First Brew Fermenting - High OG

[mfrome]

Hi All,

After years of waiting and research, my buddy and I bought our beer kit and started with the AHS Oatmeal Stout. Everything went well, no boil over, and everything seems according to plan.

My question is around the alcohol booster that we purchased, and used in this brew. Without getting into the philosophy of whether or not it is a good/bad addition, would using the booster add significantly to my OG? The recipe's OG called for 1.056, but we ended up with 1.066. Is this a factor of the alcohol booster, or could I have done something else incorrectly?

Finally, from reading these forums, it sounds like this is one of those things to wait out and just let the yeast work their magic, but it's also a live and learn kind of thing. I'm stoked to finally get to brewing, and we've already got some more carboys on order to work on a pipeline!

 

[D0ug]

Yup, if you add alcohol booster the OG will go up. More sugar means higher density and more food for the yeast to convert to alcohol.

No worries this is exactly what you want from your booster.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[rjwhite41]

What is an alcohol booster? Is it just sugar or what?

 

[mfrome]

To answer your question, RJ, it is just sugars (55% maltose/45% glucose).

I took a reading last night on my brew and it came in at 1.012. With an OG of 1.066, this should be a pretty big beer, so i'm excited. I plan on clearing it up in secondary for a couple of weeks, then kegging it and debuting it for a St. Patty's Day party.

Even though this was my first, and it's untested, I've had such a good time working and anticipating this one that I just ordered my next kit, the AHS Greenbelt Pale Ale. I'll post updates on that one as it goes