foxual
Well-Known Member
Hey guys,
I'm 2 batches in to homebrewing now and there's a lot of thanks due to the forum! Today, I have a question about ABV, and why mine is low and how I can bring it up.
I enjoy my session beers to be in the 4.5-5.5 range, and my stronger beers (IPAs and such) to be much higher than that. However, the beers I'm brewing are low in alcohol. The IPA I brewed (MW Fuggles IPA kit) had an OG of 1.043 and an FG of 1.011 -- the calculations on the hydrometer sheet said the alcohol would be ~4.3%, and I've seen calculators online give me anywhere from 3.7% to 4.9% based on those readings. So I'd say my beer is safely in the 4.3% to 4.4% area before bottling.
However, I expect that to be higher. Like, 5.5% to 6.0% high. Not based on ingredients, but more on the style: IPA should be a higher ABV. I know the general science behind HOW to make it higher... add more malt(sugar) for the yeast to eat and get more alcohol. However, I don't know how to do this while maintaining the desired flavor.
I'm using extract w/specialty grains, 3 gallon boils and 5 gallon batches. The kit came with and the recipe called for 6 lbs. Gold LME.
I know I can just go buy some DME or more LME and add it to the boil, but my concerns are color and maintaining intended taste...
Any ideas/suggestions/comments?
Thanks!
I'm 2 batches in to homebrewing now and there's a lot of thanks due to the forum! Today, I have a question about ABV, and why mine is low and how I can bring it up.
I enjoy my session beers to be in the 4.5-5.5 range, and my stronger beers (IPAs and such) to be much higher than that. However, the beers I'm brewing are low in alcohol. The IPA I brewed (MW Fuggles IPA kit) had an OG of 1.043 and an FG of 1.011 -- the calculations on the hydrometer sheet said the alcohol would be ~4.3%, and I've seen calculators online give me anywhere from 3.7% to 4.9% based on those readings. So I'd say my beer is safely in the 4.3% to 4.4% area before bottling.
However, I expect that to be higher. Like, 5.5% to 6.0% high. Not based on ingredients, but more on the style: IPA should be a higher ABV. I know the general science behind HOW to make it higher... add more malt(sugar) for the yeast to eat and get more alcohol. However, I don't know how to do this while maintaining the desired flavor.
I'm using extract w/specialty grains, 3 gallon boils and 5 gallon batches. The kit came with and the recipe called for 6 lbs. Gold LME.
I know I can just go buy some DME or more LME and add it to the boil, but my concerns are color and maintaining intended taste...
Any ideas/suggestions/comments?
Thanks!