Why is my OG so high on my extract brew?

[elninbo]

2nd batch ever, going for a robust porter. I'll give the 5 gallon amounts for ease of understanding. Here's the recipe:

3.5 lbs light DME
3.5 lbs light DME (late addition)

1 lb Victory
.5 lb Chocolate
.25 lb Black

.5 oz EKG @60
.75 oz Willamette @40
.75 oz Willamette @20

Wyeast 1084

I scaled this back for a 2 gallon batch. 2.5 gal boil volume. 1.5 gal post boil. Topped off to get 2 gallons. BrewFriend calculates the OG @ 1.063
My actual reading was 1.083. Is the wort really THAT unhomogenized(sp?) that my reading would be 20 points off? Help?

 

[flars]

Yes, an SG reading can be that far off. It is also possible the estimated OG is a bit off. Estimated OG with a calculator depends on the default Points Per Gallon entered in the calculator for the extract. Actual OG could have been a few points higher than the estimated.

 

[Kent88]

so 2.8lb DME, 0.4lb victory, 0.2lb Chocolate malt, and 0.1lb black malt? Brewersfriend gives me 1.067 for a 2-gallon batch, 1.090 if you have left it at 1.5gallon (75% efficiency).

 

[Paps]

Could potentially be too much boil off.
Could also bee `off` on the gravity reading if not done at the calibrated temperature.
Or maybe even Jimmy Hoffa snuck into your kitchen and threw in some DME into your wort while you weren't watching.......that sneeky guy him.

 

[Kent88]

Could potentially be too much boil off.
Could also bee `off` on the gravity reading if not done at the calibrated temperature.
Or maybe even Jimmy Hoffa snuck into your kitchen and threw in some DME into your wort while you weren't watching.......that sneeky guy him.

nonsense, even if Jimmy Sr. were still alive, he'd be over 100. Doubt he'd be sneaking anywhere, though probably not for lack of trying.

 

[uncleleon]

the lower the batch size the more room for error. gravity readings are hard, or kinda organic, just take the same measurements at the same time during the process for the most revealing results.

 

[elninbo]

Thanks guys. Here's to hoping it finishes below 1.020

 

[elninbo]

so 2.8lb DME, 0.4lb victory, 0.2lb Chocolate malt, and 0.1lb black malt? Brewersfriend gives me 1.067 for a 2-gallon batch, 1.090 if you have left it at 1.5gallon (75% efficiency).

I used and measured in ounces for accuracy. And I just remembered I dropped in some more DME (hah!) Actual recipe for two gallons is: 3.5 lbs DME, 6.4oz victory, 3.2oz chocolate, 1.6oz black. I have 70% efficiency on BrewFriend.

 

[elninbo]

I think from now on I'll take reading before topping off then calculate the OG for the full amount in the fermenter.

 

[joshesmusica]

If you get beersmith it has a tool that will calculate your top off for you. You just type in your og and then type in how much you're gonna top off, change that amount according to where you want your og to end up at. Then no need to measure after top up.