Been a long time lurker but never felt I really had anything to contribute from my limited experience. Hit a problem that Im not sure how to fix and finally registered. Thanks to the regular posters that make this forum what it is!
I made a batch of extra light blonde ale this past week and forgot to take in to account the unfermentable sugars and the alcohol is way lower than I was shooting for. The beer has already cleared very nicely and has just been racked to the secondary at the 5 day point. The beer is at 1.015 down from 1.040 which according to my calculations puts the alcohol content at about 3.1%, I was shooting for about 4.5% finished.
My question is it worth adding sugar to boost the alcohol hopefully offsetting some of the residual sweetness, I guessing it would take about 3 days to refinish then a few more to clear up again and Im worried about getting it bottled without getting off flavors. (I dont have a place to ferment in the dark and the carboy gets mild light during the day) Or would I be better off bumping the alcohol content by fortifying it or just leave it as is and see how it comes out. What would you do?
I made a batch of extra light blonde ale this past week and forgot to take in to account the unfermentable sugars and the alcohol is way lower than I was shooting for. The beer has already cleared very nicely and has just been racked to the secondary at the 5 day point. The beer is at 1.015 down from 1.040 which according to my calculations puts the alcohol content at about 3.1%, I was shooting for about 4.5% finished.
My question is it worth adding sugar to boost the alcohol hopefully offsetting some of the residual sweetness, I guessing it would take about 3 days to refinish then a few more to clear up again and Im worried about getting it bottled without getting off flavors. (I dont have a place to ferment in the dark and the carboy gets mild light during the day) Or would I be better off bumping the alcohol content by fortifying it or just leave it as is and see how it comes out. What would you do?