Too high efficency?

[hwall95]

Hey guys,

I'm currently boiling my summer ale:
4.2kg Maris otter
350g flake wheat

And the problem I have is that my pre-boil hydro reading came out as 1.052 at 29L. I originally put it in the fridge to cool it down and drop the grains and shit to the bottom (BIAB ) however that doesn't seem to be the problem. I put the reading into beersmith and it came out as 105% which I'm pretty sure isn't possible and the grains still has some sweetness to it.

The hydrometer is brand new and is calibrated and temperature check said it was 18.

The only thing I can think of is that brew shop have me extra kilo of so of grains. Any ideas fellas?

Bit of a shame as I wanted a light summer beer so it might end a lot stronger...

Edit: OG was predicted to be 1.046 and the brews all cube hopped so I'll adjust bitterness there

 

[hwall95]

Update:

OG was 1.063.. I guess it has now became an IPA. Estimate size is 23L based on my steel ruler so doesn't seem the boil off went wrong. I think I'll just turn it into a cube IPA, probably a mix of amarillo and citra

 

[mxd]

unless you added some hops it's going to be very malt balanced, you can add water and try and get you balance "right"

 

[antiphile]

Hi hwall

The best thing I ever did (and I now can't work out why I waited so long) was to get a refractometer. It's so incredibly easy to use and, it only needs 2 or 3 drops; so it's great for first runnings, sparged wort, pre-boil, in-boil, post-boil and OGs. If the wort is too hot, one teaspoonful cools to room temp in about a minute, and it's very accurate. It was under $50.

I got mine from Barleyman, but I'm pretty sure others will be similar. It has automatic temp compensation (but only between 10 & 30 degrees unfortunately), however that's no biggie. Needs no batteries or any other power source, and it allows you to monitor the whole process. For me now, brew day is a breeze and I can concentrate on all the other stuff ups I invariably achieve.

Note: I'm not connected with Barleyman or any other vendors or suppliers in any way. Just a very happy camper.

 

[rude]

you can add water and try and get you balance "right"
+ 1 what mxd said cooled boiled water

 

[MHB]

Lets do a bit of thinking: -
22L @ 1.063 so you have a total mass of 24.449Kg of wort
1.063 is roughly 15.75oP, or %W/W extract, giving 3.85Kg in solution
Your total grain bill was 4.55Kg, at best it would have a potential of 80%, so potential extract would be at best 3.64Kg

Quite clearly, unless your name is Jesus and you are practising a variation on the 5 loaves and 2 fishes trick you have a measurement problem.
Either your mass of grain, your steel ruler calculation, your hydrometer or something is out.
Mark

 

[MastersBrewery]

But it is the right time of year for miracles!

Just sayin

 

[hwall95]

Must of misread the height somehow.. Ended up with 17L excluding the trub loss at 1.062. It was cube hopped with 40g Amarillo, 40g Centennial and 20g Citra which from the hydro sample tasted great. Fairly clear wort and a nice light colour. Hopefully it will turn into a nice ipa. Will just have to brew another beer for a summer ale now