rcbrew

Recipes 

Got thinking....you take a starting gravity and finishing gravity before you bottle and you can get an idea of what the alcohol content of the brew will be. But when you add priming sugar to bottle, does it have any effect on the alcohol content? The remaining yeast will feed on the sugar and form carbonation, but does it have any real effect on the alcohol content of the brew or it just not enough sugar to be a real issue. Also, does the type of priming sugar make a difference.

Walker

Recipes 

priming sugar will add a tiny bit more alcohol (less than 0.5%).

as for what sugar to prime with, that can be a near religious thing with some people, but I have used both corn sugar and dry malt extract to prime, and both work fine/taste good.

-walker

__________________
Ground Fault Brewing Co.

rcbrew

Recipes 

Thanks.....
Now, generally speaking, when you add priming sugar to a high gravity beer (finishing gravity of > 1.01), does it take longer to condition in the bottle? My first wiesenbier was/is great but low on the alcohol content and didn't take long to bottle condition. But my next three...IPA, Miabock lager, and Red raspberry ale have a bit more punch. My IPA has been bottled for 3 weeks, miabock been in 2ndary for 4 weeks, and RRA just transfered into a 2ndary. Once bottled, will I have to leave alone a bit longer?

Lou

Recipes 

carbonation time is going to depend more on number of viable yeast still around and general health of those yeast, which may be slightly related to alcohol %age... as far as i know, higher alcohol beers don't necessarily take longer to carbonate. that is not to say, however, that they won't benefit from more bottle conditioning/aging....

clemistry

Recipes 

To add a little nerdity to this...

Assuming dextrose was used, and was completely converted...

Every 1 molecule is converted to 2 molecules of ethanol and 2 molecules of CO2.

4 oz of priming sugar into 5 US gallons of beer will increase the alcohol content by a maximum of 0.39%v/v.