overshot OG......what concerns should I have

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by beerbully, Feb 23, 2013.

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  1. beerbully

    beerbully Savant (1,169) Feb 2, 2009 New Jersey

    First attempt at Coffee stout...5 gal......according to recipe......OG should be 1.068...........I added enough water to get it to approx. 1.072.....may have exceeded 5 gal.......was not much room left in the bucket .......(fermenter) to add any more............ so left OG at 1.072.......level was just below where handle wire insert to bucket

    Recipe as follows (extract)

    1.25lbs Eng Roasted Barley
    1 lb Dark crystal 150
    1 oz. black malt 500L
    .35 EngChoc Malt

    6.6lbs Maris Otter Malt syrup (original recipe called for 6lbs. but cans I bought were 3.3 so dumped 'em in)
    2 lbs gold LIght DME

    1lb D-180 CAndi Syrup at end of boil

    2 oz.NUgget hops at 60min
    1 cup of coarsly chopped coffee beans steeped for 18 minutes at end of boil

    WL London Ale yeast 013 pitched at approx. 70 degrees (no starter)

    Should I be concerned about this fermenting over............or not fermenting down to an acceptable FG..........might I have to repitch..........if so with the same yeast?

    Also......what FG should I shoot for

    Any recommendations..........thanks in advance
     
    #1 beerbully, Feb 23, 2013
  2. NotFromFriends

    NotFromFriends Initiate (0) Apr 8, 2008 Virginia

    Higher than expected OG means you'll have a higher than expected FG. Based on your yeast selection I'd say you can expect an FG of 1.018-1.024. I wouldn't repitch or anything, your OG was pretty close to what you were shooting for you're just going to have more sugar in your final product.

    I'd use a blow off tube if I were you as well
     
    #2 NotFromFriends, Feb 23, 2013
  3. AlCaponeJunior

    AlCaponeJunior Grand Pooh-Bah (3,452) May 21, 2010 Texas
    Society Pooh-Bah

    If you don't already have a blowoff tube, set one up now.

    Also, I would do a starter with gravity that high. I always do starters with liquid yeast anyway. Liquid yeasts usually give you 100 billion cells, while dry gives you about 200 billion. Beersmith has calcullations built in, or mrmalty.com has a yeast calculator.
     
    #3 AlCaponeJunior, Feb 23, 2013
  4. JrGtr

    JrGtr Pooh-Bah (1,775) Apr 13, 2006 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    Overshooting by .004? RDWHAHB. that's not a difference worth talking about. It's probably well within the margin of error when talking about temperatures, reading the hygrometer, etc.
     
    #4 JrGtr, Feb 23, 2013
    bgjohnston likes this.
  5. Ejayz

    Ejayz Initiate (0) May 15, 2011 Iowa

    I would call .004 over a smashing success! In this case it is better to be a tad bit over than under!!
     
    #5 Ejayz, Feb 23, 2013
    bgjohnston likes this.
  6. kneary13

    kneary13 Initiate (0) Jan 30, 2010 Massachusetts

    add water if you are concerned about the beer finishing too heavy. that will (in theory) lower the OG and FG. i've used this method before with some success.
     
    #6 kneary13, Feb 23, 2013
  7. OldPenguinHunter

    OldPenguinHunter Initiate (0) Oct 13, 2010 California

    That's a Bingo!
     
    #7 OldPenguinHunter, Feb 24, 2013
  8. bgjohnston

    bgjohnston Initiate (0) Jan 14, 2009 Connecticut

    I was shooting for a 1.070 and due to a miscalculation hit 1.098 on a batch once. If you ever seriously overshoot like this example, my best advice is prepare for a more aggressive fermentation. Take steps to keep it cooler than you would otherwise, and if you attenuate well and have a long conditioning period, expect the original yeast to crap out, which matters if you want to bottle condition.
     
    #8 bgjohnston, Feb 24, 2013
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