High Original Gravity reading?

[lacto]

Hello Folks,

Can someone put me right?

I have malted my own wheat (adding about 450g of malt in 4 litres of water), added bittering agent, then once the wort is down to room temperature I added the yeast. So far so good.

But I took the OG reading expecting it to be around 1.040 ... it was 1.065. Could this high number be down to the fact that the liquid in question is quite thick with the malt and not to the density of sugar content.

... Or have I totally misunderstood what is supposed to be happening?

 

[cmason1957]

Yes, if the resulting liquid is thick, then your hydrometer will read a higher value than just the sugar content. Is it possible to pour the liquid through cheesecloth to get just liquid and no solids?

 

[lacto]

Well, I began to do that, then thought perhaps I was removing the malt, which I want to convert to alcohol. So I stopped, and now it appears to be gathering mud at the base ... which I was told to expect. Maybe it will just sort itself out. The only question I would then have is, should the FG be, say, 1.005, then what would be the correct ABV?

 

[NoQuarter]

Well, I began to do that, then thought perhaps I was removing the malt, which I want to convert to alcohol. So I stopped, and now it appears to be gathering mud at the base ... which I was told to expect. Maybe it will just sort itself out. The only question I would then have is, should the FG be, say, 1.005, then what would be the correct ABV?

7.88abv if fermented down to .990

 

[NoQuarter]

You will need to strain some liquid from mash to get an accurate reading
The solids are keeping your hydrometer floating too high. You just want to measure sugars, not solids.