG it was supposed to be,

I bet your OG is EXACTLY what it is supposed to be.

And during fermentation the wort and water will mix up just fine on it's own.

 

[HenryKDuff]

I boiled 2.5 gallons and added 2.5 gallons (added the water to the fermenter first, then the cooled wort). I thought I shook it pretty vigorously for 3-5 minutes (first time using the Better Bottle) before taking the sample. I can see getting a low reading from the top of the bottle if it wasn't mixed properly (wort being heavier than water), but a high reading seems odder.

Regardless, your logic is sound. Thanks for the lightning quick reply. I will RDWHAHB (as long the fermentation starts as it should).

 

[Mauldice]

Are you accounting for the water that gets boiled off?

If you started with exactly 2.5 gal in the boil and then added exactly 2.5 gal to the wort in the fermenter, you would actually have less than 5 gal due to the water that was evaporated during the boil. This could lead to high OG.

 

[HenryKDuff]

Sorry, I neglected to mention I did top off to 5 gallons after adding the wort to the 2.5 gallons of water.