What did I just make? OG=1.110???

[Captain Damage]

I just finished cooking up this oatmeal stout. BeerSmith estimated the OG @ 1.061. My hydrometer is telling me 1.110! (Yes, the sample was at 60f.) This stuff is thick. I thought I was keeping pretty close to the guidelines for a sweet stout in Daniels. I haven't pitched yet. Should I be checking OG later, rather than immediately after making the wort? This was a 2 gallon boil, diluted up to a 5 gallon batch.

6 lbs Briess Golden Light DME (4.0 SRM) Dry Extract 56.15 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 14.04 %
1 lbs Oatmeal (Quick Oats) (1.0 SRM) Grain 9.36 %
12.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 7.02 %
8.0 oz Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 4.68 %
7.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 4.09 %
1.00 oz Challenger [7.00 %] (60 min) Hops 20.7 IBU
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
8.0 oz Molasses (80.0 SRM) Sugar 4.68 %
1 Pkgs Irish Ale (White Labs #WLP004) Yeast-Ale

 

[wyzazz]

You sure it was mixed up well?

 

[torque2k]

Without punching those numbers into a calc, it seems like it'd be in the 1.060-70 range...

No matter, if you didn't pitch yet, the most important thing is MORE YEAST. Hopefully you have a starter made from that vial. If not, get to the store and grab another, or make a starter today and pitch tomorrow. 1.070 or 1.110, one vial won't be enough to take it to drinkable range (at least, not with MY brewing luck).

 

[torque2k]

You sure it was mixed up well?

Good point! Dang, I always forget to mention that. When you grabbed your sample for the hydrometer test, did you fully mix that wort after adding the water? I mean, really really mix it up? If not, the heavier sugars will tend to sink, and if your sample tube was down in the wort a bit, it grabbed the heavier sample. Up top, it may have measured WAY lower.

 

[wyzazz]

Either way, double the yeast or make a starter as stated above.

 

[Yooper]

In a 5 gallon batch, it's just not possible to get that high of an OG. You used 6 pounds of DME and a few grains. If you did an extract batch (and not a partial mash) I would expect that you'd get 1.060-ish. You can rest assured that your OG is in the 1.060 range and you just got a bad hydrometer reading. No need for more yeast or to worry. It's fine.

 

[Captain Damage]

Thanks for the quick replies!

I thought I'd mixed it up pretty well. Gave it a few good shakes, both deliberately and incidentally as I moved the carboy from the top-up area the fermenting area of my kitchen.

I had originally planned on Wyeast 1084, but they were out so I got the WLP004 and made a starter last night. So while I do have a starter, it's pretty young. (yeah, I know everyone says I'd need a starter with the smack-packs too, but my admittedly limited experience has shown it's not necessary) My sink-full-of-ice cooling method was pretty efficient and so I'm actually waiting right now for the temp to creep up a couple of degrees before I pitch.

One thing I was wondering is if the thickening... gunk, or whatever you call it, from the oatmeal might cause a false reading. But I made an oatmeal stout about 18 months ago and IIRC the OG was right on in the 60-ish range.

 

[wendelgee2]

(yeah, I know everyone says I'd need a starter with the smack-packs too, but my admittedly limited experience has shown it's not necessary)

A) It depends on the gravity of the beer you're doing. If you're doing a 1.028 beer, one vial/pack would be fine.
B) Making an appropriate starter was the #1 thing I did to improve my beer. The difference was night and day.
C) Don't just rely on your limited experience. Consult the experts...they have much much more experience: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

 

[Captain Damage]

I just pitched and took another reading. At 1.051 this one was actually quite a bit lower than the recipe suggests, so clearly it's not mixed up very well. I'll check again later tonight.

 

[wyzazz]

Mixing it is! A suggestion if you're going to continue with partial boils, if I may. Pick up one of those wort mixer jobbies that go on the end of your drill. It'll aerate your wort and mix it up all in one shot.

 

[Yooper]

I just pitched and took another reading. At 1.051 this one was actually quite a bit lower than the recipe suggests, so clearly it's not mixed up very well. I'll check again later tonight.

No need to check it again. It's fine. Check it in about 7-10 days or so, to see if it's done (and it should be). If you recheck it again, that will gain you nothing. You've already pitched the yeast, and it may or may not be fermenting. If the OG is 1.060, 1.050, or anything else, what difference does it make? Just put down 1.061 in your notes and call it good. Since it's an extract batch, it's impossible to miss your OG by more than a couple of points.

 

[torque2k]

No need to check it again. It's fine. Check it in about 7-10 days or so, to see if it's done (and it should be). If you recheck it again, that will gain you nothing.

+1. The more you open that fermenter, the more chances you have to get bad juju mixed in with the good beer! Close it, lock it, and walk away for a week, like Yooper said.

 

[Captain Damage]

Yeah, I didn't bother taking another reading. Really the only reason I care is if I have reliable numbers I like to put an abv number on the labels. But that's just for novelty anyway - my friends and I only care about whether it tastes good.

Not too OT: Does anyone know where to get one of those wort-mixer drill attachments? My LHBS doesn't seem to cary them. Paint mixers from Home Depot are too big to fit in the neck of a BetterBottle (1.75in) and are made of metal anyway, probably scratch the hell out of it.

 

[wendelgee2]

Have you tried the siphon sprayer?
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewi...enting-equipment/aeration/siphon-sprayer.html

It's simple, cheap, and does the job. (No more trying to pick up a full bucket or carboy.)

On the otherhand, it doesn't allow you to use a power tool....

 

[NewBrewB]

What is this mixing divice for a drill? That sounds WAY easier than my vigorous stirring with a 2' plastic spoon. (Though I was thinking about using two spoons simultaneously to break up the flow and catch more air.)

 

[torque2k]

Not too OT: Does anyone know where to get one of those wort-mixer drill attachments? My LHBS doesn't seem to cary them. Paint mixers from Home Depot are too big to fit in the neck of a BetterBottle (1.75in) and are made of metal anyway, probably scratch the hell out of it.

Oh, you're in BBs for a primary? In that case, you just need to plug the top of the bottle, stick a tennis ball under the bottle in the pit, or dome-shaped "bump", and shake baby shake! Easy peasy, and cheap to boot. After 5-10 minutes of that, your wort will be completely mixed with the water, and then you can take that reading. Note that you must use a ball under that bumped dome. If you simply roll the bottle on its edge, the seams of the plastic welds will rupture. Though not covered by warranty, I've heard quite a few people get replacements from the company; that's good customer support.

I believe BB has a video of this on their site... if not, I know I saw it somewhere, maybe YouTube.

 

[jjones17]

I just pitched and took another reading. At 1.051 this one was actually quite a bit lower than the recipe suggests, so clearly it's not mixed up very well. I'll check again later tonight.

Are you sure you were reading the correct column on your hydrometer? That happened to me on my second batch...

 

[eljefe]

"Note that you must use a ball under that bumped dome. If you simply roll the bottle on its edge, the seams of the plastic welds will rupture."

Ohhh I would be pi$$ed if I went through the effort of brewing the wort only to have the entire batch end up on my kitchen floor. Thanks for the heads up especially since I just bought a 6 gallon BB to serve as a primary.

 

[CiscoKid]

"Note that you must use a ball under that bumped dome. If you simply roll the bottle on its edge, the seams of the plastic welds will rupture."

Ohhh I would be pi$$ed if I went through the effort of brewing the wort only to have the entire batch end up on my kitchen floor. Thanks for the heads up especially since I just bought a 6 gallon BB to serve as a primary.

Wow, I always take my BB's, lean them over at a 45 degree angle, and roll/shake them like they owe me money to aerate. Apparently I'm going to have to rethink that. I'd be seriously peeved to have the seam fail.

 

[northernlad]

When I do partial boils I strain my wort into a graduated bucket, top it to 5 gallons and transfer back and forth between my pot and the bucket a fews times before pouring into my carboy. No more shady OG readings.

 

[torque2k]

FYI, here's a link to the company's How-To page. Scroll down the page to the Mixing/Degassing section. Check the "Important Note:" part. You have to figure that these bottles are welded at some spot; I was surprised to see that the edge most homebrewers would naturally roll the bottles on was the (failure) point of these welds.

That said, I'd still love to have a couple.

 

[impatient]

You need to let the bubbles rise out before checking the gravity. this can really throw things out of wack.