Don't judge me for the following question.

[Theonlychrisj]

Ok. I'm using a hopped Munton's Pilsner kit.

The abv of these kits usually levels out at 4% for me. I'm looking to increase it to 5-6%.

Is it okay to just add some more sugar and a bit of distiller's yeast I have after the initial brewer's yeast quits? Or do I new to add any more yeast at all? Help me, home brew community. You're my only hope.

 

[drainbamage]

You can add sugar for the regular beer yeast to work on. It'll ferment all the same, although it will dry the beer out some. You probably don't want to overdo it though, because table sugar can add some cidery flavors in large quantities

 

[Theonlychrisj]

You can add sugar for the regular beer yeast to work on. It'll ferment all the same, although it will dry the beer out some. You probably don't want to overdo it though, because table sugar can add some cidery flavors in large quantities

Would it be better to use dextrose?

 

[GammaRay4130]

Im very new to this but if you have any malt extract my guess is that would work best as far as increasing alcohol and flavor.

 

[Hello]

I'd add DME before I add simple sugars. No judgment. It's a super valid question.

 

[Theonlychrisj]

I'd add DME before I add simple sugars. No judgment. It's a super valid question.

Just the dry dme? I wouldn't need to add any more brewer's yeast??

 

[jrgtr42]

THe yeast you have will be enough to ferment anything up to at least 10% alcohol (presuming it's in decent shape)
I don't know the Munton's kits offhand, but if it is one that you boil, then adding some extra light DME (and others will be better able to say how much) with 5 - 10 minutes left in the boil is probably the best way to go.
You will get a bit of flavor to add to the beer, while using sugar would just add alcohol, with nothing to balance it out.

 

[Bamsdealer]

You could probably add a half lb of table sugar with little ill effect. That should bump you up to 4.5%ish. Any more sugar than that on a lighter beer and as suggested, you may end up with a rather thin beer. A pound or two of liquid or dry malt extract will get you where you need to be. May want to add 20% more hops to keep it balanced.

 

[Hello]

THe yeast you have will be enough to ferment anything up to at least 10% alcohol (presuming it's in decent shape)
I don't know the Munton's kits offhand, but if it is one that you boil, then adding some extra light DME (and others will be better able to say how much) with 5 - 10 minutes left in the boil is probably the best way to go.
You will get a bit of flavor to add to the beer, while using sugar would just add alcohol, with nothing to balance it out.

What this guy wrote.

 

[flars]

You can add DME to replace or add to brewing sugar in the kit. On Muntons' site they recommend stepping up to Muntons Prremium Gold yeast to handle the extra complex sugars.

 

[Theonlychrisj]

2nd question:

I'm planning on making this a blueberry-pilsner. I have "brewer's best" blueberry flavoring, of which I've read good reviews.

I'm wondering if I could also put frozen (thawed) real blueberries in the bucket to give the beer a real flavor before I try the artificial stuff. Would I put this in now, or after the primary fermentation has stopped?

 

[itchygomey]

If using real fruit, I would let it ferment out, and then rack it on top of the fruit in a secondary. Be sure to sterilize your fruit.

 

[Theonlychrisj]

If using real fruit, I would let it ferment out, and then rack it on top of the fruit in a secondary. Be sure to sterilize your fruit.

If I added the frozen (thawed) fruit after the primary fermentation, wouldn't the alcohol already present in the mash be enough to kill any organisms left?

 

[flars]

Here is a thread about adding fruit. May have some of the information you need.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/beer-turned-purple-after-adding-blueberries-451969/

 

[Theonlychrisj]

ANOTHER QUESTION!

When I rack the primary beer over the blueberries, do I need to discard the sludge at the bottom??


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[htc]

You'll want to leave the trub behind when you rack your beer onto the blueberries.

This soon into your brewing career, I'd discard the yeast. As you become more comfortable in your procedure and more specifically your sanitization practices, you can comfortably rack a fresh batch of wort onto your yeast cake after transferring from primary. This isn't really an issue though unless you have a fancy liquid strain you'd like to keep using, but at the cost of a fresh sachet of dry yeast, you're gambling the cost of your batch and your time to potentially save a buck.

 

[cjb999]

follow the recipe. I added 1 lbs belgian candi to to a german wheat and my samples taste like corn liquor. its all in the bottle and I'm hoping for the best but idk. use more grain/malt to jack it up, not simple sugar. good luck

 

[Theonlychrisj]

follow the recipe. I added 1 lbs belgian candi to to a german wheat and my samples taste like corn liquor. its all in the bottle and I'm hoping for the best but idk. use more grain/malt to jack it up, not simple sugar. good luck

There isn't really a recipe. I'm planning on adding blueberries to the pilsner kit.


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