How do I work out approximate ultimate alcohol ABV from the amount of malt added- be it dry, syrup or crystal? I've looked all over the internet with no success so far.
Here's a good starting point: Use this link to determine how much gravity points each ingredient adds to predict your OG and further down the page, it talks about how to estimate the FG based on the yeast you use. Once you have your OG and FG, use this abv calculator.
Check out the free online version of How to Brew, read through it and it will cover most of your basic questions...if you like it help out Palmer by buying the updated copy as some ways of thinking have changed.