Effects of adding more LME

[garym58]

I use those kits to make my beer and I wanted to experiment with it to try and raise the alcohol content by adding more LME. 1) will it raise the alcohol % by adding that and 2) what will it effect the most, the original or final gravity?

Thanks

 

[billl]

1) Yes - more fermentables = higher ABV
2) It will raise both the OG and FG, but the OG will raise more. The FG will go up by roughly 25% of the OG increase.

extra bonus #3

Just buy a kit that is designed to be a higher OG beer. A good beer strikes a balance between a variety of flavors. Adding more LME not only bumps up the ABV, but it also alters that balance.

 

[unionrdr]

In other words,if you add more malt past a pound or so,add more hops to keep the balance. That takes some practice,so stick with a higher ABv beer recipe or kit till you get used to using the right amounts of malts & hops to get the effect you want.