APA Really high OG

[jimbrookski]

Hi all,

My last two brews have been done using Dave's Stovetop Brewery kits: https://daveshomebrew.com.au/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=105&Itemid=99

First was a Bock, which was awesome and which I'm still enjoying. Had to use an ale yeast for it due to lack of temperature regulating equipment (read: fridge), but it turned out really well to my, and friends tastes.

This past Sunday I tried out an American Pale Ale. The kit consisted of a small amount of grain (not actually sure what type as it wasn't labeled, it was a medium dark colour), and what was probably a couple of kg of malt extract and bittering hops.
I soaked the grain and dissolved the extract as per instructions and did the full 60 minute boil with extra hops and Irish moss additions. All smelled great and seemed to be going fine.

I cooled it and got it in the fermenter and topped up the water to 19L, again, as per instructions.

When I tested the gravity, it was showing 1074. This seems high to me, and when researching APA, I think I should be expecting somewhere around 1050-1060 or thereabouts.

Would this be because there was too much grain, or the extract was too concentrated? Or could it be a misreading of the hydrometer, maybe the wort was too cool or something?

It's fermenting fine, but I'm worried that it will turn out odd. Will it just be highly alcoholic?

Cheers, all.

 

[warra48]

Without knowing the exact details of your recipe, I would still say an OG of 1.074 is unlikely to be accurate.

How well was your brew mixed in the fermenter before taking your SG sample?
If you didn't mix it properly after topping it up to 19 litres, you may well have taken a not well diluted concentrated sample, thus giving you a high reading.

Dave's Home Brew is a reputable shop, and very unlikely to give you a kit to make rocket fuel without warning. Relax, let the brew ferment out as usual. I'd say it will be fine.

 

[jimbrookski]

Ah, thanks warra. You make a good point about mixing... I added the top up one litre at a time so assumed it was agigtating it enough. I did give it a stir after adding the yeast, but it may well not be mixed enough.

Yeah, I love Dave's shop. In no way was I implying that his kit was dodgy. My immediate reaction was that I'd done something wrong

 

[Alex.Tas]

I had the same issues a while ago trying to get the DME fully dissolved and evenly distributed throughout the brew once topped up. I solved this by dissolving all the malt extract (liquid or dry) at the end of the boil. I tipped the boil into the FV and then topped up with tap water from my hose that fits over the tap (not a garden hose). Gave it a good whisk with a sterilised whisk to get as much O2 into the brew as possible, then took the OG reading.
This solved 90% of my problems in not hitting my target OG as predicted by Ian's spreadsheet. - Check this out if you haven;t already got it. Its pinned at the top of this subforum.
As warra suggest above, it will all ferment out eventually, and you will have a brew better than you would buy normally.

 

[Spiesy]

Out of interest, have you checked that your hydro is calibrated?

 

[jimbrookski]

Out of interest, have you checked that your hydro is calibrated?

No, I haven't actually. Is that easy? I'll have a look at how it's done.

Thanks for the heads up.

Edit:
Yeah, I have calibrated it in the past. I should try again. Thanks again for the reminder.

 

[brzt6060]

Assuming you are taking a sample from the tap on the front of your fermentation vessel don't forget to flush your tap before taking the sample that you will collect your reading from. I know this seems obvious but it’s something that is easy to forget. I normally fill my tester up once, tip it down the drain and then fill it again, take my reading and taste the wort.

Whatever goes in the vessel first tends to sit in the tap and it doesn’t really seem to move out even when stirring.