Another freaked out noob

[rhltechie]

Hi All,

I brewed an AHS American IPA last night. I brewed from extract kit. The wort chilling took longer than I would have liked but I finally got it into the carboy, added my water and shook shook shook until i felt faint! :cross: Well my OG was 1.086, WTF?! It was supposed to be 1.060. how does one get THAT far off?? I just dont get it. I pitched my starter at 10:30 last night and this morning I have no activity which I find a little odd using a starter. I have an inch or so of trub just sitting around at the bottom. It was kept above 70 all night but below 80. Any thoughts on where I went wrong?? I'm not freaking out yet about no activity as I know sometimes that takes more time than one would like, but what about the OG. I just dont get that...being so far off.

TIA,

M

 

[Yooper]

It's probably just that the wort you boiled and the top off water didn't mix up as well as it could have. It's really hard to get the thicker wort to mix up with the water, even though you shook it until your arms feel off! The heavier wort tends to sink even so.

If you added the correct amount of extract, and the correct amount of water, the OG has to be 1.060. There's a set amount of sugar in the extract, so you can't get more than there is in there.

Don't worry! The yeast will know where to find the sugars and it should be fine.

I'd keep it at or under 70 degrees, though. If it's above 70 degrees now, and fermentation takes off, it'll go up over 80 degrees really fast.

 

[rhltechie]

It's probably just that the wort you boiled and the top off water didn't mix up as well as it could have. It's really hard to get the thicker wort to mix up with the water, even though you shook it until your arms feel off! The heavier wort tends to sink even so.

If you added the correct amount of extract, and the correct amount of water, the OG has to be 1.060. There's a set amount of sugar in the extract, so you can't get more than there is in there.

Don't worry! The yeast will know where to find the sugars and it should be fine.

I'd keep it at or under 70 degrees, though. If it's above 70 degrees now, and fermentation takes off, it'll go up over 80 degrees really fast.

Thanks for your reply. I was reading about how people sometimes get all wort when mixing in when water....i suppose that is what happened even though i shook until i thought i would faint! I will just RDWHAHB

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Hydrometers are also calibrated for reading at a certain temperature. If you take a reading at a different temperature than it is calibrated for, you will have to adjust your reading accordingly. The instructions that came with you hydrometer should explain how to do this. If not, a quick Google search should help.

 

[rhltechie]

Hydrometers are also calibrated for reading at a certain temperature. If you take a reading at a different temperature than it is calibrated for, you will have to adjust your reading accordingly. The instructions that came with you hydrometer should explain how to do this. If not, a quick Google search should help.

Thanks. My hydro is calibrated at 60 like most. I am supposed to add .002 for every 10 degrees which in my case was roughly 10 or so...so that made it even higher, lol.

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Check you hydrometer in plain water. If it reads 1.00 then it is reading properly. If not, then you know the culprit. Just add or subtract the difference every time you take a reading. That's all I got.

I'm sure that your beer will turn out fine irregardless.

 

[Brewin_CRAZY]

I would assume its what yooper said. I have added top off water before and it really is hard to get to mix into your wort. You probably just got a sample of the concentrated stuff, esp if you are using extract then your SG should be right on.

Dont worry about the yeasties, sometimes, even with a starter it takes time to get rolling. Im sure you will have activity within 24 hrs.

 

[nebben]

I concur with everyone else.

If the recipe called for 5G in the fermenter, is it possible that you are at a volume lower than 5G?

 

[rhltechie]

Thanks all....I think its what you all said. I really thought I shook that thing pretty well, but maybe while i was sanitizing my thief, the sugar settled. It's done now....it started its action this morning bubbling away. I am just relaxing...not worrying...and having a homebrew

 

[KayaBrew]

First of all, this is a KILLER recipe! This was my 3rd extract brew, and I'd say it was the best IPA I have ever made including all the AG batches since. Like the description states, the recipe is based on Sierra's "Celebration Ale". That is a fantastic beer.

Second, get your ferm. temp. a little lower...like about 65-ish or so. What yeast did you use-WLP-051?