when brewing from a kit who adds the alcohol boost?

I'm new and going to start my first batch soon, I'm thinking of austin homebrew's "fat tire" or www.highgravitybrew.com "Glacier Pale Ale". My question is should I add the 1% alcohol boost?

It _should_ add 1% boost. Depends on if you want the extra 1% for whatever they charge. The beer the kit makes will be fine without it.

Welcome aboard!

I wouldn't, you'd be adding corn to you beer

corn? I thought it was adding a little sugar. I see I have a lot to learn!!!

rival178 said:

corn? I thought it was adding a little sugar. I see I have a lot to learn!!!

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Corn Sugar

The amount of dextrose (corn sugar) that will boost ABV by 1% will add a cidery taste to your beer if you drink it quickly after fermenting. Other than that, it will not taste like much if you leave it for a few weeks.

What blowmax10 is saying is technically true... but you are unlikely to taste a corn flavour. It is the same as saying that using table sugar to prime beer (which I do) is adding rum to your beer.

If your goal is to get drunk quickly from the beer, then add the booster. If you want to enjoy the taste, you don't have to. The choice is up to you.

It also compromises brewing to style..to some extent. Does glucose/dextrose belong in a belgian? Maybe. Does it belong in a Brown? Probably not.

I prefer to brew what I got. I do mostly AG brews, and if I have bad efficiency and miss my SG when I go to boil...sure...I add some DME. But I also brew a lot of milds, a few huge ones, keep my pipe line going, and consider the "alcohol boost" a bit of a gimmick. I could hit my numbers fine, then throw in a pound of table sugar......but isn't that a little silly?

I vote for brewing that recipe just as it comes.

Add the alcohol! I do it on about every other batch I haven't noticed the difference. I'm expecting its due to letting it mellow a little bit longer.

That's cool you do it and like it. But I guess I'd rather see the "alcohol boost" being an extra pound of grain or .8 pounds of extract. That will get you the boost, and will be done so with what creates all the other alcohol.

I brew clones as-is. I know maximum ABV is critical to many people, but adding the boost will also dry out the beer. Adding extra extract or grain will also change the beer. To me, getting as close to the original beer as possible is more important. If I want a high ABV beer, I make one.