Attaining Higher Alchohol Content

[coyotek9]

I would like to boost alcohol content in a clone Imperial Stout to achieve close to the original's level. I've been told to skip using the suggested ale yeast in favor of one of the newer sturdy yeasts appearing on the market and boost the sugar content in the mash.

It also seems to me that I should be able to boost the sugar levels as advised, but also use the recommended yeast. When that yeast gives up the ghost at around 7 - 7.5% in the primary, the left over sugars could be converted in the primary with the addition of the sturdier yeast. I'm a bit skeptical about the flavor using only the higher yield yeast. I would like to achieve an ABV of around 9- 11%.

I would also need to know about how much more to add to the mash in order to achieve the necessary sugar levels and what would be the best route to take. More DME or corn sugar? I'm currently brewing in 5.25 gal batches.

Any suggestions/advice out there?

 

[halite]

A good option in order to boost the ABV would be the addition of DME to the boil with about 15 minutes to go. For a 5.25 gallon batch, 1lb of DME will add about 8 gravity points.

sorry, I have no idea about the yeast part of your question

 

[Pappers_]

If you post your recipe, it would be easier to answer your question with some specifics. Generally, yes, you can add sugar to increase abv but too much is not good. Increasing your base malt (grains or extract) is the best way.

 

[MasterWan]

Hi alcohol active yeasts (like champaign yeast) are only really needed if you want to acheive ABVs higher than 9% or so. Am I correct vet's?

 

[wonderbread23]

With a properly sized healthy pitch, proper aeration, nutrients, low mash temperatures, etc. you can pretty easily achieve 10%+ with standard yeasts (such as 1056/wlp001). In a big beer, I have no second thought about tossing in table sugar for up to 10% of the fermentables (20% if you're doing Belgian beers). This will help dry out the beer and keep it from being cloyingly sweet. You might also consider adding the simple sugars a few days into fermentation so that the yeast will crunch the complex stuff first.

 

[MasterWan]

With a properly sized healthy pitch, proper aeration, nutrients, low mash temperatures, etc. you can pretty easily achieve 10%+ with standard yeasts (such as 1056/wlp001). In a big beer, I have no second thought about tossing in table sugar for up to 10% of the fermentables (20% if you're doing Belgian beers). This will help dry out the beer and keep it from being cloyingly sweet. You might also consider adding the simple sugars a few days into fermentation so that the yeast will crunch the complex stuff first.

wow awesome. Answers a lot of questions for me. Thanks

 

[coyotek9]

Sorry for the delay getting back.

The recipe is:

2 lbs pale malt
1 lb roasted barley
8 oz chocolate malt
8 oz black malt
8 oz kiln coffee malt
8 oz dark crystal malt

steeping and sparging then adding 5.5 lbs dark DME before the boil. There are options for all extract and all grain batches as well.

So what would be the best way to boost the ABV with these ingredients?

 

[wonderbread23]

Sorry for the delay getting back.

The recipe is:

2 lbs pale malt
1 lb roasted barley
8 oz chocolate malt
8 oz black malt
8 oz kiln coffee malt
8 oz dark crystal malt

steeping and sparging then adding 5.5 lbs dark DME before the boil. There are options for all extract and all grain batches as well.

So what would be the best way to boost the ABV with these ingredients?

If you want to increase the ABV, add some more DME. There are a lot of calculators / software programs that will help you predict the OG and resultant alcohol. That recipe has a ton of roasted malts, so I'd worry that its going to taste a bit acrid / burnt...especially with the black malt.

 

[HotbreakHotel]

S-05 will easily ferment to 12%. If you're looking for 9% it should ferment clean.

I actually pushed it with S-05 on an imperial stout and got nearly 14%, but it took a couple of months for some strange flavors to condition out!

 

[viking73]

I would use extra light DME instead of Dark. Your roasted malts will darken the beer quite a bit on their own.

 

[coyotek9]

So, for those advocating increasing sugar content rather than changing yeasts, I take it you are saying that Irish Ale Yeast 1084 can handle the boosting of the ABV from about 7% to 9.5 to 10% as long as there is enough sugar to convert? In other words, a regular ale yeast can survive in that environment long enough to do the job? If the answer is yes, I plan to add about 2 lbs of Pale DME (and a little more H2O?) to the recipe and brew tomorrow! I don't want to risk strange flavors by changing to a different yeast.