How to reach 10 percent ABV?

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Whiskey184

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I have been experimenting with adding more and more LME to each batch, as well as adding honey at flame out. I have only been able to make one of my batches reach 7 percent. What do I need to do to get a batch at 10 percent?
 
I recently brewed a Scottish Wee Heavy that came in around 9.4%. You may need to increase the size of your yeast starter.
 
I think you need to read up more on brewing if youre asking a question like this. Go check out howtobrew.com

To answer your question, more sugars = more alcohol. But it's not so simple, as redsoxfan said, more yeast is needed when the gravity increases. You will also have to control fermentation temperature since you are more at risk of getting a hot alcohol mess that could take a long time to mellow out.

Hitting 10% may be some big milestone for you, but it seems kinda irrelevant to me. I would just focus on making good beer, and getting good at that first. Once you are pretty well versed in brewing, then make your 10% beer.
 
I think you need to read up more on brewing if youre asking a question like this. Go check out howtobrew.com

To answer your question, more sugars = more alcohol. But it's not so simple, as redsoxfan said, more yeast is needed when the gravity increases. You will also have to control fermentation temperature since you are more at risk of getting a hot alcohol mess that could take a long time to mellow out.

Hitting 10% may be some big milestone for you, but it seems kinda irrelevant to me. I would just focus on making good beer, and getting good at that first. Once you are pretty well versed in brewing, then make your 10% beer.

I agree with this.

To get high alcohol you need more sugars. That won't necessarily make something drinkable.

You will need a lot of yeast to ferment such a high gravity. You will also need a strain of yeast that can survive the high alcohol content.

If high alcohol is the object you could make a good beer to drink and top it off with shots!
 
I have brewed 2 kits from http://www.highgravitybrew.com
One was 9.75% and the other was 8.5%.

Northern brewers Black IPA is over 10%. It calls for sugar at the end of the boil.

Some of the Triple Belgian kits are close to 10%.

My problem with some of these kits is you really need a yeast starter. We are talking like 15lbs of candi syrup. Also your fermentation room need to be spot on temperature wise.

There is plenty of kits that will that will be around 10%.
 
I made a mistake on a recent IPA and got the OG at 1.085 or something close to it. I just kegged it and my final OG showed that this is a little over 9% ABV. All I did was add around 2-3 lbs of extra corn sugar after it was all done (it originally came in at 1.040 and I was trying to fix it).

I did not add any extra yeast. I just used the standard liquid yeast for American ales (WPL 0001 I think).
 
9.5 lbs of candi sugar or candi syrup is still way over the top. Are you sure you don't mean liquid extract, i.e. LME? 5 gallon batch? I've brewed a few high gravity belgian kits from NB and have not seen more than a 2 lb sugar addition.

My RIS is right on the edge of passing 10%, I'm hoping a small active yeast starter added a month before bottling will bring it past the finish line and drop the FG a few more points. But it had loads of fermentabes and yeast added.
 
Aside from more sugars, more malt, more yeast... you will want to pay attention to the percentages of sugars to malt. Too high in simple sugars, and you no longer have a beer. And also pay attention to the Final Gravity projections. You don't want certain styles to be higher than 1.020 FG, therefore simply adding fermentables without cause may very well do that. There should be a certain grace, complexity, and smoothness to higher alcohol beers. Unfortunately, I don't think you can do it all well if you're brewing with just Extract and Simple Sugars.
 
Well, as bobbrews mentioned, there is an art to making good tasting high alcohol beers that might take time to develop.

But honestly the main point is to provide enough fermentables; malt or grain, sugar in the right proportion, etc. and also provide a sufficient quantity of healthy yeast. Higher alcohol beers require a significantly higher amount of yeast. 2-3 vials of liquid if you don't build a starter, and a very large starter if you do.

It's really no different than a normal beer except that you scale everything up. You still have to maintain temps and provide a clean environment.

However, at a certain point you will start to have trouble with the yeast being able to finish their job due to the high alcohol levels in the beer. Generally pitching enough of the right strain of yeast will allow the beer to finish. I've brewed past 10% a couple of times. The first barleywine I made was my last extract batch and it turned out well enough for having no experience with high alcohol brews.

Simple sugar may be necessary to get the FG down to a reasonable level and of course most high ABV beers need some time to mellow or the alcohol heat will overwhelm the senses. You might need to provide more hops to outlast the aging period.
 
Northern brewers Black IPA is over 10%. It calls for sugar at the end of the boil.

Um...no its not. I just brewed it with a yeast starter and it was 7.7%. Plus it's brewed with wyeast American Ale II, which can only handle up to 10%, it wouldn't be over 10%.

Yes, sugar is added at flameout, but the OG is still only 1.076
 
I have a recipe for Imperial Stout (8.7%) that calls for 2 weeks primary fermentation (ale yeast), then transfer to secondary and adding a pkg Champagne yeast to finish out the fermentation.
I haven't tried it yet but it sounds good!!
 
You can use champagne yeast but it's not a magical alcohol converter. You still need some yeast nutrient and enzyme activity.

7% is pretty good. At 10 percent you get a hotter finish when it's young. good luck. Use more extract and steep some specialty grains for added complexity and a few extra sugars.
 
I've made a couple Hair of the Dog inspired brews. One is 10% the other 12%. One used candy sugar, one did not. In both cases I used Wyeast 1728, appropriate mash temps and proper aeration. This yeast is a beast -- fermented @ 60F without any trouble in a few days.
 
I know it's a matter of personal taste, but I just don't see the appeal of the high ABV brews. A lot of my pale ales are only abt 3% or so, I can have a few without tripping over the patterns in the kitchen linoleum...
 
Drank a buddies RIS that had aged for over a year. I wasn't thinking about it too much, just enjoying how good it tasted. Rather quickly I had drained 3/4 of my pint. And then my head started to swim a little bit.

I want to be able to relive that experience anytime I want :) In reality, I'm sure I will sip them next winter. Nothing quite like sitting by a warm fire on a cold winters night sipping a high ABV brew.
 
My bad it was 9.5 lbs

For what? A 30 gallon recipe? Otherwise, this doesn't make any sense.

Ottis said:
I have a recipe for Imperial Stout (8.7%) that calls for 2 weeks primary fermentation (ale yeast), then transfer to secondary and adding a pkg Champagne yeast to finish out the fermentation.
I haven't tried it yet but it sounds good!!

Using a secondary to "finish out the fermentation" doesnt make any sense either. Why would you rack off all of your yeast that are adapted to your alcohol rich environment? Champagne yeast CAN be used (stalled fermentation perhaps) but if the original yeast isn't enough to finish the job, the recipe is using the wrong yeast and, frankly, sucks. Nottingham can handle those alcohol levels. Just pitch two packs. I dont trust ANY recipe that calls for champagne yeast or any recipe that recommends a 2 week primary when brewing a 9% ABV beer.
 
My bad it was 9.5 lbs

9.5 lbs of candi sugar in 5 gallons (with no other fermentables) will get you an OG of about 1.069. Since it is simple sugar it will ferment out completely, to about 0.996. So if you add 9.5 lbs to any 5 gallon recipe, it will give you an alcohol content of 9.5% (abv) before any other fermentables are accounted for. I think you are mistaken with your numbers.

Well, as bobbrews mentioned, there is an art to making good tasting high alcohol beers that might take time to develop.

Very true. Just adding lots of sugar/extract to up the alcohol content will upset the balance of the beer, and may not make it too enjoyable.

I have a recipe for Imperial Stout (8.7%) that calls for 2 weeks primary fermentation (ale yeast), then transfer to secondary and adding a pkg Champagne yeast to finish out the fermentation.
I haven't tried it yet but it sounds good!!

The Champagne yeast will not do anything unless you are adding additional fermentables at that time. Champagne yeast ferments simple sugars; they will have already been consumed with only complex sugars left that Champagne yeast will not be able to convert. The recipe creator probably thought it would be good to help with bottle conditioning, but in reality, if you are not leaving it in the fermenter for more than 6 months, you will have plenty of yeast left to carbonate the beer.


For the OP:

If you are just looking to make a decent high alcohol beverage, I would suggest either making some dry cider or a simple Saison. For cider, use 5 gallons of apple juice + 3 lbs table sugar + Nottingham yeast = 10% abv. Try to ferment cool. Any yeast that tolerates higher than 10% will do.
 
http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/beerkits/BlackIPA.pdf

Here is a link to the kit.

So it was 9.5 of malt syrup. My bad for the mistake. I thought it was Candy syrup. My batch did not turn out no big surprise there.

I understand brewing is serious and important. I have only been brewing for a year and so I am still learning even the terminology.

Will be taking my first brewing class this weekend.

I plan on becoming good!
 
yeah I generally wouldn't have candi syrup accounting for more than 15-20 percent of my gristbill.

I have had a lot of beers over 10, most I have brewed this year. Take the advice above and read up a bit more on brewing.

You have multiple factors affecting this from temperatures, to fermentability, yeast attenuation, pitch rates...
 
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