Gravity Question

[Grim_Ale]

Hey guys just brewed my second Imperial IPA. If some of you remember, my last extract batch stalled at 1.02 and I missed my final ABV by 1%.

Well I had another of the same kit and a new Speidel 30L fermenter. So I brewed tonight cause I was bored. I had a more vigorous boil this time and to my surprise I took a sample and it was 1.084 OG. I overshot by .010. I ended up with 5 gals instead of 5.5 and luckily I had a large starter and an extra vial of WL High Grav yeast. So I pitched roughly 300 Billion+ cells and I'm hoping I can meet my final gravity this time.

My question is this: Because I took my hydrometer sample directly from the pot I had some hop material in the bottom of the vial. How far off could this throw my hydrometer reading off? I also pitched the whole starter, roughly just over 1L, because I didn't have time to cold crash as I'm going out of town. Do you all think the 1.084 is accurate or is it more along the lines of 1.074 which is what the recipe said it should be?

Note: I pitched my starter plus two fresh vials of the same yeast. That's where I got my cell count on brewers friend.

 

[Cyclman]

5G at 1.084 is close to 5.5G at 1.074. To figure, take the last 2 digits (84) x gallons to obtain total gravity units. Divide by the volume you were supposed to have (5.5) and it'll figure what the gravity would be for that volume.

You could easily add 1/2 gallon of bottled or filtered water.

Hops in the hydrometer vial won't matter as long as they hydrometer spun freely.

If the starter had enough cells for the recipe, you're fine. You just have a higher density wort.

 

[Calder]

5 vs 5.5 gallons is 10%. 1.074 would go to 1.082, so your reading is close enough. This will also raise the fg by a similar percentage.

Solids in suspension in the hydrometer do not affect the reading.

If you add water after fermentation has started, boil it first. All water has entrained air/oxygen, which is not good for the beer once fermentation has started. Boiling drives off the oxygen (remember to cool it toi).

 

[Grim_Ale]

Thx guys. I may just see how this finishes as is. This kit was a gift and is same as the other which I'll bottle the 1st.

If I get less beer but a higher ABV then it'll be cool to compare the two to see which turns out better.