Dry Irish Stout OG too high

[Plissken]

Today I started my Dry Irish Stout extract kit from Northern Brewer. The recipe says that the OG should be 1.042, but I got 1.054 with several readings.

The recipe has a lb of specialty grains that I steeped. The main fermentable is 6 lbs of gold LME. The only other ingredient is 2 oz of cluster hops. I followed all the directions given.

When I transferred to my fermentor, I topped it off with water until it was about 5 gallons (maybe slightly under.) I took the gravity and it said 1.060! I added some more water until it was over 5 gallons, and it read 1.054 for several readings. I made sure it was throughly mixed during the oxygenation and it still read 1.054. All of this was at 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

I'm using Safale S-04. How far can I expect the gravity to drop? I didn't want any extra ABV. Was hoping for just over 4%.

 

[flars]

With a kit such as the Dry Irish Stout, if you add all the fermentables, and the volume in the fermentor is 5 gallons, the OG will be as stated in the recipe. An SG reading that is different, is due to the sugar rich wort and the top off water not being thoroughly mixed.
The yeast will take care of the mixing as fermentation activity begins.
With WY 1084 my FG is usually 1.011.

 

[RM-MN]

Flars has it right. If you want a visual of it, pour 5 ounces of water into a clear glass then add 3 drops of dark honey. Stir it with a toothpick. I'll bet you can't get the honey mixed in 5 minutes. The same thing happens with your extract when you top it off.

 

[schokie]

I've found a lot of the extract kits come up with quite different OGs than what I've measured. When I put the exact same ingredients into BeerSmith I get fairly close to what I've measured, but still different from the kit instructions. I not sure what assumptions they used.

What were the exact ingredients? What was your final volume?

 

[Hoakster]

Coincidence...just transferred my NB kit Dry Irish Stout to keg. Brewed 29 January using 24 hour yeast starter, hand agitated whenever I walked by. Fermented in basement at ambient temp of 66 degrees. OG: 1.046, not quite as high as Plisskin, but higher than stated 1.042. FG came out at 1.012 - taste test from graduated cylinder promises a tasty brew. Can't wait.

 

[AndyRN]

Have you checked your hydrometer? Extract kits are pretty hard to screw up and it sounds like you did everything correctly.