weird first try with hydrometer

[pattim]

I've been more or less just following the instructions (times, temperatures, etc.), first with Mr. Beer and now with Austin Homebrew Supply kits. This last batch I tried was the chocolate raspberry stout. Excellent. I love the smell of the ingredients and the aroma coming out of the fermenter. I decided to test my new hydrometer. I pulled a cylinder of boil out of my pot, cooled properly, and the SG was 1.150!!!! The target SG in the instructions was 1.054. Granted, I had added one of their "booster" bags as well as a pound of Cooper's light dry malt extract, but that seems very high to me. So I kinda panicked and did a short boil (35 minutes) and dumped it into the fermenter (it needed one more gallon of water to make 5 gallons).

I pitched a vial of WLP099 and a vial of WLP013 (the second one came with the kit).

The long and short of it is that I made their recipe and added a pound of LDME and a bag of booster. That does not seem like a lot to me, but 1.15 qualifies as a "big" beer from what I've read... and adding that gallon of water probably only brought it down to 1.12 or so.

So where did I goof up? Does a pound of LDME really raise the SG that much?

 

[wailingguitar]

Were you doing a partial boil? If so, your gravity would seem extremely high before the rest of the water was added.

 

[amazinglarry]

No it doesn't. First off adding a gallon of water to four gallons will have more of an affect on your gravity than 3 points. Second, temperature affects the reading of a hydrometer. You must be aware of this since you mentioned that you cooled your sample before reading, however, you might not be aware that your hydrometer is set to take samples at 60 degrees. Perhaps it was still hot? There are plenty of conversion charts for temperature online if you need one.

If the target gravity was 1054 and you added 1 lb of light dry malt extract, your gravity should be in the range of 1063. The addition of the booster should bring it to around 1070. If you're getting reading in the 1150 range then something was done wrong when taking the reading or the volume was significantly lower than 5 gallons.

 

[pattim]

No it doesn't. First off adding a gallon of water to four gallons will have more of an affect on your gravity than 3 points. Second, temperature affects the reading of a hydrometer. You must be aware of this since you mentioned that you cooled your sample before reading, however, you might not be aware that your hydrometer is set to take samples at 60 degrees. Perhaps it was still hot? There are plenty of conversion charts for temperature online if you need one.

If the target gravity was 1054 and you added 1 lb of light dry malt extract, your gravity should be in the range of 1063. The addition of the booster should bring it to around 1070. If you're getting reading in the 1150 range then something was done wrong when taking the reading or the volume was significantly lower than 5 gallons.

Thank you - this is why I was confused! My hydrometer says it's set for 60F, and I have a couple of thermometers (digital and a chocolate tempering thermometer) I think I was at 63F when I measured it. There was about 4 gallons in the pot (marks on the side) when I measured. The water added was just about a gallon to get to 5 gallons (maybe a gallon and a half). I did 1.12 = [4*(1.15) + 1*(1.00)]/5 but this is probably not right... I guess maybe AHS's liquid extract is a lot higher SG than I thought?

Thanks for the info - I guess I need a lot more practice.

 

[amazinglarry]

I guess maybe AHS's liquid extract is a lot higher SG than I thought

It not very likely, generally a 3.3 can of liquid extract is going to yield a gravity of 1023 in a final volume of 5 gallons. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for you based on what you posted but I can say for certain that you did not create a 1.150 OG beer based on the ingredients you described.

 

[pattim]

Humph - I guess I shouldn't be sampling the previous batch while boiling the new one - I must have read the hydro wrong!! The airlock has stopped bubbling after 5 days, maybe I'll pull the lid off, sanitize the hydrometer, and check the SG - and maybe add a pound of honey... see if it starts bubbling again.
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EDIT: I had my BF lift the bucket onto the counter and that shaking started it bubbling again!! Oh no! Did I mess something up? :-(
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I just got a box of Coopers LME, Coopers "Enhancer," and one each cans of Coopers Dark and Light liquid malt extracts. So many choices!! I have a kit of AHS Turkish Coffee Stout (with booster) sitting in the fridge. I am not sure which to add to get a nice "big" beer.