Way higher OG than recipe

[EvanAltman36]

So I brewed the following IPA this past Saturday:

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... ing-eye-pa

I had to make an on-the-fly mod, as the bag with my ingredients sprung a leak and I think I might have lost the .5oz addition of Columbus. Either that, or my LHBS shorted me, which was not the case because I remember him measuring it out. In any case, I subbed .5oz of the 2oz Amarillo, but that's beside the point. According to the recipe calculator, I should have ended up with an OG in the neighborhood of 1.066; the measurement I took, however, was 1.074. I've found that my actual results are pretty close to the calculator, maybe .002 or .004 off, but being .008 off seems like a lot. I didn't utilize a lot in the way of steeping grains, so I'm just wondering where I could have gotten out of hand here. Unless I really messed up with the candi sugar and dumped in WAY more than I thought I was measuring.

 

[LarryBrewer]

It could be the ppg values on the ingredients. I'm eyeing that Belgian Candy Sugar at 38ppg, maybe what you purchased is actually higher. Some sites say the ppg is as low as 32, while it is very possible it could be much higher (cane sugar is 46). Do you have any packaging that might indicate the ppg, or maybe try contacting the LHBS? Then again, it is only 4oz.

It could also be a difference in water volume (too little) or weight measurements (too much).

 

[EvanAltman36]

Water volume was 5 gallons, so I don't think that's it. In fact, I was a little over 5 in the carboy, so it would have lowered the OG if anything. I'm wondering if the measurements on the packets of extract were off; I used two 3-lb bags and one 1-lb; it's entirely possible that each of those was enough over the listed weight that it threw things off.

I know that a lot of people will add the sugar at 10 minutes to avoid carmelizing; I put it in for the full boil though; I can't imagine that that would impact the OG though, so I'm thinking incorrect measurement of the extract is the problem. If I had 8 lbs of it, rather than 7, the calculator shows 1.074 OG.

 

[LarryBrewer]

The extra weight sounds like the most plausible answer to me.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

always weigh everything out even if the store says its correct, in most cases its not at least by my scales, I even go as far as after weighing each addition out , then sill do a whole batch weight and match it up with the recipe over all weight, some times its off

 

[EvanAltman36]

Lesson learned. If given the option of over- or under-shooting the target, I'm glad I went over. Of course, I was under on hops due to the hole in my bag and losing some C-bus, so I have a higher gravity with lower bitterness. Oh well, I'm sure it'll still be drinkable!

 

[Nosybear]

I'm guessing stratification. Did you take your sample with a wine thief? And did you stir before taking the sample? If you used a thief and didn't stir, there's a possibility you took a sample of the "heavier" wort at the bottom rather than a more evenly distributed sample. I've had that happen a time or two....

 

[EvanAltman36]

I'm guessing stratification. Did you take your sample with a wine thief? And did you stir before taking the sample? If you used a thief and didn't stir, there's a possibility you took a sample of the "heavier" wort at the bottom rather than a more evenly distributed sample. I've had that happen a time or two....

Boom! Nosy nails it! That's got to be it. Stuff had probably already started settling and I did use a thief w/out stirring. Nice.