Slight deviation on extract kit

[Crumbscrapings]

Hi all, total newb here, getting ready to make my third batch. Where I am trying to get to as a brewer is to make big beers with higher alcohol content and unique taste. First two batches were straight kit recipe so I could learn how to do things the textbook way.

Getting ready to do my third batch (Pumpkin Ale) and was wondering about the proper way to make slight deviations on the recipe without making garbage. In asking one of the guys at Midwest about how to increase the alcohol content, he advised simply adding more malt when making the wort. His suggestion was adding 1 lb of malt to the 6lb already in the kit.

A few questions:

1. Does anyone have a rough idea where adding 1lb of malt to the 6lbs in the recipe, brings the alcohol percentage up to? The recipe indicates I should expect alcohol of about 4.8%.
2. Would adding 2 lbs of extra malt be better? For standard five gallon batches, what is the "sweet spot" for adding extra malt to an extract kit?
3. Is simply adding less water to the batch a better option, i.e. using four gallons of water vs. five?
4. For new brewers, is buying an extract kit and making slight additions/deviations to the recipe a stupid way to try and create stronger beers?

Thanks to anyone who wants to provide guidance here.

 

[gce]

Have you looked into any brewing software for your brews? A lot of them will do the math for you and let you know what to expect as far ar OG and FG. Are you on a mac or a pc?

 

[nukebrewer]

The thing about jacking with kit recipes is that they're already balanced for you. Simply adding malt will, indeed, increase your ABV, but it will shift the balance toward malt, which would be undesirable in a hoppy style. It's ok to add the extra malt to increase the ABV, but you have to make sure you think about the hops to restore the balance. I'm assuming the kit is more malt forward anyway, so it's not a huge deal this time, but just make sure you consider the hops next time.

 

[jonnyp1980]

I have done this to my ipa by adding 1lbs of dry malt to increase abv ( dont any more ) Its not a big jump in alcohol content but I did add an extra .25 to .50 extra hops for bittering to compensate for the extra sweetness.

 

[Crumbscrapings]

Yeah, I figured that messing with the recipe might affect the flavor balance. With that in mind, is it simply better to just wait until I get to all grain brewing before experimenting?

I prefer bigger, higher ABV beers and that's where I want to go, but being new, I figured it was best to stick with kits first. My thought was maybe I could make some subtle deviations with the kits as something of an intermediate step to all grain, but maybe this is one of those things that you either follow the instructions pretty close to the letter or don't bother.

Guess I was just wondering if experimenting with kits was something other brewers do and was hoping to get some tips in how to best do that.

The thing about jacking with kit recipes is that they're already balanced for you. Simply adding malt will, indeed, increase your ABV, but it will shift the balance toward malt, which would be undesirable in a hoppy style. It's ok to add the extra malt to increase the ABV, but you have to make sure you think about the hops to restore the balance. I'm assuming the kit is more malt forward anyway, so it's not a huge deal this time, but just make sure you consider the hops next time.

 

[Crumbscrapings]

No, I actually have not looked into software for this. Is that something you would strongly recommend? I deal with computers at work all day, so was thinking I'd keep the beer/computer relationship limited to maybe buying ingredients online and forums like this.

Have you looked into any brewing software for your brews? A lot of them will do the math for you and let you know what to expect as far ar OG and FG. Are you on a mac or a pc?

 

[schittbreff]

You can experiment with extract all you want. buy bulk extract and **** around with it. it's fun and you may hit on some really good beers.

 

[kh54s10]

Look at Beer Calculus on hopville.com. Plug in a recipe and see what adding more malt will do to it.

I used it before I got Beersmith 2 and made some great beers. I started with a recipe from a kit that Northern Brewer sells. They list the ingredients online. I then changes some things to make it something that I thought I might enjoy better.

With the calculator I could decide if I needed to change hop amounts or addition times to keep the balance where I wanted it.

You can do it relatively quickly or mess around for quite a while.

BTW there are other online calculators also.

 

[nukebrewer]

Yeah, I figured that messing with the recipe might affect the flavor balance. With that in mind, is it simply better to just wait until I get to all grain brewing before experimenting?

I fully support tinkering with recipes, just nothing too extreme and maintain the balance.

 

[ajf]

If the recipe indicates 4.8% alcohol with 6 lbs extract, then increasing the extract from 6 to 7 lbs will generate 5.6% alcohol. (4.8 * 7 / 6). Increasing the extract to 8 lbs would give you 6.4% (4.8 * 8 / 6).
In either case, adding the extra malt will probably affect the balance of the beer, so the recipe may need some other adjustments. I would suggest that you start by finding a kit that already gives you the alcohol % that you want rather than just blindly adding more malt.

-a.

 

[DrummerBoySeth]

I often add extra malt extract to my kit brews. For most beers I add up to one pound of malt extract without changing the hops schedule. Since I am not a huge hop-head/IPA guy, this is no big deal. I actually prefer the slightly maltier balance that results from doing this. If you want to add more than one pound of extract, then you will almost have to add hops to keep the balance. I usually add 1/2 to 1 ounce of low AA hops ("noble" hops) for each additional pound of extract after the first one. Brewing software like Beersmith, www.brewersfriend.com, and hopville.com allow you to "test" what modifications will do to your beer without actually having to brew it.

 

[chickypad]

If you don't feel confident yet with formulating your own recipes, why don't you just pick a kit or a posted recipe with a higher ABV beer? Lots in the recipe database here with extract options, you don't have to "wait" to do all grain for this.

 

[scubastan]

Agree with Chickypad.
Lots of great recipes posted here in HBT. Also easy to find other recipes online. IF you happen to find a commerical beer you really enjoy often times there are recipes that are clones of it.

 

[billf2112]

Agree with the last two brewers (and pretty much the rest of the responders). I alsi did two exract kits when I started brewing and wanted more control on my brews. I downloaded some free software and looked over the recipes here on homebrewtalk and created my own "kits". I also googlef the ingrediants to find out about them. It is awesome to see why they are in a recipe.