ABV higher than expected

[02stangguy]

I brewed 5 gallons of a honey wheat last week and just tested the gravity last night to see how things were going. The og was 1.061 and right now is sitting at 1.012. I believe that puts it at around 6.5%. . I got this recipe from a YouTube video and the guy even said that his came out to 6.5 so I'm stupid for not changing the recipe up haha. Anyway is there anything I can do at this point to lover the alcohol content? I wanted a light "lawnmower" beer .

 

[Furore]

If you feel you have to, you could add some water to your bottling bucket / keg in small increments and mix it and taste it along the way. But i would be careful since you are going to dilute the flavor, thin out the body, and lower your IBU/SRM too. I would assume you would rather have a higher abv brew than a watery tasting brew. But you could probably knock it down .5-1% without making a bad brew by any means.

Or just bottle it, learn from your mistakes, and live a little dangerously on the mower. :rockin:

 

[hunter_le five]

Drink it slowly.


Chalk it up to experience and next time pick a recipe with a lower expected OG (and more specifically a smaller range between expected OG and expected FG).

There are technically ways to "lower" the ABV, but you're probably not going to like them. Boil off the alcohol, water down the beer, etc etc.

 

[dstockwell]

The og was 1.061 and right now is sitting at 1.012. I believe that puts it at around 6.5%. .

Life begins at 60 - 1.060, that is -- Denny Conn

 

[GHBWNY]

If you're looking for a light thirst-quencher @ around 3.2%, you could make a shandy with it by mixing it 1:1 with lemonade.

Otherwise, I'd leave it alone and brew another batch.

 

[treacheroustexan]

If you're looking for a light thirst-quencher @ around 3.2%, you could make a shandy with it by mixing it 1:1 with lemonade.

Otherwise, I'd leave it alone and brew another batch.

I agree. Dilute it a little bit. You will get more bottles and your lawnmower beer. Personally I'd leave it how it is. Instead of drinking two of them you just have to drink one slowly

 

[eadavis80]

If you're looking for a light thirst-quencher @ around 3.2%, you could make a shandy with it by mixing it 1:1 with lemonade.

Otherwise, I'd leave it alone and brew another batch.

I actually kind of like this idea of making a honey wheat and then mixing with lemonade to make a shandy. Would you have to add the lemonade to secondary and rack the beer on it first and let it re-ferment the sugar from the lemonade? I'm guessing if you added lemonade (sugar) to the bottling bucket, it could result in bottle bombs, right? I don't know if "priming" with lemonade is a regular practice. So, I'm just asking.

 

[treacheroustexan]

I actually kind of like this idea of making a honey wheat and then mixing with lemonade to make a shandy. Would you have to add the lemonade to secondary and rack the beer on it first and let it re-ferment the sugar from the lemonade? I'm guessing if you added lemonade (sugar) to the bottling bucket, it could result in bottle bombs, right? I don't know if "priming" with lemonade is a regular practice. So, I'm just asking.

Yeah I would definitely add it and let it ferment (in your situation), but in the OP's situation I think the poster was referring to bottling it how it is, and then mixing it 1:1 in the glass, that way you don't give it the opportunity to ferment anymore. Otherwise the ABV will keep getting higher.

 

[GHBWNY]

I actually kind of like this idea of making a honey wheat and then mixing with lemonade to make a shandy. Would you have to add the lemonade to secondary and rack the beer on it first and let it re-ferment the sugar from the lemonade? I'm guessing if you added lemonade (sugar) to the bottling bucket, it could result in bottle bombs, right? I don't know if "priming" with lemonade is a regular practice. So, I'm just asking.

Easiest and tastiest is to just mix it in the glass at drinking time. That way you don't risk screwing up a batch with lemon additions/secondary/etc.. Pour the beer first, add the lemonade. If someone wants a honey wheat beer straight up, they have that option, too.

 

[eadavis80]

That would probably be the easiest - just have a pitcher of lemonade and a big-ass glass

 

[02stangguy]

Thanks for the reply everyone! That shandy sounds great. I think that's what I'll end up doing