Missed OG by a country mile

[stdywell]

Hi all,

I brewed a NB cream aLe extract kit today. Actually I used their recipe, but picked up ingredients at my local store. It called for 6 lbs of Pilsen LME, and steeping grains of .75 lbs of honey malt and .25 lbs of Belgian biscuit. Steep the grains for 20 min and boil LME for 60 minutes.
Only change I made was I used Breiss Pilsen LME (6.6 lbs ) and Dingemans biscuit instead of Belgian biscuit. ( are they the same ? ) 1oz cluster for 60.

Instructions call for 1.040 OG and I got 1.054 . Wth ? I thought it may be my new hydrometer, so I tested a Chinook IPA that has been in primary for two weeks and that is about where I would expect it to be (1.012 ish)

Would the different amount of LME account for this ? Am trying to understand how fermentables and quantities effect OG, but not there yet.
Not sure what to expect if I leave it be. I pitched Safale us-05 and it is in a swamp cooler right now at about 68 degrees.

Any thoughts and or suggestions ?


Thank you

Doug

 

[brewn00b4]

The water and wort mixture probably wasn't mixed very well, giving you an off reading. It's common in extract kits. As long as you ended up with 5 gallons total you're most likely fine .

 

[stdywell]

Hmm... I ran this thru ibrewmaster and maybe I am not so far off. Not sure I am using it properly, but it shows I should have 1.050. Still, something doesn't seem right because the NB extract and the Breiss are both 1.036 and the weight diff doesn't add up to the gravity diff I am seeing.

 

[homebrewdad]

This is a dirt common issue for new brewers (did it twice myself).

The problem is that you added top off water, but it's almost impossible to fully mix it in. Don't worry, the yeast will do it during fermentation.

The upshot is that you pulled a gravity reading with more concentrated wort than water, so your reading was artificially high.

The thing is that extract has a set amount of sugars. If you use the right amount of extract and hit your batch volume, you CANNOT miss the target gravity by more than a couple thousandths. It's just not possible.

Just use the OG on the kit directions/recipe, and call it a day.

 

[stdywell]

Not mixing it well enough makes sense. Thank you !

 

[onthekeg]

Don't worry, its physically impossible to not hit gravity on an extract brew. Its a mixing issue. If you put 1/2 cup of sugar into 2 cups of water, its still all there. All grain is where its variable.

As said earlier, your yeast will mix it all up and it will be a nice drink to reward yourself one day soon.

 

[kingof14ers]

The extra .6# lme couldn't account for that much difference and the SG difference between those 2 biscuit malts can't be more then 5 points and diluted in 5 gallons would make an even less difference. I like what the other guy said about the lme maybe not being evenly mixed. Still can we assume your bottled volume is 5 gallons?

Your yeast affects the attenuation or drop from the OG at a good temperature but not the OG itself.

Also check your hydrometer for sure. Using room temp water, wait for any bubbles to subside, and spin that hydrometer in your test jar. If its 1.000, your golden. If 1.010 or close, that thing is highly inaccurate.