How did my OG get this high?

[polamalu43]

I brewed a Brewer's Best weizen kit, which uses LME. I thoroughly scraped the insides of the can to get every last drop of extract. When I sparged the wort, I used my net (w/ an elastic band that wraps around the lip of the fermenter). After pouring the wort through the net, I shook it vigorously, and even squeezed it (like squeezing a teabag to get the last drops.

Bottom line: the kit said my OG should be 1.048-1.052.

My OG: 1.068 or 1.070.

Some of the hop pellet flakes may have been "squeezed" through the net and into the wort. I assume this would up my OG.

Any thoughts? Does anyone see a big problem with this. I used Wyeast 3068 with the brew, and it said that it inoculates 5 gallon batches with OGs up to 1.060. My OG exceeds that.

I am sure I measured it correctly. I spun it a number of times, and let my sample rest for a couple of minutes before measuring.

 

[Revvy]

Usually a mis reading in an extract batch is the result of not thoroughly mixing the boiled wort with the top off water...A lot of us have done that on our first few brews...I've started thoroughly mixing it for 5 minutes with a slotted paddle to both areate and integrate the wort...Then I take my reading and pitch my yeast.

 

[malkore]

exactly what revvy said. you pretty much have to stir 5-10 minutes to get it evenly mixed.

just assume the OG range in the recipe is right.

 

[WOP31]

The hop flakes in the wort shouldn't have any bearing on the gravity reading, the only thing that i can think of is that you either didn't mix it enough as was said before, or you took your reading before you added the water to top the batch up to five gallons.

What was the volume of your boil? And what do you mean when you said that you Sparged the wort? Are you meaning when you put the wort in the fermenter?

 

[polamalu43]

Got it. Next time I will mix the water and concentrated boil more thoroughly.

I made a five gallon batch and the boil was two gallons. Will the uneven mixing cause any problems with the fermentation?

 

[eddie]

The uneven mixing shouldn't effect your final beer. As long as you've followed good sanitation practices, it'll be fine.

 

[Revvy]

Got it. Next time I will mix the water and concentrated boil more thoroughly.

I made a five gallon batch and the boil was two gallons. Will the uneven mixing cause any problems with the fermentation?

Nope. You'll be fine.

 

[missing link]

One other thing is that I remember reading that squeezing the bag as you described could help extract tannins. Just let it drip for a few minutes and discard.

 

[Revvy]

One other thing is that I remember reading that squeezing the bag as you described could help extract tannins. Just let it drip for a few minutes and discard.

I don't think he squeezed the grains..I got the impression he strained and squeezed the wort...

But If I'm wrong then +1 to missing link for catching it...

Never squeeze your grain bag....you will get tannins in the wort and it will taste like bitter ice tea. And don't boil your grain bag either.

 

[Kai]

It's surprisingly hard to mix wort thoroughly with top-off water. It's also very very hard to miss your OG with extract: you are adding a precise amount of sugar to a (fairly) precise amount of water, no two ways about it.

Don't worry too much: the stirring-up it'll get in fermentation will be way more thorough than anything we could possibly do.

 

[polamalu43]

You all are awesome for helping me out so much.

What I squeezed was the wort residue (hop pellets mostly) that had accumulated in my net after the boil was done. I did not use any specialty grains. I'll let you all know how it turns out. Keep the tips coming though; they are much appreciated.

 

[Revvy]

You want tips do ya?

Then go here...It's chock full of tips and advice for the new brewer!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=54362