O.G way off, not sure why

[iskuse]

This is my third recipe I have done on my own, however I do not own any software. I have done all the calculations on paper. I was attempting to make a Belgian Strong Ale with an Original OG of 1.080. It ended up being 1.200. Which is way off. My first 2 recipies I did were dead on. Does anybody have any idea what might have caused this?

4lbs. Alexanders plain light Malt Syrup (unhopped)
4lbs. Briess plain pilsen light DME - (originally 3.4 lbs.I realized I actually used 4 lbs. After re-calculating this raised the O.G to 1.085)
1.5 lbs Muntons 2 row pale ale (supposed to be belgian, but couldn't get it)
.75lbs Weyerman Vienna
.75lbs. dingemans Aromatic (originally belgian Aroma, I am assuming this is the same or close)
.5 lbs Belgian clear light candi sugar

1 oz Styrian Goldings pellet
.5 oz Sazz

2 grams Grains of paradise
2 grams coriander seeds
24 grams Ginger

Belgian ale liquid yeast

mashed the grains at 150 for 60 minutes
brought to a boil, removed from heat and added extracts, ginger, styrian and candi sugar. brought back to boil 60min.
40 min added coriander, paradise and sazz

cooled to 78f

O.G. 1.200

I calculated the extracts and the sugar at 100% the rest at 68%

I was shooting for 1.080, after realizing I added .6 lbs more DME I recalculated and it raised the O.G to 1.085.

Any thoughts.

 

[beergolf]

Was it a partial boil with top off water in the fermenter?

If so you probably just did not mix it well enough before taking the reading.

Without plugging the ingredients to software I am guessing the 1.080-85 is pretty close to what it should be. With extract it is almost impossible to miss the OG.

 

[MazdaMatt]

1.200? Huh? You mean 1.020?

If that wasn't a typo it is time to check your hydrometer... either that or you read gallons but used litres.

 

[iskuse]

I mashed the grains with 3 gallons, after an hour I sparged the grain with another gallon. I had about 3.5 gallons in the boil after.

After 60min I added cold water to the fermenter. Now that I think about it, i'm not really sure how much though. I would assume at least 2 gallons. It was like 80% humidity here yesterday. (Next time I brew, I am not drinking, you tend to forget things)

As for the reading it was 1.2, I just used the hydrometer about 2 hours earlier becasue I just got done bottling another batch. So I know it works. I was shocked by this reading because I made an imperial IPA with an O.G of 1.100 and I used 4 lbs liquid and 6 lbs DME. The Ale is 4 lbs LMS and 4 lbs DME, with a difference of 2lbs.

Thanks for the posts guys and I will keep you updated. I'm either going to have a brew at about 15% Abv or I messed something up somewhere. Time will tell

Thanks Again

 

[Grumpybumpy]

Maybe your hydrometer was resting on the bottom or stuck to the side of the sample tube? 1.2 is mammoth!

 

[daksin]

I'm going to guess it just wasn't mixed well. There just aren't enough fermentables in your recipe to generate that kind of gravity. Even if the measurement was done "correctly" I'd be willing to bet that it doesn't reflect what your actual gravity was for one reason or another. Incomplete mixing of the top-off water stands out.

 

[KevinW]

I mashed the grains with 3 gallons, after an hour I sparged the grain with another gallon. I had about 3.5 gallons in the boil after.

After 60min I added cold water to the fermenter. Now that I think about it, i'm not really sure how much though. I would assume at least 2 gallons. It was like 80% humidity here yesterday. (Next time I brew, I am not drinking, you tend to forget things)

As for the reading it was 1.2, I just used the hydrometer about 2 hours earlier becasue I just got done bottling another batch. So I know it works. I was shocked by this reading because I made an imperial IPA with an O.G of 1.100 and I used 4 lbs liquid and 6 lbs DME. The Ale is 4 lbs LMS and 4 lbs DME, with a difference of 2lbs.

Thanks for the posts guys and I will keep you updated. I'm either going to have a brew at about 15% Abv or I messed something up somewhere. Time will tell

Thanks Again

So if I am reading correct, you ended up 3.5 gallons post-boil?
Did you top up to 5 gallons for the fermentor?

If not then you have 9.5lbs of extract with .5lbs of candi sugar in a 3.5 gallon batch?

If that is the case then that may account for the higher gravity. Of course I could be reading this incorrect and if so, sorry!

 

[iskuse]

It was a 5 gallon batch. With the info and suggestions posted above, I can assume that when I took the sample it was from the bottom of the bucket which would make sense of a 1.200. I don't have software so I thought I might have made a miscalculation somewhere. It's hard to find the SG's of some of these products so I can calculate the amounts needed. Also need to remember that the sugars and LME/DME are calculated at 100%

I already added the yeast so there is no way to really find out if it was due to poor mixing.

thanks for all the suggestions, they have been a big help. I feel confident that I have done the math right but possibly messed up on the mixing/reading of the finished Wort

 

[iskuse]

Status update:
after 2 days in the primary, it blew the lid off. Now I have had some pretty strong fermentation before, but have never had the lid blow off the bucket.

This thing has been fermenting pretty strong for about 5 days.

transfered to secondary, FG was 1.020, which is right on target, so I can only assume I messed up the OG reading.

So far it tastes pretty good, going to bottle this weekend.

 

[beergolf]

Status update:
after 2 days in the primary, it blew the lid off. Now I have had some pretty strong fermentation before, but have never had the lid blow off the bucket.

This thing has been fermenting pretty strong for about 5 days.

transfered to secondary, FG was 1.020, which is right on target, so I can only assume I messed up the OG reading.

So far it tastes pretty good, going to bottle this weekend.

You should consider waiting to bottle for a while. Belgian yeasts continue to work for a long time and it may not be done fermenting yet. They slowly work and the last few points may take a while to come down. If you bottle too soon you risk bottle bombs.

I usually leave them for 5-6 weeks for a beer that big.

 

[BeerChef17]

You should consider waiting to bottle for a while. Belgian yeasts continue to work for a long time and it may not be done fermenting yet. They slowly work and the last few points may take a while to come down.

I usually leave them for 5-6 weeks for a beer that big.

+1 .... if the lid blew off your fermenter it be safest to wait a little longer to bottle. Last thing you need is flying shards of glass

 

[johnheather125]

There are plenty of free homebrewing softwares out there. try Qbrew free and easy to use

 

[johnheather125]

just google Qbrew

 

[iskuse]

There are plenty of free homebrewing softwares out there. try Qbrew free and easy to use

I'll have to check this out, Thanks!