Good Evening All,
I have been lurking and absorbing information here for about 8 months now and I have to say that I have learned quite a lot. I have brewed about 12 batches so far and have 4 more in various stages of completion. I am trying to get my note taking to be more detailed with each batch so that I can improve my brewing and perhaps start experimenting with my own recipes. I have not had any batches that were undrinkable, in fact I have enjoyed all but 2 that I can recall. So I figure that I must be doing things right to have the results that I have gotten. Now here comes the possible issue/problem. Today I brewed up my very first batch of N.B.'s chocolate milk stout and ended up with an o.g. of 1.061 @ 72 degrees prior to the yeast addition. The o.g. on the directions is 1.051. I followed the directions exactly except for the 2nd hops addition. The kit calls for 1/2 oz. of cluster @ the 30 minute mark. I don’t have a scale so I went a little heavy, probably closer to 3/4 of an ounce. Everything else was as directed, from boil time to seeping, to removing heat as malt extract is added so as not to scorch it. I measured with both a refractometer and hydrometer and both read 1.061. I do not want to get hung up on numbers, my main concern is taste/aroma/overall drink ability but this batch is purposely being made for someone for Christmas so being under the gun so to speak has me a little nervous. I even took a second sample about 15 minutes after the first and got the same results of 1.061. My process after the boil is as follows
Cool in ice bath by spinning pot, dropping to about 72 degrees in about 12 minutes
Straining wort into bucket to remove sediment
Adding 2 gallons of water to big mouth bubbler
Pouring wort into bubbler
Topping off to 5 gallon mark
Take sample from spout on bubbler
Add yeast,shake, insert stopper with airlock and move to dark location.
This has been my procedure and my beer has been good to excellent for my tastes and for others who have had it.
Does anyone see any issues that might cause the difference in the o.g.?
Thanks for taking the time to read this… :cheers:
It is most likely that the higher OG is from the sample having a higher sugar concentration than the wort in other parts of the fermentor. It is hard to get the boiled wort and top off water evenly mixed.
Using all the fermentables and having the correct volume in the fermentor, will give you the recipe OG. With a partial mash or all grain recipe,temperature of the mash can affect OG.
I assume your doing extract?
Oh. Flars beat me to it. One thing to remember is that most hydrometers are calibrated at 60°. Keep that in mind.
Yes I am doing an extract batch. The temperature was about 72 degrees. With the hydrometer calibrated for 60 degrees if I understand the correction factor then I would add about .0014 to the reading of 1.0061. That would make the O.G. even that much higher. :shock:
Bueller…anybody…Bueller :?:
- The hops you added have nothing to do with the OG. Gravity comes from concentration of sugar and water.
- In an extract brew you only really have two variables-- water volume and weight of extract. Assuming you didn’t add too little water, and the NB kit had the right amount of extract, you got the right OG, regardless of what your measurement says.
- Most likely, your sample wasn’t mixed up enough, as stated above.
- It’s also possibly a measurement error. Try seeing if your hydrometer reads 1.000 in water.
[quote=“Wahoo”]- The hops you added have nothing to do with the OG. Gravity comes from concentration of sugar and water.
- In an extract brew you only really have two variables-- water volume and weight of extract. Assuming you didn’t add too little water, and the NB kit had the right amount of extract, you got the right OG, regardless of what your measurement says.
- Most likely, your sample wasn’t mixed up enough, as stated above.
- It’s also possibly a measurement error. Try seeing if your hydrometer reads 1.000 in water.[/quote]
Your post reminded me that I have a extra 3 pounds of LME in the frig from a NB kit. Can’t remember the beer, but NB must have been short on the small jugs. Didn’t delay shipping, just packed the extra LME.
More extract than the recipe calls for is a possibility.
The hydrometer is very accurate. I check it before every batch. Also the refractometer gives the same reading as the hydrometer and I check that each time as well. It is probably like you said about the mixing of the sugars. Hopefully it will come out tasting good.
:cheers:
