Higher OG Than Expected

[DeBAD]

We brewed our first IPA last night (own recipe) and surprisingly the OG ended up 1.072. I ran the recipe through Brewers Friend and it was predicted to be 1.064 with 66-IBU. With the higher OG looks like the IBU should be around 62 now. Also we were hoping for a ABV around 6% now it likely could be close to 6.7%. Oops.

Not sure how we achieved such a high OG? I specifically entered our entire recipe into the calculator and followed it exactly. We even measured our final water out to the ounce. The only thing we tweaked (but you can't specify it on the calculator) was the timing of our extract addition. We added 1/3 pre-boil and the rest at flame out. Is there any chance that could have that much affect on the pre-pitch OG? BTW we have fairly hard water but for the add on water (3-gallons or so of the total 5.25) we ran it through the filter (did not boil it though).

The only other thing I'm a little worried about is the bitterness level. In hindsight I kind of wished we would have backed off on the bitterness hops a little (1oz Chinook and 1oz Zythos for 60-min). We tend to like our hops but I'm worried it might be a little too much. BTW during the boil we also did: 10-minute (1oz Amarillo/1oz Citra), flameout (1oz Amarillo/1oz Citra).

I know the dry hop step won't affect the bitterness but if we tweak the amount and timing of the dry hop step can we somehow "smooth out" the bitterness/higher alcohol level? We plan to dry hop with 1-oz of Citra and 1-oz of Cascade for 7-days right now.

BTW we are being VERY careful with our ferm temp. We used Wyeast West Coast IPA 1217 and pitched at 66 degrees. Our ferm room is no windows and a constant temp of 68-70. So just in case we put the primary in a room temp water bath. The temp on the ferm bucket has held steady at 66-67 since last night when we pitched at 11:00 PM. I checked it this morning at 7:00 and the airlock was bubbling at a rate of 1 per 8-seconds. Just checked it at 10:45 AM and now its 1 per 4-seconds. Seems to be doing great. Not overly aggressive fermentation but steady.

Thanks for any help.

 

[indianajns]

How did you measure the OG? Did you use a hydrometer or a refractometer. I'm assuming you used a hydrometer. And if so, what was the temp of the wort that you measured? There can be swings if you don't measure at 60F. If it isn't at 60 F there are spreadhsheets out there to add or subtract from your reading based on the temp. I don't believe that when you added your extract should have a huge impact. I always added my extract at 15 mins prior to flameout to ensure everything is killed off but I wouldn't worry too much about when you added it. You'll be able to determine what to do with future hop additions by tasting. (Just take lots of notes)

 

[SEABrewer]

I dunno, that sounds like a pretty nice IPA just the way you describe it.

I don't know your hop tolerance, but if you're aiming for an IPA it doesn't seem like IBUs in the mid-60's should be much to worry about. Time will take some of the harshness off the hop flavor as well, so if you're first bottles aren't to your liking, give it another month or so to condition and see how you like it then.

 

[CUrchin]

With a late extract addition, did you make sure you stirred very, very well before taking a reading? It's not uncommon for people to get a high reading because they didn't stir enough.

 

[MonsterBrew]

I agree with SEABrewer. The recipe and outcome looks pretty good. But to your question: There are a lot of factors that affect the FG. The biggest being again, temperature of the wort if you use a hydrometer, and the final volume. Make super sure that the software you used had the exact same final volume as you did.

Don't be too terribly concerned with the bitterness just yet. I assume you are basing your opinion on the taste of the green beer (uncarbed & aged). The carbonation will do some balancing to the bitterness as well as alcohol flavor. It may or may not still be above your liking, but it will not be as strong after it carbs. Good Luck!

 

[DeBAD]

Okay I feel like an idiot but we figured out our problem with the OG. Turns out once we cooled our boiled wort and added it to the waiting 2.5 gallons of clean water and mixed it up, I didn't realize my son accidentally took the OG sample from that batch. But...unfortunately that portion only came up to 4.5 gallons. We later added .75 more gallons of water to get up to the target of 5.25 and mixed it up thoroughly before pitching the yeast but like I said I thought he took our sample from the 5.25 gallons rather than the 4.5 gallons.

As a result I ran the numbers back through Brewers Friend at 4.5 gallons and the OG came out at 1.072 which was right on the nose! 1.072 was EXACTLY what our sample was! Therefore I feel like I can fairly assume our full 5.25 gallon batch was right on track with an OG of 1.064.

Sorry to sound like such a moron. Thanks to everyone for all the helpful input.