Bumping the alcohol

[Brando72]

What is the best way to bump up the alcohol level of any beer?

 

[kbuzz]

I've added dextrose (corn sugar) a couple times when my SG was lower than expected...but only in two dire circumstances where I completely botched my recipe and came in way low. Just be aware that it'll dry out the beer a bit.

 

[Golddiggie]

Mash more grain, or add more DME/LME to the recipe. That way you won't thin out the brew while increasing the OG. Just be careful with extract since you might suffer the curse of 1.020...

 

[kbuzz]

I guess I interpreted the question as though he had finished his brew day and came up with a low gravity...

Definitely follow Golddiggie's advice if that's not the case. My actions were taken in haste after geting a low pre-pitching gravity reading...my panicked mindset was that DME wouldn't dissolve as easily as the dextrose...

 

[BigEd]

What is the best way to bump up the alcohol level of any beer?

Why? If you just want to get hammered have a shot before your pint. If you want to boost the alcohol % of any brew you simply provide more fermentable sugars for the yeast. More malt, more extract or a sugar addition will all accomplish that. However, adding too much will throw the recipe out of balance. Beer styles and recipes are designed to create a relationship between the alcohol, malt flavor, hop bitterness, etc to yield a certain end result. Pushing one aspect too far out of that established relationship can ultimately screw up the beer. So if you really want to do it keep it to a relatively small %, like to 6 % from 5%. Better yet brew another style that has a higher ABV or go back to my first suggestion.

 

[Calder]

Be aware that by adding just additional extract, you also increase the FG, which leaves the beer sweeter. Adding just sugar, you lower the FG (making it dryer). You need to strike a balance, and a combination of both is probably the right thing to do.

What proportions? I don't know that there is any guidance. I would say add something like 50/50 extract/sugar. This assumes you are not adding too much; maybe 0.5 lbs DME and 0.5 lbs table sugar. This would add .009 to the OG of 5 gallons or an a little over 1% abv.

Limit sugar to about 5% of the total fermentables unless the beer style permits more (some English, and Belgians mainly). 5% in 5 gallons of 1.060 wort would be about 10 ozs of table sugar, or 13 ozs of corn sugar.

An earlier poster said to use corn sugar. I see no reason not to use plain table sugar. I use it all the time. It's what is used in English beers, used in some Belgian beers, and the basis for candi sugar. Corn sugar is an American invention, does not make any difference to the beer, as far as I know it is not used in any commercial beers, and is over-priced compared to other sugars.

 

[alexdagrate]

I often add a pound of table sugar right before flameout to bump the booze and dry the beer out a bit.

 

[Jcmccoy]

Like others said before add more grains/DME/sugars. I would not worry about alcohol % and worry more about consistent brewing process cleaning and sanitation. With a higher OG (more fermentable sugars) you will need to add more oxygen, more yeast, leave in primary for a longer time 4+ weeks, and if you bottle it will take longer to carbonate and condition. So basically you need more of everything. I would suggest you pump out more and more average beer 1.05~ then once you're comfortable then try a higher OG beer