Hello from mass, (soon to be southern nh)

[dbkdev]

What a great site! After spending countless hours, miles, and dollars (way more than my wife should ever know ....) tracking down as many great/epic beers as possible, I figured itd be more rewarding to start using that time and money to make it myself. My two biggest hobbies these past five to ten years have been growing hot peppers to make my own hot sauces / salsas and hunting down great beers. Brewing seems to combine what I like most in doing both

I picked up a kit for a Citra IPA as my first beer, buy grabbed some galaxy and a tiny bit of simcoe to throw in as well. I want to add to the recipe to boost the abv and am looking for help, but not sure which subforum to post it under?

Thanks and look forward to being an active member here!

Dan

 

[Calichusetts]

Welcome aboard from Plymouth.

Brewing is great fun and an addictive hobby. Post any questions in the beginner thread if you think its basic, or general if you think...its...well...general

Don't know what your palette is like but I might just stick with the kit for now. That way you know what citra tastes like and can build on that. Though your additional hops should make a tasty brew, you just might not know what will be the tastiest part.

As for the ABV, again, you may want to just do the kit and get a sense of what the beer tastes like. With that said, if its extract...simply add more. Tons of free online calculators to help you figure out what will get you where. If your doing AG, you can add more base malts. Finally, any additional sugar will boost abv: honey, molasses, Belgian syrup, maple syrup, etc. Even table sugar will do the trick. Again, use a calculator to figure out what you are doing.

Good luck!

 

[naughty240]

Welcome to the forum. I'm new here too and I only have 2 batches under my belt. There is plenty to read and learn here.

 

[dbkdev]

Thanks guys!

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Epimetheus]

Welcome!
It is easy to kick up the ABV. The tricky part is creating something with great flavor, consistently. Try the kit as it is with the hops it suggests. You could split the kit and make two smaller batches, one with Citra, the other with the hops you selected.

IMHO, higher alcohol sometimes gets in the way of the flavor. Just adding sugar tends to make a thinner beer - I have tried it. There are kits that create bigger beers and you may like those better.

 

[Melana]

Welcome!!!! Glad to have new people about!

 

[wilserbrewer]

Another option rather than adding to the recipe would be to only make 4 gallons rather than 5, this would up the abv 20%.

...while most here would likely say to follow the recipe, you can always "do what ya want" or RDWHAHB, it's only beer...cheers and welcome!

 

[Melana]

And remember. If you like your own beer you're the only one drinking it!