How do you increase alcohol percentage?

[deerbarth]

Is it the more sugar, more alcohol? Is there a ratio to follow?

 

[TheZymurgist]

Is it the more sugar, more alcohol? Is there a ratio to follow?

In the most simple terms, you could say, generally, yes. The long answer, though, is not necessarily.

The more sugar there is in solution, the more there is that could potentially be converted to alcohol. There are a number of factors, though, including the type of yeast, mash temperature, etc.

Play around with this calculation: ABV = OG-FG*131. It's not exact, but it's close.

If you have a beer with an OG of 1.060 and a FG of 1.018, your ABV is about 5.5%. However, if you have one with an OG of 1.060 (Same amount of sugar as the first) and a FG of 1.005, your ABV is about 7.2%.

Make sense?

 

[TheZymurgist]

Ok, I've missed something.

 

[knuckleheadbrewing]

Simple...Add more malt (or extract).....Thats all you need to know at this point....Since your asking the question I can only assume your brand new to brewing.

Keep reading you'll learn....

CheezyDemon That comment made my afternoon! LOL Awesome!

 

[deerbarth]

Thanks for the feedback...I knew it had to do something with more sugar. Just was thinking you could overdo it, thanks for the formula.

 

[Eugenio]

So, is the FG dictated by the yeast strain? Is there a way to know what the expected FG will be so I can reverse the equation and aim for a ABV by tweaking the OG?

 

[jflongo]

There are lots of free beer calculators out there to "estimate" your final gravity. However, temperature, can affect the yeast strain as well, age can as well, etc. It is best to brew with the same strain a few times, to see where it takes you.

For example my WYeast 1056 yeast I have used for 3 batches now, has brought all 3 beers into the 1.004 - 1.006 range. The Irish Ale yeast I have used, has brought a couple of the beers into the 1.012 - 1.015 range. I ferment in basement around 65 - 67 degrees F, if I did it upstairs around 73 degrees F all these numbers could change.

 

[MaxStout]

Deerbarth--Yours is a pretty broad question, and there are a lot of ways to answer that. The short answer is more fermentables. Perhaps you could give us some specifics about what you are trying to accomplish? Lots of knowledgeable people here who will be happy to offer good advice. (Ignore the trolls, they are the exception, not the rule around here.)

Keep in mind that simply adding more sugar or malt extract might throw an otherwise good recipe off-balance. You will need to consider other factors, such as attenuation (how much of the sugars will the yeast convert), modifying your hop additions to balance flavor, etc.

 

[tkmorgan]

Thanks for the feedback...I knew it had to do something with more sugar. Just was thinking you could overdo it, thanks for the formula.

Oh, you can overdo it. Alcohol is toxic to yeasts, in high concentration. You can't "brew" whiskey, for example, because no yeast could survive long enough to get up to 40% alcohol. (Whiskey is distilled, which is illegal, and we would incur the wrath of the admins if we discussed it any further, by the way).

I don't know much about brewing. But I can say that what a yeast can endure depends on the temperature, the acidity of the must (which is why lemon wine or "skeeter pee" has such exact directions), and other things, like "mash temperature" (I put it in quotes because I know very little about mashing and will have to defer to wiser people on this).

I have heard of people making saki with alcohol percentages in the low 20s, but that was under ideal conditions, and with a painstaking process.

 

[deerbarth]

@maxstout- my question was one of curiosity how you can build a recipe with a certain target alcohol of 9-10%. I enjoy a heavy IPA. Even though I have only been brewing for a little over a week I have both primary and secondary fermenters filled already. I enjoy brewing the pre packaged box recipes but what really interest me is recipe tweaking or building. That's why I asked the ? Of alcohol percentage. I appreciate your response.

 

[jflongo]

@maxstout- my question was one of curiosity how you can build a recipe with a certain target alcohol of 9-10%. I enjoy a heavy IPA. Even though I have only been brewing for a little over a week I have both primary and secondary fermenters filled already. I enjoy brewing the pre packaged box recipes but what really interest me is recipe tweaking or building. That's why I asked the ? Of alcohol percentage. I appreciate your response.

Depends, if the % is already 8%, then yes you could add a little DME or corn sugar to get it to 9 or 10%. If it's only 5 - 6%, then that would probably effect quite a few things dumping that much in. You would have to add the ingredients into a beer software, and then up your grain amounts to compensate properly.

 

[Monster Mash]

Since you are a new brewer you would be much better off buying an Imperial IPA kit other than just adding more extract to raise the alcohol % of an IPA. Beer is all about balancing the ingredients so the beer doesn't turn out hot from alcohol or too bitter from hops. Read books on brewing IPA's and it will teach you a lot about designing recipes, there are a few good ones out there.

 

[deerbarth]

I appreciate the wisdom

 

[gfd622]

There are a lot of double IPA kits that have higher ABV's. just look at kits from your favorite place. They should give you OG and FG estimates, and see what you like. You OG will probably be close if its an extract kit, but there is a chance your FG will be off. But for the most part it should e close. Time is your friend in this world. Let it sit. Aged home brews are often great

Good luck

Dave