Increasing ABV?

[jbwuebben]

Ive done a few kits from NB and they have all turned out well so far. But, I just wish that the ABV was a little more. I am consistently getting about 4% abv from my batches. I want to increase the ABV a little without sacrificing taste. So, after some research I learned that just adding sugar will help. But, when do you add the sugar? During the boil? If so, when? After the boil? In the fermentor? What?

 

[bschoenb]

Add less water; or buy a little DME and add that instead of Sugar (that's my recomendation)

 

[jbwuebben]

can you be more specific? How much less water and how much dme?

 

[phenry]

Depends on how much higher abv you want. More fermentable sugars per gallon = more alcohol per gallon. An increase in fermentables or decrease in water will yield more alcohol.

But, more important question: what beers are you brewing? If you want higher abv beers, brew higher abv kits. No matter how hard you try, you aren't going to get 7% abv out of a 1.045 OG.

 

[Yooper]

the key to a good beer is balance- a balance of hops, malt, alcohol.

If you change one of those, without adjusting for the others, you can have an unbalanced beer that doesn't really taste that great. As an analogy, say you're making spaghetti sauce but you only have enough for 6 and want to feed 12. Adding double the tomato sauce will give you enough for 12, but it won't be the same sauce with the same flavor. You need more seasonings, too, for the bigger batch. Just adding the liquid won't give you the same sauce.

It's sort of the same way when increasing the ABV. You can safely boost the ABV a little bit without much effect, but if you add more malt or sugar, but not more hops, it won't be a beer with the same flavor and depth. So balance is hugely important.

I guess my best advice is if you want a 5.5% beer, start with a recipe for a 5.5% beer at the beginning. It's much harder to make a 5.5% beer out of 4% beer than you'd think.

 

[jbwuebben]

I brewed the NB Nut Brown, which turned out fantastic tasting but the ABV was about 3.8 to 4 %. I bought another nut brown kit and baverian Hef both OG around 1.45 to 1.050. I just want to get to the 5-6 abv range is all. Ive been tweaking the recipe calculators with sugar additions which seem help me with my goal, but Iam just not sure when to add the sugar. Are you saying to brew a 4.5 gallon batch instead of 5 gallons?

 

[microbusbrewery]

Nut Brown Ale should be right around 3-4%. Hefe's should be around 4.5-5.6%. So you're right in the ballpark for the styles you're brewing.

Regarding when to add sugar or DME, I'd recommend adding it during the boil. But as Yooper said, it's really easy to screw up a beer if you don't do it right.

 

[kh54s10]

Look at different kits at NB! They have all sorts of styles covering all ranges of ABV. You should be getting the ABV that the kit predicts.

I would not just add something to raise the ABV. You will seriously change the flavor, mouthfeel and style of the beer.

IMO you should brew for flavor not alcohol level.

 

[microbusbrewery]

IMO you should brew for flavor not alcohol level.

+1. It's worth mentioning that there's nothing wrong with a good session beer either. I actually prefer beers in the 4-5% range so that you can enjoy a couple without getting trashed. I've been brewing beers all fall and winter that have been around 6-9%. They're good and all, but I think I'm read for a few 4% now.