Is this unusual?

[ianhey]

I've been brewing this extract + steeped grains from my LBS called "Wet & Wild West Coast Wheat", (I think that's the name). It's essentially a Heff. I've brewed four batches since last fall ... and they've all come out really well.

So, since I'd tapped the keg about a month ago, I decided to make another batch this past weekend. I picked up the ingredients Saturday, made a starter and brewed on Monday.

Here is what caught me off guard ... when I checked the SG, after cooling the wort to ~65F and while transferring to the carboy, I got a reading of just over 1.070? The recipe calls for a high OG of 1.048. I checked the hydrometer in tap water and got 1.0.

The first thing I noticed was that my volume was a little low. I estimated I only had about 4.25G in the carboy. I'm not sure why ... I'm pretty anal about measurements. The total boil ended up being about 70 minutes instead of the usual 60. Anyway I topped up with pre-boiled water to bring it up to 5.25G. I didn't re-check the SG, I don't like to mess with the wort any more than need be.

The recipe is pretty simple: 1LB of custom crushed grains steeped in 2 gallon of water for 45 mins @ ~160F; "Tea bag" the grains in the main brew pot with 3.5 gallon water at 165F; Add the 2 gallon of steeped grain liquor to the main brew pot; Dissolve in 7LB's of wheat LME off the heat; Bring to a full boil; Skim off foam; Hop additions at 60, 20 and flame out; Cool / Rack / Pitch .. done. I don't bother with Irish Moss for a Heff.

So .. any ideas as to why I get such a high OG? I'm pretty confident in the Hydrometer. I've brewed plenty of other batches pretty much the same way and never been off by so much. The only thing I tinkered with was using 2 gallon of water for steeping, in the past I've used 1/2G and more recently 1G. I'm sure the wort was "mixed up" unless it somehow separated during the chill down. Can anyone calc. what the OG would dilute to when I added the 1 gallon of water?

Thanks!

 

[Revvy]

It's a pretty common issue for ANYONE topping off with water in the fermenter (and that includes partial mashes, extract or all grain revcipes) to have an error in reading the OG...In fact, it is actually nearly impossible to mix the wort and the top off water in a way to get an accurate OG reading...

Brewers get a low reading if they get more of the top off water than the wort, conversely they get a higher number if they grabbed more of the extract than the top off water in their sample.

When I am doing an extract with grain recipe I make sure to stir for a minimum of 5 minutes (whipping up a froth to aerate as well) before I draw a grav sample and pitch my yeast....It really is an effort to integrate the wort with the top off water...This is a fairly common new brewer issue we get on here...unless you under or over topped off or the final volume for the kit was 5 gallons and you topped off to 5.5, then the issue, sorry to say, is "operator error"

More than likely your OG is really what it's supposed to be.

 

[ianhey]

The 1.070 reading was before I added any water to bring it up from 4.25G to 5.25G. The reading was straight out of the brew pot.

Isn't 1.070 way high for 4.25G of wort with 7LB of LME + 1LB of steeped grains?

Thanks!

 

[beerman1957]

I think you had a lot of hop particles in the first test of SG. The numbers certainly don't add up to 1.070. I would just top it off to 5.5 gallons and let it be. I never take SG and FG anymore because I am too lazy and don't care, especially the ABV.

The beer is still really good.

 

[Shooter]

The 1.070 reading was before I added any water to bring it up from 4.25G to 5.25G. The reading was straight out of the brew pot.

Isn't 1.070 way high for 4.25G of wort with 7LB of LME + 1LB of steeped grains?

Thanks!

Not really, if I crunch 7 lbs of wheat LME and 1lb of steeped grain through BrewPal, I just randomly went with Crystal 30, not sure what you used, it gives me a 1.066 post boil gravity for 4 gallons.

 

[l1ranger]

if you had 1.07 with 4.25 gallons of wort and added 1 gallon of water it should knock it down to about 1.05.

is that closer to what your looking for? that seems about right to me?

 

[ianhey]

Not really, if I crunch 7 lbs of wheat LME and 1lb of steeped grain through BrewPal, I just randomly went with Crystal 30, not sure what you used, it gives me a 1.066 post boil gravity for 4 gallons.

I think that must be it. The sample looked clean, (and tasted great). So I'm beginning to think maybe I had 1.25LB's of grain or so and 7.5LB's LME ... that would, I guess bring me up to the 1.070?

Is there a way to calc what the OG was ... 4.25G x 1.070 @ 65F + 1G x 1.0 @ 65F = 5.25G @ OG??

Thanks!

 

[Shooter]

If you calculate it with 8lbs LME at 4.25 gallons it comes out at 1.070 exactly. Adding one gallon of water puts it at 5.25 gallons and and OG of 1.056.

EDIT: It is possible they gave you too much LME. I've had it happen before.

 

[ianhey]

if you had 1.07 with 4.25 gallons of wort and added 1 gallon of water it should knock it down to about 1.05.

is that closer to what your looking for? that seems about right to me?

Yes .. I usually get about 1.045 - 1.050 with the recipe. I'm voting for a little more malts that I thought and a lower volume. I have never had to top up my wort in the past, I've always had enough volume after a full boil. I'll have to watch the volumes and weights in the future.

Thanks!