Improving my beer kit?

[Rukula]

This is probably not a new thing for you guys, but I'm a beginner at home brewing and I'm soon starting up brewing some beer. I bought a cheap beer kit, just to get into the swing of things, even tho i know beer kits is cheating, and wont get you the best results..

I have watched some videos, and read some theory so i know what the different ingredients does and where the alcohol comes from etcetera.

The thing is; I'm from Norway, and in all the "How to improve your beer kit" videos, people mention loads of things i don't know what means. But the one thing I've understood in improving the kit is to not add sugar, but instead add malt extract. On the instructions, it says: Add half a teaspoon of sugar to each bottle when bottling. Shall i use malt extract here as well?
On the back of the can, there is a chart that shows you how much sugar is needed to get the % of alcohol you prefer. It reads:

Type: Sugar: Percent:
Low Alcohol: None 2.5 - 2.9%
Bar Strength: 0,65KG 3,8 - 4.3%
Import strength: 1KG 4.6 - 5.2%
Special Strength:1,5KG 5.7 - 6.3%

I was thinking: Well, lets not add any sugar then, and it will be fine. But i really want to get up to at least bar strength, preferably between Bar and Import strength. But how much malt extract do i need? The same amount of kg's mentioned on the can?

Here is the instructions from the can:
1. Sterilize all the equipment
2. Pour contents of this can plus approx 4,5 liters of boiling water into fermentation vessel.
3. Add sugar or the same amount of muntons beer kit enhancer and stir until dissolved
4. Top up 22,5 liters with cold water
5. Check temperature is between 18-23'c and add the yeast (maintain the temperature
6. 4 days after fermentation begins, take a hydrometer reading. Normally when ready for bottling, the final specific gravity will be between 1.002 and 1.006. Your beer is ready for bottling when the desired gravity has been reached and or when bubbles no longer rise from your brew.
7.Bottle the beer adding 1/2 teaspoon of sugar per point bottle.
8. Place bottles in storage at approx 18'C for 6-10 days
9. Cool the bottles in the desired temperature for a few days
10. Drink responsibly, enjoy blablabla...

By the way, the can contains Hops and malt extract (Or hopped malt extract?) and i got a small bag of yeast. This kit will make 22,5 liters (5 gallons) of beer.


So I'm confused. Adding more malt extract to the mixture of malt extract makes more alcohol? And this tastes better than adding sugar to the malt extract?

And my last question. Is there anything else i can change in the instructions to get a better result?

Sorry for a long messy post, but this is my first post and i lack of knowledge.
Cheers!

 

[unionrdr]

Just for reference,23L is 6.072 gallons. So 22.5L is just a hair less than that. I'd boil the 5L of water for a few mins. Then remove it from the heat to add all the fermentables. They won't get burned on the bottom of the brew kettle that way.
And yes,it's better to add malt extract (dried or liquid) to the mix for better mouth feel,color,& ABV%. Sugar can dry the brew. Adding more hops is a good thing as well to re-balance the brew. Ferment temp of 20C is good ime. Leave the brew in primary till it reaches a stable FG. Then give it 3-5 days after that to clean up it's by products & settle out more.
Then,get a small,clean saucepan & boil 2C of water,adding 1C of dextrose & stir till it clears up again. Remove from heat & cool down to at least 26C.
Rack beer from primary FV to bottling bucket,slowly pouring priming solution into surface of beer. When done racking,stir very gently a few times to make sure it's mixed evenly.
Leave capped bottles in covered boxes to condition at room temp (21C is good) for 3-4 weeks.

 

[onipar]

This is probably not a new thing for you guys, but I'm a beginner at home brewing and I'm soon starting up brewing some beer. I bought a cheap beer kit, just to get into the swing of things, even tho i know beer kits is cheating, and wont get you the best results..

I have watched some videos, and read some theory so i know what the different ingredients does and where the alcohol comes from etcetera.

The thing is; I'm from Norway, and in all the "How to improve your beer kit" videos, people mention loads of things i don't know what means. But the one thing I've understood in improving the kit is to not add sugar, but instead add malt extract. On the instructions, it says: Add half a teaspoon of sugar to each bottle when bottling. Shall i use malt extract here as well?
On the back of the can, there is a chart that shows you how much sugar is needed to get the % of alcohol you prefer. It reads:

Type: Sugar: Percent:
Low Alcohol: None 2.5 - 2.9%
Bar Strength: 0,65KG 3,8 - 4.3%
Import strength: 1KG 4.6 - 5.2%
Special Strength:1,5KG 5.7 - 6.3%

I was thinking: Well, lets not add any sugar then, and it will be fine. But i really want to get up to at least bar strength, preferably between Bar and Import strength. But how much malt extract do i need? The same amount of kg's mentioned on the can?

Here is the instructions from the can:
1. Sterilize all the equipment
2. Pour contents of this can plus approx 4,5 liters of boiling water into fermentation vessel.
3. Add sugar or the same amount of muntons beer kit enhancer and stir until dissolved
4. Top up 22,5 liters with cold water
5. Check temperature is between 18-23'c and add the yeast (maintain the temperature
6. 4 days after fermentation begins, take a hydrometer reading. Normally when ready for bottling, the final specific gravity will be between 1.002 and 1.006. Your beer is ready for bottling when the desired gravity has been reached and or when bubbles no longer rise from your brew.
7.Bottle the beer adding 1/2 teaspoon of sugar per point bottle.
8. Place bottles in storage at approx 18'C for 6-10 days
9. Cool the bottles in the desired temperature for a few days
10. Drink responsibly, enjoy blablabla...

By the way, the can contains Hops and malt extract (Or hopped malt extract?) and i got a small bag of yeast. This kit will make 22,5 liters (5 gallons) of beer.


So I'm confused. Adding more malt extract to the mixture of malt extract makes more alcohol? And this tastes better than adding sugar to the malt extract?

And my last question. Is there anything else i can change in the instructions to get a better result?

Sorry for a long messy post, but this is my first post and i lack of knowledge.
Cheers!

The short answer is that whatever you add (sugar or malt extract), it is the "food" the yeast will eat. The more of it, the more alcohol. However, in large quantities, using sugar will give you a lighter body and higher alcohol (and some say with too much, a "cider/apple" flavor), whereas malt extract give your beer body along with the alcohol, and no cidery flavor.

Sugar and malt extract are not 1:1. The same amounts of each won't produce the same amounts of alcohol. You can use a calculator to decide how much malt extract you want to add: http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/gravity.html

A couple other things. It says to take a hydrometer reading after 4 days. Don't. Wait at last 2 weeks, then take a reading. They say it will be around 1.002-1.006. That's not necessarily true. Rather than that, take two or three readings in two to three days, and if the reading is the same for 3 days, fermentation is complete. It *should* be at least 1.018 or lower. Also, leave it in primary for at least 3-4 weeks.

Finally, you'll want to add your priming sugar to the entire batch rather than 1 bottle at a time. You should take your priming sugar and boil it in 1-2 cups of water. Then add that to your bottling bucket. Rack your beer on top of that. Then bottle.

There's more to all of this, but you can find a lot of great info here by searching. Also, I'm sure others will chime in and add to what I said.

 

[Abatchaweek]

I'm also a newish kit brewer so take my opinions with some salt.

I would skip going straight beer kit + corn sugar (dextrose) only,makes beer too thin and watery.A beer enhancer is better being that it is basiclly a dextrose/malt extract mix usually.Alternatively you can go beer kit+malt extract with hops to balance out the sweetness from the malt.Take your time and advance the brewing ladder at whatever pace is good for you.

Malt extract wont fully ferment out like dextrose will,so your alc % will be a bit lower if compared 1:1 .I don't know the exact ratio but the amount isn't massive.

Priming your beer bottles (adding sugar to bottles before filling) is fine to use sugar, the amount is too small to effect the taste.I still add sugar one bottle at a time but alot of people bulk prime adding all the bottles worth of sugar into there bottling bucket and transfering/shipioning there beer onto it which mixes for even carbonation on every bottle.I don't care for exact carbornation in all my beers and my way is faster anyways. I use pet plastic bottles and can prime 15 1.5l bottles in under a minute if pushed .

 

[unionrdr]

I used to use cooper's carbonation drops,& they're fine,but I started bulk priming. Keep in mind in this scenario,you mix the right amount of priming sugar (on average,1oz per gallon) with 2c of boiling water to dissolve. Rack the beer onto this solution in the bottling bucket.
It produces carbonation more evenly,true,but also seems to work faster. The liquified sugar mixes more readily with the beer,it seems.