Why is my OG so high?

[Tarheel4985]

Hello everyone. I've been eagerly reading the forums for about a month but this is my first post. I just started brewing about 2 weeks ago and my first batch seemed to go pretty well (an extract Brown kit). However, I just finished my second batch and I'm a little concerned about my OG. I did a partial grain for the first time and I think I did everything right. I made a Magic Hat #9 clone and the recipe had a predicted OG of 1.057 but my actual OG was 1.072. Here's the recipe I used:

0.2# Crystal Malt 60L
0.75# English Wheat Malt
(steeped grains for 45 mins. at 165 deg F)
7.25# light LME (recipe called for 6# light DME)
1 oz. Fuggle (whole, 60 mins.)
0.5 oz. Traditional (pellets, 30 mins.) (recipe called for Tettnanger)
0.25 oz. Cascade (pellets, 15 mins.) (recipe called for 5 mins.)

Do you think the slight variations from the recipe would account for such a large difference in OG? Should I do anything differently from here on out? How much longer should I expect fermentation to take?

Thanks in advance for any insight you guys can provide. I appreciate all the useful knowledge here and the willingness of experienced brewers to help out the new guys.

 

[EvilTOJ]

The most common cause of the OG being so high with extract batches is insufficient mixing of the top-up water with the boil. It takes literally 5 minutes of vigorous stirring to get it mixed in properly. You're fine, I'd go with the predicted OG of 1.057.

And welcome to the forum!

 

[Tarheel4985]

I took the gravity measurement after pouring the wort between the brew pot and the fermentation bucket several times. Would that still cause insufficient mixing?

 

[dontman]

Your OG was 1.057-58 for that batch as long as your final volume was 5.0 Gallons. Are you short on volume?

 

[Tarheel4985]

No, I filled it to 5 gallons (added about 1 gallon to the 4 gallons of wort). Maybe EvilTOJ was right, otherwise I'm not sure how to explain it.

 

[EvilTOJ]

I took the gravity measurement after pouring the wort between the brew pot and the fermentation bucket several times. Would that still cause insufficient mixing?

Yep, that can still cause bad readings. Extract is very consistent sugar-wise, so it's not like all grain where you won't know what kind of readings you'll get until you take them. When I made extract batches the only way I'd get the hydro reading to jive with the recipe was to use a mud mixer in the brew pot for a few minutes, then shake the carboy like it owed me money after pitching the yeast.

I'm at work so I don't have brewsmith, so I ran your recipe through tastybrew.com's calculator. It said your estimated OG is 1.056. Also, a higher OG doesn't necessarily mean that fermentation will take longer.

 

[The Pol]

Yeah, you cannot really "increase" your efficiency with extract... it is like pouring a cup of sugar into a gallon of water, it will be the same each time.

If you used the prescribed ammount of sugars (close) and ACTUALLY ended up with the correct final volume, your OG is 1.056 or close to it.

 

[D-Ring]

If I can piggy-back on the question, what makes FGs come out too high?

 

[stevenryals]

Mine was 1.080 with a newcastle clone... but i'm sure I didnt mix it well enough..

 

[Tarheel4985]

Evil & Pol, thanks for the replies. So I'll just use the estimated 1.056 as my OG. Good to know I didn't somehow mess up the batch (even though I'm sure it would have still been ok).

So it sounds like it's somewhat pointless to even take OG hydrometer readings for extract batches. Will the readings for FG still be accurate? Or should I wait until all grain to even mess with the hydrometer?

 

[The Pol]

Your SG will vary... THAT depends on aeration, yeast health and temp... I would still take an SG, otherwise how will you know that it is done fermenting?

 

[The Pol]

If I can piggy-back on the question, what makes FGs come out too high?

With an extract? Poor mixing.

With all grain? Planning for say 70% efficiency and actually getting say 80% efficiency.

OR, in both cases you can have a higher OG if your final volume is less than what is planned, say 5 gallons. If you have 4 gallons, you will be concentrating the sugars, thus a higher OG.

 

[D-Ring]

Extract. By poor mixing, do you mean poor aeration? My ferment temps tend to be a little low, 63-65, does that effect FG?

Thanks

 

[The Pol]

Extract. By poor mixing, do you mean poor aeration? My ferment temps tend to be a little low, 63-65, does that effect FG?

Thanks

In an extract brew you are basically pouring a cup of sugar in a gallon of water. What happens to the sugar? It drops to the bottom, so if you measure the SG of the TOP liquid, the SG is very low. If you take the SG of the BOTTOM liquid, it is very high... it needs to be mixed well so that it is homogenous. That will affect the OG only.

POOR aeration for yeast activity will affect your FG, so will temp. 63F isnt necessarily too low, each yeast has an optimal temperature range that you should be looking at when utilizing that specific yeast strain.

 

[JMSetzler]

Your original gravity was most likely higher than expected because you used more malt extract than the recipe called for. When you add more fermentable sugars to the kettle, the gravity is going to be higher. I would NOT go with the described OG. I would use the OG that you observed since you changed the recipe. That simple change that you made in the recipe should account for the difference that you noticed.

 

[The Pol]

Your original gravity was most likely higher than expected because you used more malt extract than the recipe called for. When you add more fermentable sugars to the kettle, the gravity is going to be higher. I would NOT go with the described OG. I would use the OG that you observed since you changed the recipe. That simple change that you made in the recipe should account for the difference that you noticed.

His increase in extract will not equal what he got for an OG, I think that has been the point all along.

 

[JMSetzler]

His increase in extract will not equal what he got for an OG, I think that has been the point all along.

I believe that the extra extract is the primary cause. It simply makes more sense to look at that rather than to write it off and go with the estimated numbers based on the original recipe.

 

[The Pol]

I believe that the extra extract is the primary cause. It simply makes more sense to look at that rather than to write it off and go with the estimated numbers based on the original recipe.

His fermentables, when entered into BeerSmith equal 1.058....

So again, not writing anything off, just looking at the fact that there is not enough sugar in 5 gallons of water to reach 1.072 in any way.


If 2+2 = 4 and you are getting 6... it doesnt mean that 2+2 actually equals 6, it means you accidentally entered a 4 instead of a 2.

This is a measurement issue, not an OG issue.

 

[antsp1]

Also don't forget to adjust your OG reading for the temp of the wort.

Ant

 

[The Pol]

Also don't forget to adjust your OG reading for the temp of the wort.

Ant

That too... again, it is a measurement issue. We get at least 2 or three posts identical to this each week from extract brewers. Even temp wont change it TOO much... -.01 to +.10 from a temp of 40F to 150F...

 

[Tarheel4985]

I'm with Pol. I believe 7.25 # of LME is about the equivalent of 6# of DME. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[The Pol]

I'm with Pol. I believe 7.25 # of LME is about the equivalent of 6# of DME. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Probably, because of the water in the LME...

But, BeerSmith doesnt lie... it shows 1.058 with your recipe. No biggie, you made beer and the yeast will find the sugars.

EDIT you are exactly right... 6# of DME is about equal to 7# of LME

 

[dontman]

I believe that the extra extract is the primary cause. It simply makes more sense to look at that rather than to write it off and go with the estimated numbers based on the original recipe.

We did not pull the OG out of our butts Setzler. We calculated it from the recipe amounts that he quoted. We are not simply telling him to go with the Original estimate because OGs are suspect.

With the amounts that he quoted (if accurate) and the volume he quoted (if accurate) then the OG we quoted is exact. Period.

And to answer the question about 'why take an og on extract?' I never did or would on an extract batch. The reading is useless. If it is right you know it because it matches the predicted from the recipe software. If it is wrong it is much more likely that your reading was wrong.

FG readings are a different story entirely. They are truly variable and very important to tell you the whole story about how your brew is proceeding.

 

[The Pol]

We did not pull the OG out of our butts Setzler. We calculated it from the recipe amounts that he quoted. We are not simply telling him to go with the Original estimate because OGs are suspect.

With the amounts that he quoted (if accurate) and the volume he quoted (if accurate) then the OG we quoted is exact. Period.

And to answer the question about 'why take an og on extract?' I never did or would on an extract batch. The reading is useless. If it is right you know it because it matches the predicted from the recipe software. If it is wrong it is much more likely that your reading was wrong.

FG readings are a different story entirely. They are truly variable and very important to tell you the whole story about how your brew is proceeding.

Cmon, you know you pull recipe sheets out of your butt... look at all those paper cuts!

 

[dontman]

Cmon, you know you pull recipe sheets out of your butt... look at all those paper cuts!

Oo owww! Papercuts on the butt! Ouch.

 

[JMSetzler]

We did not pull the OG out of our butts Setzler. We calculated it from the recipe amounts that he quoted. We are not simply telling him to go with the Original estimate because OGs are suspect.

Sorry.. I'm moving along now...

 

[Tarheel4985]

Thanks for the info. From now on when I do extract batches I'll only worry about taking FG readings. Although I hope to move to all grain soon...