Northern Brewer Dead Ringer IPA Gravity Help

[Jordancwilk]

Hi all,

I got a few new gadgets for Christmas and I just finished my first brew of the new year. I used the Dead Ringer IPA kit from NB. Everything seems great so far except for my OG. The kit says OG should be around 1.064. My reading before I pitched the yeast was 1.086... Much higher than expected.

Has anyone else had this happen? I'm used to my gravities being lower than usual but this is the first one that's showing higher.

Should I be worried about my pitch rate now that I estimated my yeast starter on 1.064 OG??

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Nuggethead]

Since you already pitched, I would not worry about the rate and just give it extra time to finish. Next time, take a gravity reading before you drain your kettle and add some boiled top off water until your gravity drops to where you want it. Your ABV will be higher with the higher OG, but not a big deal.

 

[flars]

If this was the extract kit, your gravity is 1.064. The first of two ways the gravity would be higher is if you added a lot of extra fermentable sugars to the wort, that were not in the recipe. The second way the gravity would be higher is if you did not have the recipe volume in the fermentor.
Most likely the wort and top off water were not thoroughly mixed during aeration. Your SG sample was drawn form an area of the wort higher to sugars. The yeast will take care of the mixing as fermentation begins.

 

[Jordancwilk]

Thanks for your comments!

I aerated the way I typically do by pouring the wort into approx 2 gal of boiled (cooled) water, then back in forth for a few minutes between buckets.

Yes it was an extract kit. Didn't add anything else to it.

 

[Jordancwilk]

Hey just wanted to give an update on this - I think I figured out why my OG was so high... Now that the krausen has fully dropped I could see that indeed my volume was off. It was at roughly 4.3 gal rather than 5. I'm chalking this one up to a newbie error, as I remember spilling a bit of wort as I was aerating and didn't top off again.

Still learning, and will def take your advice on topping off wort until OG is reached next time. Gravity reads 1.018 as is now.

 

[flars]

Topping off until the recipe gravity is reached, relies on the wort being thoroughly mixed before you take a gravity reading. Taking a sample from part of the wort that is higher in sugars, compared to the rest of the wort, and you will diluting your beer by adding extra volume.

Mark your fermentor at the five gallon line. Fill to this point, without creating foam, then aerate.