AHS 1% Alcohol Boost????

So I was perusing AHS's AG kits and I noticed the Brewvint Alcohol Boost option. From what I read about it, yes BobNQ3X I did google it!, it doesnt seem too different than adding a bunch of DME to your brew. Whats the overall opinion/ story on this stuff??

Adding DME will boost your alcohol, but will increase your malt flavor, and thus you will need to adjust your hop schedule. Brewvint alcohol boost increases alcohol without affecting flavor.

I have used it a while back on an extract recipe of mine. I detected very little difference when I used it. It did have some negative effect on the mouthfeel but not enough to worry about.

Cool, yeah prob. wont be doing much with it.

It is simply the best and cheapest way to boost alcohol. We sell around 10,000 of them a year. It works and people like it.

Forrest

I may try it sometime, but for my first AG kit I think ill keep it "simple."

-Thanks

I like the idea but I don't ever mess with it. Beer is more about that flavor than the alcohol anyways.

I don't think it should be used for everything. Just use it when you want to.

Forrest

Austinhomebrew said:

I don't think it should be used for everything. Just use it when you want to.

Forrest

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+1. I use it. Sometimes.
If YOU want to brew without it, fine. I'm not going to hold that against you any more than I thing you should piss and moan about my spending the $2.00 for the product.

55% maltose/45% glucose per AHS alcohol boost.......did a little research on the net.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltose
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose
Its straight sugar so it probably ferments almost 100% leaving nothing behind but the two famous byproducts c02 and our fav......alcohol.
Ive used straight corn sugar (dextrose) which is also referred to on wiki pedia as glucose to bump my ABV with no taste variation. You can buy a 5lb bag of corn sugar for like 5 bucks. was bored so i thought i would research.

tdavisii said:

55% maltose/45% glucose per AHS alcohol boost.......did a little research on the net.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltose
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose
Its straight sugar so it probably ferments almost 100% leaving nothing behind but the two famous byproducts c02 and our fav......alcohol.
Ive used straight corn sugar (dextrose) which is also referred to on wiki pedia as glucose to bump my ABV with no taste variation. You can buy a 5lb bag of corn sugar for like 5 bucks. was bored so i thought i would research.

Click to expand...

Regular corn sugar will work fine but don't add too much. Since the alcohol boost is much more fermentable than corn sugar (high maltose content) it only takes 14 oz. to get an extra 1%. If you use corn sugar it will cost more than $1.99 to reach 1% and you want to limit the amount of adjucts to as close to 10% of the sugar as you can. The alcohol boost will add less adjuncts to you batch than any other sugar for less money without any side effects but the alcohol you wanted in the beer.

FOrrest

I just used it in My German Weissbier. Bumped OG to 1.054. Cant' wait.

Does it matter when you add the alc boost? I believe it calls for it to be added during the boil, and my brewing partner and I took that as meaning "at any time during the boil". If all we are doing is adding extra food for the yeast to consume we could technically add it at any time correct? Another question would be the effectiveness of adding multiple packages? Anyone care to comment on that?

You can add it later, to add it to the fermenter just boil a few cups of water with it for a few minutes, let that cool a bit in a sink bath and dump it into the fermenter. The yeast will applaud the fresh feast.

Like any adjunct it will dry out the beer and thin the mouthfeel so I wouldn't exceed 1-2%.

I have used it a few time, works great.

I used it on the AHS Red IPA and got it to about 6.5%ABV and it rocks. You do get some crazy mouth feel but thats from the extra alcohol. I will be using again.

Jon O

I am brewing an ocktoberfest the kit appears to be 3.2 ercent based on beginning and ending gravities supplied on kit paperwork. I would like 5 to 5.5%. Can I use 2 alcohol boost kits? If not What's the best way to accomplish this? I am not a big fan of octoberfest but it came with the kit I got for xmas. Can anyone give me a god way to add a mild fruitiness to the beer? Which hop what amount. The kit contains 2 oz of I believe Liberty hopps.

And this thread has risen from the dead!

Austinhomebrew said:

Regular corn sugar will work fine but don't add too much. Since the alcohol boost is much more fermentable than corn sugar (high maltose content) it only takes 14 oz. to get an extra 1%. If you use corn sugar it will cost more than $1.99 to reach 1% and you want to limit the amount of adjucts to as close to 10% of the sugar as you can. The alcohol boost will add less adjuncts to you batch than any other sugar for less money without any side effects but the alcohol you wanted in the beer.

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I don't see how this is possible. Glucose is the most basic form of sugar, what all other sugars are converted to in any organism. Maltose is simply two glucose molecules condensed together. The yeast will use water to break it into to two glucose molecules. Yes, one molecule of maltose will make twice as much alcohol as glucose, but it weighs twice as much, and therefore, it will make an equal amount of alcohol as glucose by mass. Corn sugar is pure glucose. Unlike maltose, glucose is already in the form of the basic sugar, and won't have to be split as maltose does. I personally believe maltose and glucose will have the exact same effect except the yeast will have to spend the time breaking the maltose in half.