Extract OG miss

[BrewBri]

Made my second batch yesterday, recipe OG is 1.056, actual was 1.053. Not a huge deal, I know, but trying to figure out the miss. Recipe is from LHBS.

Target batch size of 5 gal

Briess light LME 6.0 lbs (Get's me to 1.047)

Steeping grains (30 min @ 155 F)
Roasted barley 1.0 lb (Get's me to 1.046)
Chocolate Rye .5 lbs (Get's me to 1.048)
Flaked Barley 1.0 lb (Get's me to 1.049)

At BEST I calculated the above bill hitting an OG of 1.049. This assumes the steeping grains extracted 50% of their potential (I notice people say steeping grains don't add much if any, I beg to differ on "if any", I placed the steeping bag on my cement and had to scrub the sugar residuals off this morning ).

1) How did I hit 1.053?
2) How could I have hit the recipe OG of 1.056 with this recipe? Is LHBS loco?
3) Is my math incorrect?

Hydrometer reading was adjusted for original calibration temperature to actual. I weighed the LME package prior to confirm weight of 6.0 lbs.

 

[brew_ny]

it hard to get the extract totally mixed so you OG is right just not your reading

hard not to hit your OG in extract brewing unless you did not add enough extract

all the best

S_M

 

[BrewBri]

My worry is that my LHBS recipes are incorrect.

 

[dkevinb]

LME or DME? With LME I get 1.048. With DME I get 1.056.

Also, did you compensate your hydrometer reading for the wort temperature? That would account for some of the difference.

 

[BrewBri]

LME. I did adjust wort temp using online calculator.

 

[dkevinb]

LME. I did adjust wort temp using online calculator.

In that case I'd bet they accidentally calculated the recipe using DME. I don't see how you can get 1.056 with just 6 lbs of LME and those steeping grains. I'm also surprised your measured OG was as high as it was, unless your wort wasn't totally mixed when you took the sample.

I find my extract batches tend to hit the target OG's almost exactly every single time. The extract manufacturers put a lot of effort into making a consistent product. I generally make up my own recipes using the freebie online calculators (Brewers Friend) and you can pretty much guarantee that 6 lbs of light LME in a 5 gallon batch will give you an OG of pretty darned close to 1.042.

 

[schokie]

According to BeerSmith, 6 lbs of LME gives you 1.039. After adding in the steeping grains I get 1.041.

Minor changes in the assumptions such as boil off rate and top off water will change the OG by a couple points.

With extract I 100% promise you'll hit plus or minus 0.001 of your numbers. Any differences are due to either incomplete mixing or differing assumptions in the calculations.