High OG reading. Not sure what it means.

[bradicalism]

So I just finished my second batch, a basic American brown. Trouble started when the cool down (getting a wort chiller for next one) took almost an hour to get it below 80f. I rehydrated the yeast on the recommendation of my local homebrew guy, poured it into the bucket, dumped the wort on top, have it a stir, and took my reading.

Last time I took the reading before pitching and I'm not sure if that has an effect on the OG? This time the reading was very high, maybe 1.063? Below the beer range on my hydrometer, it should have been 1.050...I added cool water to the kettle, getting to 4 gallons, it was a 5 gallon recipe.

Is this bad? What are the possible outcomes of such a high OG? Any obvious things I did wrong to cause this?

Thanks everyone.

 

[Ski12568]

If your recipe says to look for a OG of 1.050 on a 5 gallon batch and you only have 4 gallons of wort, the gravity reading will be higher because the dissolved solids/sugars are more concentrated. I don't know how much pitching the yeast before you measure will affect the reading, I have only took my OG readings before I pitch yeast.

I'm also assuming it is an extract recipe.

 

[McKnuckle]

Pitching the yeast won't make a difference as long as it hasn't yet begun to ferment the wort (and lower the gravity accordingly). Hydrometers measure dissolved solids, not floating ones.

 

[ol-hazza]

It will increase the alcohol and flavour, and as mentioned is because you made it 4 gal instead of 5.

 

[bradicalism]

Well I'll just roll with it and see what happens I guess. I've heard adding water to the wort can also lead to mixed up gravity readings of you didn't mix them together thoroughly?

As long as the batch isn't a lost cause I can roll with it.

 

[whoaru99]

If it's extract brewing there are only three main things that can really screw up the OG. Listed in order of likelyhood, IMO.

1. Not mixed thoroughly.
2. Too much/too little water.
3. Wrong amount of extract.

In the case of #1 it's not really screwed up, it just looks like it is. If you put in the proper amount of extract and have the correct final volume, the OG will be correct despite what the meter says.

 

[Zolon]

If it's extract brewing there are only three main things that can really screw up the OG. Listed in order of likelyhood, IMO.

1. Not mixed thoroughly.
2. Too much/too little water.
3. Wrong amount of extract.

In the case of #1 it's not really screwed up, it just looks like it is. If you put in the proper amount of extract and have the correct final volume, the OG will be correct despite what the meter says.

This is correct. I didn't mix enough, and I was almost a gallon off (didn't account for boil off), and my OG on a stout was 1.014. After 2 weeks, I measured and it was 1.024. At bottling (5 weeks) it was 1.020. Which is what I expect, as it was only ~4 gallons and not the 5 it should have been.

 

[Dmlsys23]

No worries! I did that my first time (4 gallons instead of 5) and the beer tastes great!

 

[ol-hazza]

Oh i also forgot to mention that hydrometers are calibrated to temperature, so hot wort will give a higher reading.

check out the calculator here

 

[h22lude]

If it's extract brewing there are only three main things that can really screw up the OG. Listed in order of likelyhood, IMO.

1. Not mixed thoroughly.
2. Too much/too little water.
3. Wrong amount of extract.

In the case of #1 it's not really screwed up, it just looks like it is. If you put in the proper amount of extract and have the correct final volume, the OG will be correct despite what the meter says.

I agree with all of this.

The gravity for an extract batch is pretty hard to screw up. You already have a set amount of sugars. As long as you get to the final volume, you will be very close to the estimated OG.

If you only have 4 gallons in primary and it is supposed to be 5 gallons, that is your reason right there. Since it seems like you just finished brewing, just throw in a gallon of spring water from the store (or boiled tap water and chill it) and shake it up well.

If you leave it as is, you will still make beer. It just may not come out like you expected it to. You may have also under pitched your yeast which could cause off flavors. If you aren't going to add water, let the beer sit for 3 weeks at least to give the yeast time to work and clean up.