Waaaay too high??

[Brewbabe30]

My first time creating a recipe from scratch and I used:
4.5 lbs wheat DME
1.6 lbs Pilsen DME
1 oz Spalt hops
8 oz mix of 6oz flaked wheat and 2 oz unsalted wheat

whhhhy does my SG look so high??? Am I just reading it wrong?

 

[TwistedGray]

My first time creating a recipe from scratch and I used:
4.5 lbs wheat DME
1.6 lbs Pilsen DME
1 oz Spalt hops
8 oz mix of 6oz flaked wheat and 2 oz unsalted wheat

whhhhy does my SG look so high??? Am I just reading it wrong?

That's actually on the low side

1.034-1.036 so you'll end up with 3% or so beer...

 

[_BullDog_]

How much water?

 

[IslandLizard]

Is this 1.036 reading after fermentation or before?

 

[Brewbabe30]

Okay I was just reading it wrong then. Dang, a bit low. Oh well, it’ll still be good hopefully!

 

[S-Met]

How much water?

@Brewbabe30, what volume of water into your fermenter and what was the temperature of your sample?

Extract gravity batchs are notoriously inaccurate due to incomplete mixing.

 

[madscientist451]

whhhhy does my SG look so high??? Am I just reading it wrong?

Yes, it looks low from here, was this for a 5 gallon batch?
Did you boil it?

When creating recipes you can put your ingredients into a brewing calculator like
Brewer's Friend and get a ballpark number that you can try to hit:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator

 

[TwistedGray]

Okay I was just reading it wrong then. Dang, a bit low. Oh well, it’ll still be good hopefully!

It might be a little thin for a wheat but surely still drinkable! I aim for low gravities myself, but I adjust elsewhere.

 

[S-Met]

I aim for low gravities myself, but I adjust elsewhere.

I used to talk **** about low gravity5-10years ago, if it wasn't 7.5+ it wasn't worth my time. NowI have no issues with sub 5% as long as it tastes good. I care about flavor, not buzz. I drink for enjoyment.

 

[TwistedGray]

I used to talk **** about low gravity5-10years ago, if it wasn't 7.5+ it wasn't worth my time. NowI have no issues with sub 5% as long as it tastes good. I care about flavor, not buzz. I drink for enjoyment.

+1, I just brewed some 1.016 and 1.030 recently. They're still fermenting away.

I'll say this... It's easier to brew high alcohol content beer than low ABV ones.

 

[Brewbabe30]

Yes, it looks low from here, was this for a 5 gallon batch?
Did you boil it?

When creating recipes you can put your ingredients into a brewing calculator like
Brewer's Friend and get a ballpark number that you can try to hit:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator

I used the brewers friend app and it projected somewhere in the 1.045-1.055 range. And i did a 3 gallon boil and added 2 gallons to it in the carbon. I guess my measurements were off

 

[S-Met]

Total of 6lb dme /5gal water gives you an estimated 1.053g

It is likely that your wort and added water were not evenly mixed.

Also, temperature matters, what temp was your sample?

 

[IslandLizard]

Total of 6lb dme /5gal water gives you an estimated 1.053g

It is likely that your wort and added water were not evenly mixed.

That ^ is usually the case when topping up with water.

With extract brews, if you don't spill anything and dump the whole kettle content into your fermenter, then top up to the recipe's volume, all your sugars are in there, so your gravity is as calculated.

8 oz mix of 6oz flaked wheat and 2 oz unsalted wheat

unsalted?

Unless you mash these together with a diastatic malt (such as 2-row barley malt, wheat malt, etc.) to convert their starches to sugars they won't add diddly squat, except some extra trub. IOW, steeping those as is, won't do a thing.

 

[Brewbabe30]

unsalted?

I just meant unmalted. Typo.

 

[bracconiere]

I care about flavor, not buzz. I drink for enjoyment.

isn't that kind of a contradicting statement? lol

I just meant unmalted. Typo.

lol

i didn't actually do the math for the OG, but i'd agree with what others have said, and say it wasn't mixed thoroughly enough...

 

[rburrelli]

And don’t forget about temperature correction with your hydrometer. Brewers Friend has a thing for that.

 

[Brewbabe30]

And don’t forget about temperature correction with your hydrometer. Brewers Friend has a thing for that.

I make sure to cool my samples in the freezer down to 60* before I test!

 

[S-Met]

I make sure to cool my samples in the freezer down to 60* before I test!

Check your hydrometer, there should be a temperature calibration on it somewhere visible. Too warm of a sample reduces viscosity resulting in a low reading. The opposite is true for a sample cooler than the calibration temp.

 

[S-Met]

isn't that kind of a contradicting statement? lol

buzz is a happy side effect, I usually drink for flavor. If I want to get drunk, there are faster and less filling ways than beer.

 

[Brewbabe30]

Check your hydrometer, there should be a temperature calibration on it somewhere visible. Too warm of a sample reduces viscosity resulting in a low reading. The opposite is true for a sample cooler than the calibration temp.

the calibration temp on the hydrometer is 60*. I think my wort just wasn’t mixed all the way like others have stated

 

[bracconiere]

buzz is a happy side effect, I usually drink for flavor. If I want to get drunk, there are faster and less filling ways than beer.

the "liquor is quicker" route's not for me, i just carb to 8 psi, and ferment dry...

 

[S-Met]

the "liquor is quicker" route's not for me, i just carb to 8 psi, and ferment dry...

But bourbon is so delicious.

 

[bracconiere]

But bourbon is so delicious.

we're getting kinda , lol....but i like the esters in beer and wine, otherwise i could save even more money and make 1.75's of whiskey for ~$1....

but as i said in one of my own threads, i'm convinced the esters produced during fermentation are weak opiates....

 

[TwistedGray]

we're getting kinda , lol....but i like the esters in beer and wine, otherwise i could save even more money and make 1.75's of whiskey for ~$1....

but as i said in one of my own threads, i'm convinced the esters produced during fermentation are weak opiates....

Oh, I think she got the answer to her question by now ; )

 

[bracconiere]

Oh, I think she got the answer to her question by now ; )

not necessarily, if she bought a $15 refractometer she could reverse engineer her ABV, after fermentation....

edit: and thus actual OG

 

[bleme]

When you mix a heavy liquid (sugary) with a lighter liquid (water) they want to stratify so pulling a sample off the top will usually read low.