Amber alcohol content question...

[CCD]

After 3days of getting the same reading on my hydrometer (1.020) I decided to siphon my Amber ale into the secondary fermenter. Now, I made the mistake of adding my priming sugars into my primary fermenter (I'm a rookie haha) and I read that it would increase the alcohol content in the end. I have to bottle by the 26th of this month, and I don't think that the gravity is going to change that much. It hasn't moved from 1.020 for quite a few days. If my calculations are correct, that would give me a 3.5% ABV by the time of bottling. Is there a way to increase this? Would adding a little bit of vodka to increase it ruin the brew? Or is 3.5% a normal ABV for amber home brews?

Second question: If i add the priming sugars before bottling, how long before the brew is ready to consume? I.e. If i add my priming sugars and bottle on the 25th, would it be ready to drink on the 26th?

Thanks in advance...

 

[unionrdr]

After 3days of getting the same reading on my hydrometer (1.020) I decided to siphon my Amber ale into the secondary fermenter. Now, I made the mistake of adding my priming sugars into my primary fermenter (I'm a rookie haha) and I read that it would increase the alcohol content in the end. I have to bottle by the 26th of this month, and I don't think that the gravity is going to change that much. It hasn't moved from 1.020 for quite a few days. If my calculations are correct, that would give me a 3.5% ABV by the time of bottling. Is there a way to increase this? Would adding a little bit of vodka to increase it ruin the brew? Or is 3.5% a normal ABV for amber home brews?

Second question: If i add the priming sugars before bottling, how long before the brew is ready to consume? I.e. If i add my priming sugars and bottle on the 25th, would it be ready to drink on the 26th?

Thanks in advance...

1.020 is still a little high,& the last amber I made was 4.8%ABV. My FG was 1.012. And no,it'll still take a couple weeks to bottle condition & carb up.

 

[jaycount]

Is this a kit or a recipe? Could you point us in the direction of your ingredient list? How much priming sugar (oops ) did you add? What yeast did you use.

We can make some pretty close estimates to what the gravity should be if we have this information.

Oh and as mentioned above, the recommended wait time in the bottle is 3 weeks @ 70 degrees (F). I've had beers carb'd up within a week but the longer you wait, the better they get.

 

[Yooper]

You'll have to add priming sugar when you rack the beer to the botting bucket, about 4 ounces by weight or 3/4 cup of corn sugar in order to get the beer to carbonate. It should take 10 days minimum to carb up, but it should carb up within three weeks of bottling.

 

[CCD]

It was a kit. I work for a beer distributing company and it's a contest put on by Sam Adam's. Of course, the kit wasn't put into my hands until last week and they want the sample bottles in their hands by the 27th, so i'm working on a small window here. It sucks, I know...

I used all 5oz of the priming sugar (yeh, it was a big mistake haha) and I'm not entirely sure what yeast was used. So from what was said, I guess I will have to bottle within the next week to have good carbonation by the 27th???
That means pulling it out of my secondary way earlier than it should be

 

[ntaylor0]

If your gravity hasn't moved in 3 days you are likely fine. You will need to reprime right before bottling of course. The carbonation is usually there (if only slightly) three days after bottled. Obviously the carbonation (and beer) gets better the longer it sits. Usually between 2-3 weeks my beer usually peaks and the flavor changes very little after that.

 

[CCD]

so if the samples need to be in their hands by the 27th, the latest I should bottle is the 23rd??

 

[jason81]

your entering your first brew from a kit into a competition for work? im sory to say but if they need this beer by the 27th of this month it wont be ready you need to bottle condition for 2 weeks minimum with 3 weeks beeing the most recomended time before it will be carbed up properly and ready to drink

 

[jason81]

what date did you brew this? what was your OG? priming sugar is just corn sugar just go pick some up and re prime when you bottle. the 5 oz you allready mixed in shouldnt effect taste much, but should boost the abv slightly

 

[CCD]

i started on the 9th. The samples need to be in the reps hand by the 27th. The tasting part of the competition takes place on June 2nd.

 

[Yooper]

i started on the 9th. The samples need to be in the reps hand by the 27th. The tasting part of the competition takes place on June 2nd.

Well, from the 27th to the 2nd is a week. It'd be really nice if you could bottle a week or more before that, so the beers can carb up. Ideally, it'd be three weeks or more. Young beer has some weird flavors sometimes, like green apples, that need a bit of time to age out.

I'd bottle on the 19th, if the beer is fairly clear. That should give you enough time in the fermenter, and close to enough time in bottles.

 

[CCD]

Thanks for the help!

I ordered some more priming sugar off the internet, but if I doesn't get in by the 19th, I suppose I'll go buy some corn sugar. I know 5oz is the ideal ammount, but about how much water should I use to dissolve the 5oz of sugar??

 

[Clann]

I use two cups of water and 4-5 oz priming sugar.

I have also used the same numbers with regular sugar to prime with no discernable difference.