High Og - I Think?!

[NaughtyPig]

Well, decided to give Dr Smutro's Golden Ale a go as a kit version (only my 2nd recent brew). I was probably a bit ambitious, but thought I had read enough on here to give it a go .
Anyway, I have a much higher OG than expected @ 1056?! I was expecting about 1047. Can anyone offer some advice to possibly why & if this will have any negative impact on the end result?

Batch Size: 23.00 L
Boil Size: 10.00 L (maybe 8.5L??)
Grain steeped for 30mins @ approx 66-68degC, then rinsed with 1.5L hot water
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
1.7kg Coopers Sparkling Ale
1.5kg Coopers Wheat Liquid Extract (added after boil)
0.25 kg Joe White Crystal (steeped for 30mins, then strained into boil pot & rinsed)
20.00 gm Amarillo (50 min)
15.00 gm Amarillo (15 min)
15.00 gm Amarillo (5 min)
1 Pack American Ale Yeast
---------------
And, as usual for a newbie, I may have messed up a couple of things, but not sure if they would contribute to the high OG or not?! Firstly, my boil volume may have been 8.5L not 10L as intended ( interrupted by a teething 2yr old while measuring and lost count). 2ndly I just assumed (silly) that the grain weight was 250g as requested from the HBS - it may've been a bit more in hindsight - they also said they had a new mill and it'd be a bit finer than 'normal'. 3rdly my steep temp may've hit 70degC for a couple of mins.
Incidentally, fermentation hasn't started yet, but not too fussed on this (yet) - it's been 36hrs. Only reason why I'm mentioning this is to ask if a higher OG will contribute to a slower fermentation startup? (I thought it would be opposite).

Thanks

 

[levin_ae92]

did you boil the 20g of amarillo for 50min? with the bittering of the kit, i think your beer will turn out quite bitter!!

also i woulda thought being a 23L batch the OG would be closer to 1040, as opposed the the 20L batches ive done with this recipe hitting about 1046, so i think there may be a problem!!

what temp did you take the readings at? this may affect the reading, or you should check your hydrometer in some water, should read 1000 +/- about 2 i think.

Also boil volume shouldnt affect the final gravity of the wort once youve put it in the fermenter and topped up to whatever L of water.

just my 2c, im pretty amateur myself haha, currently drinking batch number 10ish

 

[Pennywise]

It could have been just a bit of a thick mixture in the bottom of the fermenter, how well did you mix it up once it was in there? Your boil volume wont effect OG in the fermenter at all, it will however effect the bitterness. Don't worry about your steep temp hitting 70deg, that's perfectly fine.

 

[Flash_DG]

When did you take a sample to measure?
and did you toss the first draw and take a second?

 

[NaughtyPig]

That was quick! Thanks guys

I took the OG reading @ 25degC just before I pitched the yeast...

It was a bit stirred up at the time, as I had only just added the cooled wort into the fermenter and made it up to 23L. I did ditch about 150ml before I filled the hydrometer test tube, but did notice a bit of crap in suspension.