English Bitter

I am making an english bitter and the finishing abv is only supposed to be3.5%.
I want to make that higher. I have priming sugar, should i just add more sugar before bottling to fix this problem?

Short answer: no.

Adding too much priming sugar will only turn your beer bottles into weapons of mass destruction (or at least a mess). Too much sugar during priming can cause over-pressurization of the bottles and thus explosions. Don't take my flippancy for granted on this topic-glass grenades can be dangerous.

If you want to up the ABV of a beer add sugar prior to fermentation. There are, of course, limitations to that as well. There are many threads on this board that discuss the pros and cons of sugar in fermentation.

McClung said:

I am making an english bitter and the finishing abv is only supposed to be3.5%.
I want to make that higher. I have priming sugar, should i just add more sugar before bottling to fix this problem?

Click to expand...

It's not a problem and if you want a higher ABV it's done by brewing a higher OG beer. As Ravenshead said, priming sugar is just that. Do not add larger amounts of sugar when bottling than needed to carbonate.

With something like a bitter you also should try to avoid sugar even prior to fermentation. It will dry out the beer and risk theoretical cidery off-flavors. Bitters are too small a beer for sugar. If you don't want to use more grain to increase the ABV in the future, use malt extract instead of sugar.

But I agree with everyone else. NEVER add XS sugar to increase ABV at bottling.

You are asking for a shower of beer glass shards if you do.

We like to overestimate what the fermentation that happens in the bottle. Its not enough to make a difference.. If it goes beyond that, then you might have some problems, overcarbonation and bombs

You could prob add more sugar, allow it to ferment out and then prime. I usually don't mess with recipes after fermenation has begun. Probably best to adjust the recipe for next time

Just bottle your 3.5% beer and move on. Seriously.

I would probably leave it as is
but if I wanted to bump it up a bit I would add (to the fermentor)
either Lyle's Golden syrup http://www.lylesgoldensyrup.com/
or invert sugar,http://www.unholymess.com/blog/beer-brewing-info/making-brewers-invert
both acceptable in an English bitter

I'd leave it at 3.5%. Adding enough sugar to raise the ABV is going to unbalance the beer, leaving you with a thin tasting beer without enough hops.

-a.

I would leave it be. It's nice to have some low ABV brews in the fridge. Often grab one after knocking back several Extra (ESB's). FYI, if you are doing all grain check out the recipe data base and you will find the Common Room ESB. I just but this in the keg a couple days ago and have been sampling. Highly recommended