appeal for help: specific gravity question

You miss the OP's point. He states that after the boil, the gravity is what he would have expected. The pre-boil gravity should be less than, not more than the post-boil gravity. Something's not right here. I wish I could be of help, but your response offers none.

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Hmm... let's see if I read it right...

(( you ARE adjusting for temperature, right? ))

That's 80*2.5 = 200 sugar points.

If you had 5 gallons, then that is 48*5 = 240 sugar points.

The 200 and 240 is pretty close, especially since I'm guessing about the water volumes... if either volume is different, those numbers will probably be much closer.

Bottom line... you must consider the volume of water and the amount of sugar you get out... using "sugar points" is the best way to do that.

((Note, you can do all kinds of math with sugar points to figure volumes and gravities out... for example, from the initial 200 sugar points, you can determine how many final gallons of wort you'll need for a given gravity so you know when to stop your boil or how much water to add, ie: If you want 1.060 FG and you started with 200 sugar points, then you just do 200/60 = 3.3 gallons final at 1.060. You can also use them to figure how much water you need to add post boil to reduce your gravity to a desired point, etc.))

It could be that I'm off on a tangent... if so, please post what volumes of water/wort you're measuring the gravity in, temperatures, adjustments, etc...

Derric

See, I've been fretting about this problem for months...FINALLY put it up on the group. And only THEN did revelation strike me (in the shower, actually, which seems to be where I do my best thinking). The answer is two-fold: pilot error and stratification. My sparge takes over an hour to complete, and the flow into the brewpot is so slow that the sweet liquor doesn't mix. The first part of the runoff is highly sugared . . . and settles to the bottom. The later runoff has very little sugar, and there's no current in the brewpot to interrupt the gradient. Then, when I draw off a sample from the pot's valve, located at the bottom of the pot, I get a sample of the high-sugar end of the gradient. So the answer is simple: stir it up before drawing the sample.

My thanks to those who offered help--sorry I couldn't provide anything more exciting than a bit of stupidity!

TJG

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I had a similar issue with my last brew. Even if you stir it up you can get areas of more or less sugar. I'd say try to stir really well and then take a few samples from here and there with a turkey baster and mix them in the test jar to get a good overall gravity

TIG, Mate put your hydrometer away, I believe they introduce more confusion than enlightenment. If you are doing something the same over & over just do it by rote. If you are experimenting, fine use the hydro, but common sense is always better than an unexpected hydro reading. Pete.