High SG

[ClassicXJ]

So it seems like my starting gravity is always about 8-10 points higher then it should be. My last few brews have been high. I did check my hydrometer in some distilled water so I know it reads correctly. I do full extract boils with steeping grains.

Today I brewed a IPA with 8 lbs of DME which according to the brewing software on my IPOD should get me around 1.070 but I'm closer to 1.080.

When I figure out my gravity on the IPOD I usually don't add the grains in the recipe cause they are being steeped and not mashed. But I was thinking about it today. I usuall steep in 1 gallon of water and I try to mantain 150 degrees Ffor 30-45 minutes. If I add the grains to the recipe then the calcuated SG goes up about 5 points and gets me a little closer to where I am. So does Steeping grains in this manner actually add some points to your SG.

I used 1 lbsCrystal Malt 40L by the way.

 

[Neonsilver]

Think of it this way. The color of the water changes so they must be adding something.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

If you're steeping them for 45 minutes, I could see a little bit of conversion taking place. Have you calibrated your hydrometer, and are you adjusting for temps?

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Think of it this way. The color of the water changes so they must be adding something.

Yes...color. Most of the time, steeping adds nothing but color and flavor. He's talking about gravity points which means the grains are actually converting.

 

[Julohan]

Is this gravity reading being taken with 5 gallons?

 

[ClassicXJ]

I have check my hydrometer in some distilled water. It reads about .002 high so I always take .002 off the reading.

I always take my SG reading right before I pitch when the temp of the wort is around 65 degrees F so there shouldn't be a temp correction... right?

Yes, it's a five gallon batch... I have a wort thief so I draw a sample using that and put it one of those hydrometer test stands.

 

[Yooper]

Maybe you're not exactly at 5 gallons? If you're going by the marks on the bucket, maybe it's just not topped off enough. By being 2 quarts low on 5 gallons, you would increase your OG by about 8 points.

 

[shortyjacobs]

Steeping grains DO add sugars....somewhere around 0.005 per pound of crystal.

Also, are you sure it's 5 gallons of wort? For example, if you REALLY have 4.75 gallons of wort instead of 5, but you are calculating based on 5, your reading will be 5/4.75=1.05x too high. For example, on a 1.050 target based on 5 gallons, if you only have 4.75 gallons, it will read (1.050 - 1)*1.05 + 1 = 1.053 ish

 

[Neonsilver]

Yes...color. Most of the time, steeping adds nothing but color and flavor. He's talking about gravity points which means the grains are actually converting.

Yes but gravity is just weight. Even if you only added food coloring to water it's weight would increase and so would the gravity of it.

 

[mkling]

Yes but gravity is just weight. Even if you only added food coloring to water it's weight would increase and so would the gravity of it.

Not completely true because you are also adding volume. Gravity only goes up if the ratio of weight to volume increases. For lots of things that are added to water (like food coloring), the weight to volume ratio may not be much different than the water, so it won't change gravity.

 

[Neonsilver]

Not completely true because you are also adding volume. Gravity only goes up if the ratio of weight to volume increases. For lots of things that are added to water (like food coloring), the weight to volume ratio may not be much different than the water, so it won't change gravity.

It would if you went further down the decimal places but that's not my point. Just because color is the only thing coming from the steeping grains does not mean that they are not contributing to a higher SG.