That was unexpected...

[EvilDrFoetus]

Managed to get an extract kit so figured I'd give it a shot - 75 minute boil in 6 litres (About a gallon and a half, half my kettle size), little over 2# of DME at the start and the same again after.

So steeped, didn't lose much volume (only about 1# of grain anyway) and got it to what I think counts as a boil:

Lobbed the DME in, got a bit of a surge, nothing unexpected:

Up until the end of the boil things went OK, save for missionaries turning up and refusing to leave, and the CO alarm going off in the kitchen so I had to vent everything to Hell.

For the last five minutes I added the balance of DME and this happened, almost instantly:

Everything settled back down when I cut the heat, transferred OK and ended up with an OG of 1.044 (supposed to be 1.039) so I don't know how I screwed up there, also pretty much impossible to prevent foaming when everything goes in the fermenter:

Seems to have taken off OK (rehydrated yeast, looked like shaving foam and just dumped the blob onto the wort) so I think it might have worked.

But is that normal for a boil? I thought I'd be safe to go for 8 litres next time but I'm not sure (that and my apartment really isn't cut out for long stovetop burns, so it's case of going for an electric kettle or CO narcosis :/)

And did I screw up the hydrometer reading? It's pretty much impossible to get rid of the bubbles:

 

[Aristotelian]

Hard to tell from the angle, but it looks more like about 1.042 to me. What was the temp of the wort when you took that sample? If it is warm, that can throw off your results. There are calculators that can adjust your reading for temperature.

Everything else looks good.

 

[chickypad]

Can you take an edge of paper towel and wipe away the bubbles? It actually think it looks like about 1.046 or so. It's hard to tell in still pics but looks like you may not need such an aggressive boil. Should be active and rolling but not crazily so. I don't use extract much but if I do I just add at flameout to avoid any boilover. You can also try ferm cap if you want to do bigger boils and are limited by kettle space. Or spray with a water bottle as it's boiling up.

 

[BobOki]

I am going with 1.042 as well. The color change lines are the 30|40 mark, and it is just a hair below the 40... But yeah as asked what temp was your sample at?

 

[EvilDrFoetus]

19 C, calibration's for 20 so it's a point tops. Hydro has a tendency to lean to the edges of the jar (much less than a plastic one though), and it's nearer .044 at the meniscus (assuming you read there on hydrometers).

Steep may have been a little high if that'd draw more sugars out, I know very little comes from the grains though

 

[kh54s10]

The foaming it expected when adding malt extract.
The yeast being the consistency of shaving cream is normal and good. It tells you that the yeast are alive and probably well.
The hydrometer looks like 1.042 to me also. The reasons you can be off: Uneven mix when topping up, or stratified wort. Gravity sample not at the temperature of it's calibration. (usually 60 degrees F) Incorrect volume in the end. Inaccurate recipe/kit.

 

[Paps]

The hydrometer bubbles can be overcome by completely filling it, Sure you will lose a small amount of wort to spillage but you should get a more accurate reading.