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Did I get a wrong OG reading?
I've been told that my OG reading was probably off for my first brew attempt. I wouldn't be surprised, because I knew going in my recipe was pretty "robust."
Maybe the hydrometer stuck to the sides of the tube?
I got a 1.070...was told it was likely over 1.100 based on what I put in for a 5 gal batch now in the carboy:
2 lb dark dried malt extract powder
3.3 lb Amber malt extract syrup
3.3 lb Dark malt extract syrup
3.3 lb Hopped dark malt extract syrup
1/2 gal maple syrup
Any thoughts?
First of all... Good luck on your first batch - and welcome to the world of homebrewing! 
I'd say your reading was probably off - I come up with an OG of about 1.12 given your ingredient list...
I wouldn't worry about it though, there have been a lot of times I've neglected to even take an OG reading, it still turns out great! Your partial recipe sounds pretty tasty - what is it called?
The sugars provided by the extract alone will give you a gravity in the 1.088 range. That's not exact but just some quick math I did in my head. I'm not sure how many pounds are in a 1/2 gallon of maple syrup but I'm willing to bet it put you well over 1.100.
Most likely you got an inaccurate gravity reading because the wort wasn't mixed enough. Did you do a partial boil or add the maple syrup straight to the fermenter?
1/2 gallon of maple syrup is about 4#s, which if it is like molasses will yield about 22 gravity points, and is nearly 100% fermentable. I strongly back FPB's advice that the topoff water if using a partial boil did not mix well when you took a gravity reading.
So this is what you chose for your first beer? This is quite a big beer, with big beers come 2 areas that are pretty necessary, huge amounts of yeast, and patience. Not something most beginning homebrewers have when entering their first batch. This wort is going to require about 3 times the yeast that would be used in a typical normal gravity batch. It also requires quite a bit of oxygen introduced. If the strain you have chosen can handle the high alcohol produced to survive to the finish, you will have about a 10%abv beer. If you did not pitch enough or it dosnt last, you will wind up with a very sweet half fermented beer. Please let us know what you used and how much, you may be golden, or you may need some more to get it to finish.
The second is patience, and to ferment out that batch correctly with the right fermentation and temperature, may take 3-4 weeks or more. Once it is fermented, these big beers are usually very warm, alcoholy, and can almost be harsh. Great news is they mellow considerably, but that is usually 3-12 months.
Maybe all of these things have already weighed out for you, and they have been chosen, I just hate to see someone enter this obsession and rush and drink their first batch, and it is not near its potential, or have to wait so long, that you get discouraged.
I really do not want to scare you, and this is a very simple process, you just happened to skip the baby steps, and dove into the heavy guns. I love it, big beers are a great area of our hobby, and most of us here make better big beers than commercial and craft examples. Just want to make sure yours comes out the best.
What were your intentions going into this one, and we may be able to get all these factors maximized.
BTW, welcome aboard!
I agree with everything Thirsty said. Big beers require a little more attention than your average 1.050 beer. Along with patience, proper yeast pitching rates, and aeration/oxygenation of the wort prior to pitching you also need to watch your fermentation temps. Fermentation is an exothermic process and these big beers will definitely heat up with things get rockin. Keeping things cool will reduce esters and fusel alcohols.
What did the rest of your recipe look like?
I knew going in that this was a pretty ambitious first try...but I felt up to the challenge. I wondered if that was enough yeast...
Maple Stout
Recipe:
4 oz crushed roasted 2 row barley
6 oz crushed crystal 2 row barley
35 min. @165 degrees
2 lb dark dried malt extract powder
3.3 lb Amber malt extract syrup
3.3 lb Dark malt extract syrup
3.3 lb Hopped dark malt extract syrup
1/2 oz UK First Gold hop pellets (continuous hopping)
50 minutes
1/2 oz Chinook whole leaf hops
1/2 oz Sterling whole leaf hops
first 50 minutes
1/2 gal grade B maple syrup
1 oz Fuggles whole leaf hops
1 tbsp Irish Moss
15 minutes @ boil
pitched w/ 6gms Muntons brewing yeast
Well either you hydrometer is broken or you measured the gravity of hot wort. BeerSmith says that if a 1.070 gravity is measured with a hydrometer calibrated at 60F on wort that is 210F then the actual gravity would be 1.112. Perhaps this was the prob? Cheers!
Welcome to the most rewarding hobby that I can think of.
Probably should have used closer to 20 gms. of yeast. Check out this site for future reference regarding yeast pitching. http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html
Good luck!
Isn't a normal dry packet of yeast 11g? 6g seems pretty low.
Not the end of the world, but expect a high finishing gravity.
I would recommend getting a large smack pack of Wyeast American Ale, smack it to activate it and pitch that as well.
brewchez wrote:
Isn't a normal dry packet of yeast 11g? 6g seems pretty low.
Not the end of the world, but expect a high finishing gravity.
I would recommend getting a large smack pack of Wyeast American Ale, smack it to activate it and pitch that as well.
the munton's dry yeast comes in a 6 g packet. As far as I'm aware it is the smallest sized yeast packet available, even Cooper's dry yeast is 7 g, which is still fairly small.(also available in a larger 15 g size)
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