Increasing Alcohol

[Kristopher]

About to put on a Mexican Cerveza kit. One can of extract, approx. 23 litres of water and one pack of brew enhancer. Just wondering how to raise alcohol a bit. Recently put a similar kit on (red ale), although unsure of final alcohol %, there wasn't much kick to it. Would mixing in more sugar at the beginning help/hurt?

 

[CJ-3]

Adding sugar will increase the alcohol but will also dry your beer out.
Another way is to add more malt extract but it would result in a sweeter beer unless you can add hops as well.

 

[DaNewf]

Add more fermentables (is that a word?) like malt extract, dextrose, table sugar etc. or use less water to top off the fermenter (fill to the 18 - 20 litre mark for example).

Adding malt extract or decreasing the brew volume will increase sweetness and/or body and (as CJ-3 said) adding simple sugars will dry the beer out.

If you decide to do either of these things don't go too nuts, Mexican Cerveza isn't supposed to be a thick, strong, sweet beer.

 

[Kristopher]

Thanks. My plan is to split the batch after primary. I was going to zest a few limes and add them to one carboy, and maybe add some extra dextrose to the other. Is the secondary a suitable place to do this?

 

[k-moe]

Brew as-is. Add Tequila at drinking time.

 

[SleepyCreekBrews]

Brew as-is. Add Tequila at drinking time.

...or dump 10oz of vodka in the bottling bucket .

 

[Kristopher]

I put the batch on today. I used the tin can of Mexican Cerveza, 1 bag of brew enhancer and the pack of yeast that came with the can. As mentioned earlier, I want to split the batch after primary fermentation, around the 8-9 day mark.
In the first carboy I'm going to add a few zested limes.
In the second carboy I just want to experiment a bit. My plan is to add a bit more dextrose to boost the final alcohol. Will these new sugars still ferment in the secondary? I'm aware of the ill effects this can have such as drying out the beer and/or cidery flavors. This is the reason why I didn't want to add it at the start, so I wouldn't (potentially) ruin a whole batch.
Other than dextrose, (or vodka and tequila as mentioned above) what else could be used?

 

[FatDragon]

I put the batch on today. I used the tin can of Mexican Cerveza, 1 bag of brew enhancer and the pack of yeast that came with the can. As mentioned earlier, I want to split the batch after primary fermentation, around the 8-9 day mark.
In the first carboy I'm going to add a few zested limes.
In the second carboy I just want to experiment a bit. My plan is to add a bit more dextrose to boost the final alcohol. Will these new sugars still ferment in the secondary? I'm aware of the ill effects this can have such as drying out the beer and/or cidery flavors. This is the reason why I didn't want to add it at the start, so I wouldn't (potentially) ruin a whole batch.
Other than dextrose, (or vodka and tequila as mentioned above) what else could be used?

As others mentioned, anything fermentable should work - fruit juice, maple syrup, honey, malt extract, most kinds of sugar - or of course directly adding alcohol like tequila, vodka, or everclear.

Splitting the batch and adding sugar to secondary should work fine. That's basically what we do when we add priming sugar at bottling time, so it'll do the job for you. If you're willing to risk the potential negative impact on the brew (the thin, dry, cidery things you and others have mentioned) then it'll work fine. Still, compared to sugar, light or Extra-light malt extract would be ideal, a mix of extract and sugar would be second best, and sugar alone is the most likely to produce a sub-par beer (barring consideration other fermentables).

 

[Kristopher]

Just a couple more questions. I know everyone says an airlock that is no longer bubbling doesn't guarantee fermentation is complete. So does a bubbling airlock guarantee fermentation is not complete. The reason I ask is it's been 8 days and it's still bubbling. Don't want to risk taking lid off to take readings.
Still planning on splitting this batch. Still not sure if I'm going to try increasing alcohol in half. My other question is is temperature as important in the secondary. I wrapped blankets around my primary and temp stayed pretty constant around 18-20.

 

[FatDragon]

An airlock can bubble in a completed brew if the beer is off-gassing carbon dioxide from fermentation. Hydrometer readings are a much better indicator than bubbles.

 

[kcoect]

Also remember, if you're adding additional fermentables to up the alcohol, your going to need to adjust how much yeast you pitch as well... I added a pound and a half of corn sugar to a hefeweizen 5 gallon batch but only pitched on packet of yeast and the son of a gun had active fermentation for almost a month before it was finally finished... Beersmith or some of the other tools are your best friend when it comes to figuring out how much yeast for your wort and extra sugar...

 

[Kristopher]

Also remember, if you're adding additional fermentables to up the alcohol, your going to need to adjust how much yeast you pitch as well... I added a pound and a half of corn sugar to a hefeweizen 5 gallon batch but only pitched on packet of yeast and the son of a gun had active fermentation for almost a month before it was finally finished... Beersmith or some of the other tools are your best friend when it comes to figuring out how much yeast for your wort and extra sugar...

If I did decide to up the alcohol in the secondary, would I need to add more yeast? Or would the yeast I added at the start still do the job?

 

[FatDragon]

If I did decide to up the alcohol in the secondary, would I need to add more yeast? Or would the yeast I added at the start still do the job?

It'll do the job just fine.

 

[Kristopher]

It's been about 2 weeks in primary. I have taken readings last 2 days, not sure I'm reading hydrometer right but it is one line below the "beer finished" line. Around 1.01?
When I took lid off there were still bubbles on surface. I have a blowoff tube on lid and I still get a air bubbles in the jug every couple of minutes. Someone mentioned it may be just off gasses. However after putting lid back on it doesn't take long for pressure to build back up in bucket.
Would a drop in room temp slow fermentation down this much. I noticed last few days the thermometer I have on primary went down to around 16-17. It was up around 18-19. I took the drop as fermentation being done and not generating as much heat.
I want to move to secondary. As mentioned earlier, I'm splitting this batch, add lime to half of it. Is it safe to move to secondary?

 

[FatDragon]

Yeah, it'll be safe to move to secondary. It sounds like it's finished, and even if it's not quite finished, tha'ts not a problem in secondary. An unfinished beer going into bottles is a concern, but going into secondary there should still be an airlock so any further fermentation won't pose a problem.

 

[Kristopher]

Thanks.