Do hops affect hydometer?

[fretsforlife]

Hey guys., I made this winter warmer recipe that had 7 lbs of dry amber malt, 2 lbs of raw honey, and these specialty grains (1 lb Crystal 60L, 1/2lb dextrine malt, 2 oz chocolate, 2 oz roasted barley, 1/2 lb torrefied wheat)

When I took my sample before pitching, it read 1.118 which is a hell of a lot higher than expected, so i was wondering if maybe the hop particles in the tube affected my reading, or if that doesn't matter.

Heres the other thing: the recipe called for 8lbs of LME but my LHBS gave me 7 lbs dry to substitute (i cant stand LME). Also, I couldnt find Buckwheat honey, so i used raw instead. The OG in the recipe calls for 1.048, so i was wondering what mine might have been.

Can anyone with BeerSmith calculate what my OG should be? 1.048 just seems so low. I pitched a starter of WLP013 and its been going crazy for days now.

thanks,

 

[chew]

Assuming a 5 gal. batch, BeerSmith gave an OG of 1.077. Seems more in line with what a winter warmer should be; I agree with you, 1.048 seems low for the style. But I'm new to brewing, so don't rely too much on me!

 

[BarleyWater]

No hops don't affect the hydrometer reading at all, only sugar. And no, that was not your OG. You really can't get that far off when you are using extracts, but extracts are notoriously hard to get evely mixed into to the fermenter when topping up with water after doing a partial boil. Trust what beersmith gave you, and for me that was also 1.077 for that recipe in a 5gal batch, assuming you hit your target volume.

 

[jackson_d]

Your hydrometer read way to high! Thats more than double what the recipe says it should be. You just made a beer that will be like 12% abv!

What was the temp of the wort when you took the hydrometer reading?

What is the boil volume and final volume of the wort?

The size of the starter does not effect the hydrometer reading...

How much water did you add? Did you take a reading after you added water when you were done boiling?

 

[jackson_d]

also-

if you dont have Beersmith

Bookmark this link

http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/recipe.html

free, online recipe calculator..

 

[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...

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, 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.

 

[fretsforlife]

This is all great news guys thanks! It was indeed a five gallon batch, and come to think of it, the sample was drawn from the bottom of my carboy which probably explains my crazy reading.

I am able to boil about 3 gallons and top to the 5 gallon mark, so I dont think its an over/under topping issue. Also, the reading was taken at about a mid seventies temp, but even still it was way off. From now on I'll use the calculator in that link.

1.077 it is, Thanks again!!