% alcohol

I just started my first batch. It's a liquid kit.

On transferring from primary to secondary, I measured/calculated 3.0%v alcohol.

Will the % alcohol increase more in the secondary, or while aging when bottled?

3% seems low for an end product. I am not meaning to make high alcohol beer, but I have always associated good quality beer at about 5.x% range - (yeah, I am from Canada - the land of beer).

ChickenSoop said:

I just started my first batch. It's a liquid kit.

On transferring from primary to secondary, I measured/calculated 3.0%v alcohol.

Will the % alcohol increase more in the secondary, or while aging when bottled?

3% seems low for an end product. I am not meaning to make high alcohol beer, but I have always associated good quality beer at about 5.x% range - (yeah, I am from Canada - the land of beer).

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If it's done fermenting, then the ABV won't increase. How did you calculate the 3%? Maybe it's simply an inaccurate calculation. If you post the recipe, I can run it through some brewing software and figure out the ABV%.

ChickenSoop said:

I just started my first batch. It's a liquid kit.

On transferring from primary to secondary, I measured/calculated 3.0%v alcohol.

Will the % alcohol increase more in the secondary, or while aging when bottled?

3% seems low for an end product. I am not meaning to make high alcohol beer, but I have always associated good quality beer at about 5.x% range - (yeah, I am from Canada - the land of beer).

Click to expand...

Hard to answer without knowing the recipe and your gravity readings. Generally, not much happens during secondary and bottle conditioning in terms of alcohol production. There are excellent beers in the 3% range, but the real question is what the original and final gravities of the beer you brewed were supposed to be versus what they actually were when you brewed/fermented it.

ABV = (SG-FG) x 131

I am thinking he read the % side of the hydrometer. I've made that mistake before.

Give us the SG & FG and that will tell alot.

Hello, sorry for the delay.

My readings are 1.042, then 1.018.
Directions say 1.04-1.05 range to start, 1.02 or lower when transfering to second stage.

It's a BrewHouse kit.

The brew house

I have the cream ale, sure loooooks tasty. Top half looks nice and clear - and dark reddish, just like the picture.

Yep. Looks like a 3.2(ish) beer.

The starting gravity looks reasonable. Your finishing looks high. Most likely due to it being a liquid extract kit.

Extracts in general don't attenuate as well as all grain, and liquid extracts in particular don't attenuate all that well.

You can always spike the batch with vodka or (better) everclear.

Or, simply dump a shot or half shot into the glass before you pour.

Extra alcohol is easy to add. Especially if you keg.

Frankly, I am starting to cut the OG in my brews, especially the lighter ones. I have a cream ale that came out too hot, about 7%. It will knock you on your ass, but the high ABV makes it slightly unpleasant to drink.

A 7% Cream Ale?

I agree with bumping the ABV, the purer the liquor the better (read: don't use your $4 airlock vodka ).

Thanks for your help.

I guess 3.2% is what these kits do. I'll take a final reading in a couple weeks once it is done, before bottling. It sure looks like much better beer than commercial. Very colorful. I'm drooling and 2 weeks is a long time.

I'll try a couple more liquid kits for practice, then I'll try a recipe from scratch. My local store seems to have a good assortment of raw products.

ChickenSoop said:

I just started my first batch. It's a liquid kit.

On transferring from primary to secondary, I measured/calculated 3.0%v alcohol.

Will the % alcohol increase more in the secondary, or while aging when bottled?

3% seems low for an end product. I am not meaning to make high alcohol beer, but I have always associated good quality beer at about 5.x% range - (yeah, I am from Canada - the land of beer).

Click to expand...

Most of the American lagers you probably look down upon are 5.x% ABV

GearBeer said:

A 7% Cream Ale?

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I am going to name it "Mock Belgian Cream Ale".

A lot of Belgian beers I've had were very light colored and light flavored, but the alcohol will take the back of your head off.

remilard said:

Most of the American lagers you probably look down upon are 5.x% ABV

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In the past at least, US beers were often measured in alcohol by weight, not volume. I think this lead to the impression that Canadian beer was stronger than American.

extract kit + no starter + no aeration = poor attenuation

it's ok. it'll still be beer, and it will probably be pretty f'ing good beer! when you're ready to take a look at correcting some of the minor things that cause this give us a holler, we'll be here!

So I guess reading this post answers a question I was going to start a new thread with.

The Kit I had bought did not require me boiling the wort, simply mixing liquid into water and pitching the yeast once the temp was between a certain range.

Is this what's called an Extract kit?

SenorWanderer said:

extract kit + no starter + no aeration = poor attenuation

it's ok. it'll still be beer, and it will probably be pretty f'ing good beer! when you're ready to take a look at correcting some of the minor things that cause this give us a holler, we'll be here!

Click to expand...

Is there a thread somewhere that helps with all the things you mentioned to get the most out of an extract kit?

earthad1 said:

So I guess reading this post answers a question I was going to start a new thread with.

The Kit I had bought did not require me boiling the wort, simply mixing liquid into water and pitching the yeast once the temp was between a certain range.

Is this what's called an Extract kit?

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An "Extract Kit" is a kit where the fermentables are in the form of malt extracts, either dry (DME = Dry Malt Extract) or liquid (LME = Liquid Malt Extract).

earthad1 said:

So I guess reading this post answers a question I was going to start a new thread with.

The Kit I had bought did not require me boiling the wort, simply mixing liquid into water and pitching the yeast once the temp was between a certain range.

Is this what's called an Extract kit?

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More precisely a "no-boil" extract kit. Some extract kits require boiling and hopping, no boil kits use at least some pre-hopped extract because boiling would be required to extract hops bitterness.

BrewHouse aren't exactly an extract. More like concentrated wort. You get 15 litres of wort that you can add 8 litres of water.

Still 1.018 ain't right should have been down around 1.012 or even lower. You might have roused up some yeast in the transfer. Try and warm it up a bit and see if you can't squeeze a couple of more points out of it.

If you do have significant alcohol production in the bottle you will also have significant C02 production. ie. Bottle Bombs.

There is nothing inherently wrong with a 3% ABV beer, (I have a nice Mild pouring at the moment.) But that wort and yeast was designed for 5% ABV. So it might taste quite under attenuated.

Rudeboy

n00b ALERT!! Nary a wort, yet in research stage (read: was infected Thanksgiving, now waiting for xmas $ to getter going). DQ:

How does alcohol content affect taste, etc.? In a word, I get too drunk too easy, and would like to see less alcohol so I can enjoy more beer. Izzit possible? Howzit work? I've never had an "O'Doul's" in my life. Would it clear things up to try one?

Cheers! Kurt the uneducated

Hopsalong said:

n00b ALERT!! Nary a wort, yet in research stage (read: was infected Thanksgiving, now waiting for xmas $ to getter going). DQ:

How does alcohol content affect taste, etc.? In a word, I get too drunk too easy, and would like to see less alcohol so I can enjoy more beer. Izzit possible? Howzit work? I've never had an "O'Doul's" in my life. Would it clear things up to try one?

Cheers! Kurt the uneducated

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Alcohol itself is usually perceived as a warming sensation on the palate, but it is usually fairly mild, since most high-alc beers have plenty of malty backbone to stand up to the alcohol flavor. Hot alcohol flavors are desirable in some styles, but are more commonly a sign of a young beer or poor fermentation conditions.

I would suggest looking into easy-drinking, low alcohol session beers like ordinary bitters, mild ales, Berliner Weisse (a sour beer), etc, and work your way up to the "standard" 4.8% German beers like Koelsch from there.

universe said:

Is there a thread somewhere that helps with all the things you mentioned to get the most out of an extract kit?

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yeah, there are lots of threads, do a little searching. an extract beer that doesn't attenuate well is caused by two separate issues. first is the nature of the extract. understanding how extract is made will help with understanding this. extract makers mash grains to make a sweet liquor just like all grain home brewers do, but they boil the liquor all the way down to a syrup or a powder. in doing so they caramelize a larger portion of the sugars. yeast don't eat caramelized sugar, so you end up with a higher percentage of the total sugar remaining, thus a higher gravity.

the second, and far more important issue, doesn't have much to do with the extract but with the fact that extract beers are brewed by beginners. beginners usually haven't learned about the things that lead to well attenuated beers. the most important aspect of getting a beer to attenuate well is pitching A LOT of really healthy yeast. most beginners aren't equipped to make yeast starters, or don't even know what yeast starters are. most beginners don't understand the relationship between wort aeration and yeast health. most beginners don't understand the relationship between fermentation temperature and attenuation.

do some searching and reading on these topics if you want to better understand how to control attenuation.

After a week in the secondary, I had to test it. Just a hair over 1.08.
It tastes like beer, but weak. Tastes nice, but weak.

I am not happy with this premade kit. Good quality, but weak on taste.

I have my extract receipe ready to go once this kit is done. No more pre-made kits for me.

GearBeer said:

(read: don't use your $4 airlock vodka ).

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I'm going to make a label for my cheap-o Trader Joes vodka bottle now.

Airlock Vodka

LOL