Questions about gravity...

[ALEien]

So as I mentioned in the No Activity?! thread, my beer is was racked at about 1.100. What causes the beer to have such a high gravity? Is this bad?

I'm just interested in getting some viewpoints on the gravity of a beer, and where it should be, etc.

Thanks again fellers.

[SunkenBier]

1.1 is pretty high but it does have to do with the style your brewing. The gravity is high because of the amount of sugars in the liquid. After fermentation the gravity will be lower. The sugars will be eaten by the yeast and the byproduct of alcohol and co2 will be created.

The beer you brewed was a stout. An american stout is 1.050 to 1.075 so the gravity you produced is very high for the style. A russian imperial stout is 1.075 to 1.095 THis is more in the style your 1.1 falls in with. The alcohol level of a beer this high can be as high as 12% This will be dependant on the fermentability of the sugars you produced as well as the health of the yeast and amount of yeast pitched.

Is it bad?
It depends on what you want to produce. If you want a super strong beer it is not a bad thing so long as you balanced the bitterness and pitched enough yeast to convert them. Since your not doing starters you might want to start with some lower gravity beers to perfect your techniques.

[DannyW]

I didn't see that thread, but usually it is a result of uneven mixing of malt extract causing high or low readings depending on how you drew your sample. It is surprisingly hard to get that stuff mixed in well. You will usually be more accurate calculating your OG rather than measuring in this case.

If it was all grain and not supposed to be that high, then your hydrometer may be messed up. The papers inside them slip sometimes. check it against plain water and see if it reads 1.000.

[DannyW]

OK, I found the thread and where you say 1.100 but never saw a recipe. Can you post the recipe and a synopsis of your procedures?

[ALEien]

Alright, I figured out the problem here.

I went into my LBHS and sought some advice. My dumbass buddy and I had forgotten to sipon beer off the top of the wort to take the grav reading so we simply opened the spigot at the bottom of the primary to pour the reading. This might have something to do with why it's not mixed properly.

What I'm going to do is aerate the shit out of it when I get home and do my best to mix it up a bit and pitch a bit of dry yeast on top. Also going to move it to a warmer spot in the house (currently 65F).

I will post the recipe when I get a chance. I dont' have it here with me.

[Mylo]

Spigot on the primary? Be careful. Those things have lots of crevices to breed bugs in... Buckets with spigots are generally for bottling only.


Mylo

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

Spigot on the primary? Be careful. Those things have lots of crevices to breed bugs in... Buckets with spigots are generally for bottling only.


Mylo

I have been using Williams Brewing's siphonless fermenters for almost ten years. The only contaminated batch I brewed came out of my stainless conical. Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than to be smart!