This reading cant be right... can it?

[CreamyGoodness]

I just did a hydrometer reading on a gallon of Irish red. The OG was 1.075 just over a month ago. FG was 1.012. Cant be... can it?

 

[poptarts]

Why not?

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Isnt your typical Irish red a bit lower in abv? My abv calculator has it hovering at almost 8.5%...

 

[boydster]

I think your typical irish red has a lower OG, 1.044-1.060. That might account for some of the added ABV you are seeing

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Interesting. I'll have to write out the recipe when I get home. Maybe that will shed a little light on the matter. What I DON'T want is to find out Im completely incompetant with a hydrometer

 

[weirdboy]

84% apparent attenuation isn't that remarkable. I have had beers with over 90% apparent attenuation.


If you mean 1.075 is an extremely high OG for an Irish Red, then I agree. It's nearly twice what it ought to be.

 

[boydster]

From Beersmith (http://beersmith.com/blog/2011/08/24/irish-red-ale-recipes/):

Original gravity is in the 1.044-1.060 range and final gravity in the 1.010 to 1.014 range for an alcohol level of 4-6% ABV. Bitterness is in the low to moderate 17-28 IBU range. The color is a moderate 9-18 SRM, though it should have a distinctive reddish hue (provided by a small amount of roast malt).​

 

[b-boy]

1.075 is a pretty high starting gravity. I think that would lead to a fairly big beer. I'd normally think that the SG for type of beer would be more in the 1.045-1.055 range. Maybe your first reading was a little off, or you got really good efficiency? Do you have the recipe?

 

[hopdoc]

Attenuation is a little high, I hate when my beers dry out like that... What generation of yeast did you use? Might be time to get some fresh yeast.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Ill write it out when I get home (its on my clipboard). I'm still getting used to the hydro, maybe I did a good reading for the FG but a lousy one for the OG.

 

[unionrdr]

Or you just didn't get the chilled wort & top off water mixed thoroughly enough,giving a false high on the OG.

 

[weirdboy]

As I always say in those cases, if it's an extract recipe, as long as you used all the ingredients and ended up with the right volume of wort, your OG was likely *extremely* close to the target OG despite any measurement errors.

If it's really 1.075 -> 1.012 it should taste and smell quite boozy when you taste a sample, especially at this point after fermentation.