First batch ABV concerns

[lbaker]

"Amarillo Face"
3.0 lbs Wheat dry malt extract (Bavarian wheat)
1.0 lbs Light dry malt extract (Pilsen light)
1.0 lbs Rice syrup solids
.75 lbs Wheat malt crushed
.75 lbs Flaked wheat
.50 oz Amarillo hops, added at the beginning of the 60 min boil
.50 oz Amarillo hops, added at 30 min into the boil
.50 oz Amarillo hops, added at 45 min into boil
.50 oz Amarillo hops, added at 55 min into boil
1.0 oz Amarillo hops, added as a dry hop

1. Place crushed grains in musk in bag and add to 2-3 gallons of 150F water. Allow grain to steep for 30 mins. 2. Remove grain bag, rinse with hot water and gently squeeze liquid from bag into "grain tea".
3. Add malt extract to "grain tea" while being sure to completely dissolve extract to avoid scorching.
4. Add Amarillo hops and begin 60 min boil.
5. Continue to add hops to above schedule.
6. Chill wort asap with immersion chiller, pour cooled wort into 6.5 Carboy with enough chilled bottled water to equal 5 gallons. Aerate well by shaking Carboy.
7. Pitch yeast.
8. Transfer from primary to 5 Carboy and add remaining pellets for dry hopping.

Heres the concern, this is my first batch...so maybe I'm putting too much emphasis on the projected OG and FG for the clone recipe...but tonight was 1 week in the primary and my first FG reading is kinda crazy, what could be going on? The recipe has a projected OG of 1.048-1.050....mine was 1.058...not too alarming, the projected FG is 1.010-1.012...at 1 week I'm already at 1.008!?!? The top layer of foam or krausen is gone, and at just one week this beer with a projected ABV of 5% is at 6.5%?

I thought maybe I took a bad reading, so I went back...dead on again at 1.008. Why am I so off? I followed the recipe and directions above to a T. Should i be concerned?

 

[Calder]

I think your 1.058 was incorrect. Probably everything was not completely mixed.

Don't worry about finishing low. Personally I try to get my beers to finish as low as possible.

 

[Shaneoco1981]

No... You are not that far off. The 1.010-1.012 is just an average of what you will get. You got a little better. It happens. I am in the process of doing a belgian tripel that had a projected OG of 1.083-1.086 and it ended up being at 1.092. It had a FG prediction of 1.020-1.017 and I am down to 1.014. It happens. It's just an average. RDWHAHB

 

[lbaker]

Lol, thanks guys. Think I should check the FG again tomorrow and start dry hopping or wait another week to transfer?

 

[Shaneoco1981]

I personally would wait, but that's part of the fun of home brewing. You are the one making decisions and getting to taste the fruits of your labor. But my opinion says to wait.

 

[cms]

Don't sweat it. 1 week is a long time for the active fermentation, so probably you're latest gravity reading will turn out to be your terminal gravity. The krausen falling back is another indication that the fermentation has pretty much completed. I think every batch I've made has shot under the predicted FG so far. Every batch has been fan-freakin'-tastic, so I no longer care very much about the number.

Try not to rush things along - I think your beer will be better if you can wait another week before dry-hopping. That said, I am terrible about rushing things along, and I will probably remain terrible about it until I have enough beer in the pipeline to keep from slobbering over my fermentors.

 

[lbaker]

Don't sweat it. 1 week is a long time for the active fermentation, so probably you're latest gravity reading will turn out to be your terminal gravity. The krausen falling back is another indication that the fermentation has pretty much completed. I think every batch I've made has shot under the predicted FG so far. Every batch has been fan-freakin'-tastic, so I no longer care very much about the number.

Try not to rush things along - I think your beer will be better if you can wait another week before dry-hopping. That said, I am terrible about rushing things along, and I will probably remain terrible about it until I have enough beer in the pipeline to keep from slobbering over my fermentors.

Thanks cms, you and Shane have put my worrisome mind at ease over this. Hopefully after my first batch I can just learn to chill and relax until I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor! Unless someone tells me different I'm going to leave my beer for another week, dry hop 1 week and then spend the next week and a half carbing in the corny for my kegerator. I've been trying to time things perfectly for my graduation party on may 7th so that's why I think I'm developing a small complex over everything with this brew,lol.