Second batch issues

Sorry if this is another "just be patient" thread, but I think it's more than that. I have a couple issues with a batch I brewed on Saturday, and was hoping for some advice. I brewed Northern Brewer's Dead Ringer kit, which is supposed to be a Two Hearted clone. It was extract with a specialty grain steep.

The first issue was that my OG somehow came out at about 1.090, which I have no idea how that's possible. The target was 1.064. The recipe included 9.15 lbs of their Gold LME and 1lb of Briess caramel 40. I did a pretty good job keeping the steeping temperature around 160 for 20 minutes. Then I brought it to a boil, added the LME, followed the hop schedule, etc. This was a partial boil, started with 2.5 gal. Topped off to 5 gallons afterward, as directed. I took a sample, I think after I had aerated the wort. the hydrometer said 1.090. I took another one, thinking that I had somehow grabbed a lot of the heavy stuff from the bottom (I don't know if that's possible since I had just shaken it up), and it was the same. So how did this possibly happen? Everything I've read says that steeping grains can only add a few points of gravity.

The second problem is that it's been 3.5+ days with no activity in the airlock. I used US-05 dry yeast that I've kept in the fridge. I took it out of the fridge 6 or so hours before to let it warm up. The best by date is in 2015. After reading here and elsewhere, on whether I should rehydrate it or just sprinkle it, I decided to rehydrate it, and did so in a couple ounces of room temp tap water in a sanitized jar for 20-30 min. I pitched it (I think the wort temp was 62-63), shook the bucket some more, and put it away in a big bucket (party bucket, think some of you call it a swamp cooler) that I put some ice water in, maybe 8-10 inches deep. Definitely not the whole height of my fermenter. So I'm sure the wort was on the cold side of the range for the first 24 hrs, probably too cold at first. But for the last 60+ hours, the water in that bucket has come up to room temp of about 68 degrees.

When I push down on the lid, it has burped a bubble, so I think there is a tiny bit of activity going on it.

So for my laundry list of questions:
1. How did the gravity get so high? It's probably something dumb I did measuring it, but I cant't figure it out.
2. If it is, in fact, that high, I'm sure that has something to do with my fermenting problems. That and the cold wort for the first 24 hrs. I have another packet of yeast arriving today. Should I add it? Should I make a starter? The manufacture's website said nothing about doing that, only sprinkling and rehydrating. Also, is it possible that the star-san had an adverse effect while rehydrating? I dumped it out of the jar before adding new water, but I'm sure there was some residual in there.

I'm obviously a newb, but I've done a decent amount of reading for the past few months on here, other sites, and How to Brew, and I'm stumped. Any insight and wisdom you guys can provide is greatly appreciated.

 

I did forget to mention that I did get that sample to 60 degrees. Well not at first, but then I remembered to. And the correction for temperature on the include directions only moves it a point or two.

I don't know that it's calibrated correctly, I will check when I get home. Good question.

 

I agree that it was probably a sample problem, but I took two and they came out the same. I'll move past worrying about that. So this has become a "be patient" thread, as I feared it would.

As far as a leak, I've checked by pushing down on the lid, and the fluid level in the airlock held. Aside from the burbs I mentioned if it had been hours between the last time I "burped" it. I will open and check for a krausen before deciding to add more yeast or not.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

It was LME. I've checked some software in the past couple days which told me what I knew and what you guys have confirmed: You can't get 1.090 with that amount of extract. But the hydrometer said it, and I'd like to think that I'm not dumb enough to read it wrong twice. It was most likely a bad sample.

I know that full boils are better, but I only have one pot today and am content (for now) with that. As I said, I'm just getting started and I have done a lot more reading than actual brewing.

 

I almost did, but realized as I was sticking the thief in that, "hey I need some water in here". So that's not it.

No problem, have another for my wrong-ness in this whole debacle that will probably just be another case of over-worrisome new brewer.

 

There are signs of fermentation, whew.




No need for a blowoff though, there is plenty of head space in my 6.5 gallon bucket. No signs that it had risen and fallen back down either. Does this give anybody pause that my yeast may not have been as healthy to start as it should of been? How can I remedy that for this batch? Longer in the bucket?

Thanks all

 

Yea, not the best picture, but very (because I just double checked).