How to get more alcohol out of extract brews

[kryznic]

Maybe I haven't read enough yet, well I know I haven't because I'm def not ready to go all grain yet. I have one more extract kit I haven't brewed yet and I'm wondering if its possible to get a higher alcohol content from a kit? I love my beers, they taste pretty darn good but I wouldn't mind catching a buzz from all that hard work. Is there any easy way to get a higher alcohol content?

Thanks,

-Chris

 

[JasonToews]

I've heard if you put vodka in the airlock it ups the ABV.

 

[kryznic]

its a myth, tried it already

 

[CrustyBrau]

its a myth, tried it already

It's true, it elevates the alcohol. I measured it. It was several inches higher.

 

[robertbartsch]

nah.... well some kits I have tried tend to produce small beer. You need to check the label or kit directions and see what the original gravity is supposed to work out to when you done with the boil.

Anyway, if want to increase the alcohal level, add more fermentables - like liquid or dried extract that is purchased separately. Or you could also do a partial mash with grains and add this to the brew kettle in addition to the fermentables (extracts) in your kits.

The basic concept is more sugar (fermatables) = more alcohal.

 

[Rover]

Vodka in the airlock keeps the nasties out. You could poor the vodka in the brew and it would up the ABV. Or you could add sugar to up the ABV but it will dry it out and cause off flavors.

 

[grathan]

You could make 4 gallons instead of 5 with the same ingredients.

 

[SoonerDoc]

Add another pound of DME to the boil. It might require an adjustment in your hops as well (if you care about the flavor vs. just the alcohol boost). I added 1 pound of light DME to a batch and got another 1%+ of ABV without really changing the balance of flavors.
As stated above, the other option is to just brew a bigger beer.

 

[lilwiggum]

Austin Homebrewing Supply sells an additive that raises ABV 1%: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=10137

Never tried it personally.

 

[kryznic]

You could make 4 gallons instead of 5 with the same ingredients.

I was going to try this but I was afraid the beer would taste "more concentrated" so to speak.

Thanks for all the replies that help.

 

[JLem]

I was going to try this but I was afraid the beer would taste "more concentrated" so to speak.

Thanks for all the replies that help.

It will - more bitter, more hoppy, etc. Probably out of balance for the particular brew. If you decide to do this, cut your hop additions by 20% to keep things in better balance. Personally, I would just add more extract if I were you. Of course, to keep things in balance with the added extract (and higher ABV), you may want to add more hops as well.

 

[jkreuze]

I often spike recipes with DME, a pound or two. You can get away with spiking an IPA because it's already fairly hop-heavy. Don't know that I would drop two pounds of light DME into a british mild or something like that . .

 

[boostsr20]

nah.... well some kits I have tried tend to produce small beer. You need to check the label or kit directions and see what the original gravity is supposed to work out to when you done with the boil.

Anyway, if want to increase the alcohal level, add more fermentables - like liquid or dried extract that is purchased separately. Or you could also do a partial mash with grains and add this to the brew kettle in addition to the fermentables (extracts) in your kits.

The basic concept is more sugar (fermatables) = more alcohal.

If you don't have the option of adding more fermentables, lower your liquid content. Make a 4 gallon batch instead of a 5.

 

[ChshreCat]

I'd just get higher gravity kits if you're wanting higher alcohol beers. Why buy a little economy car and try to make it go 150mph when you can buy a car meant to go 150mph instead?

 

[boostsr20]

I'd just get higher gravity kits if you're wanting higher alcohol beers. Why buy a little economy car and try to make it go 150mph when you can buy a car meant to go 150mph instead?

Because its far more impressive to see an economy car going speeds it wasn't meant to?
But really I agree, buy what you want from the beginning.

 

[infielders3]

correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't adding a pound or two of corn sugar or candy sugar to the wort up the OG and final alcohol level as well?

 

[boostsr20]

Yeah, and it will probably dry it out a little.

 

[MrWiggles]

It will - more bitter, more hoppy, etc. Probably out of balance for the particular brew. If you decide to do this, cut your hop additions by 20% to keep things in better balance. Personally, I would just add more extract if I were you. Of course, to keep things in balance with the added extract (and higher ABV), you may want to add more hops as well.

Correct me if I'm wrong. But wouldnt that leave you with an equivalent of doing 4gal on a 5gal kit... but with the full 5 gallons? Since one would still be using more ingredients than required for a batch.

 

[alexdagrate]

You can add honey at the flame-out. It doesn't create the off-flavors associated with table sugar.

However, the body will thin out. You can add maltodextrine to get some more body.

I say just use more malt. I often make imperial IPAs and Barleywines with 10 lbs of liquid extract. Makes some damn fine big brews.

 

[JLem]

Correct me if I'm wrong. But wouldnt that leave you with an equivalent of doing 4gal on a 5gal kit... but with the full 5 gallons? Since one would still be using more ingredients than required for a batch.

sorry...I don't quite follow your question, but I do see a flaw in my point. With the risk of veering a bit ...

By creating a 4 gallon batch with the same amount of extract originally intended for a 5 gallon batch, your OG will increase by 25%. If you use the same amount of hops, the IBUs will also increase, but because hops utilization is inversely correlated with wort gravity, it will not quite increase by the same 25% (though it will be close - probably 20ish%). In my original post I mentioned decreasing the amount of hops to account for this increase in bitterness, but I probably shouldn't have said that. In general, if you increase the ABV you also want to increase the IBUs to keep things in balance - you want to keep the bitterness:gravity ratio the same (more or less). This is essentially what I meant in the second scenario whereby you want to use more hops if you use more extract in a full 5 gallon boil.

So, if you only make 4 gallons using the 5 gallon ingredients, you'll end up with a beer with higher alcohol and more bitterness, but one that will still be in the same balance (more or less) as the original. If you add more extract to the 5 gallon batch, you need to also add more hops to keep the balance the same.

 

[kryznic]

Thanks everyone, good insight! I want to do a barely wine next me thinks.

 

[CrustyBrau]

Beer isn't barely wine, it isn't wine at all!

 

[kryznic]

whatever it is all I do know is that I LOVE IT!

 

[JLem]

whatever it is all I do know is that I LOVE IT!

Psst...he was poking fun at your typo (barely vs barley)

 

[vhanley]

Yeah, and it will probably dry it out a little.

I know this is an old post but was looking over it to get a little more out of my own.

What do you mean by "dry it out"?

 

[bknifefight]

A dry beer is one with a lighter body and finish. Sugar ferments almost completely, leaving nothing to be perceived as body in the beer. A high percentage of sugar in a recipe will lead to a thin, or dry beer.

 

[nelven34]

Why would it be thinner than the same recipe without the sugar? If you end up with a FG of 1.012(random example) without added sugar, but 1.012-1.014(since its almost completely fermentable) with the sugar, why is that thinner? Or would the higher alcohol content actually drop the FG lower because it's lighter than water, even though the dissolved sugars from the original recipe would be equal regardless of the amount of fermented corn sugar?

 

[bknifefight]

It wouldn't be thinner if you just added sugar. It would be thinner if you replaced extract, or grain, with sugar. Just adding sugar would just up the alcohol.

 

[vhanley]

A friend recommended that I just add a few tablespoons of honey (to avoid some off flavors from processed sugars?) to up the alcohol level a bit. Anybody done this?

 

[RIC0]

1 lb of DME and 1/2 lb of table sugar will give you around 1% and not throw the flavors off. I do this with my american red ales and scottish ales and like the outcome.

I've never gone over this measurement to say if you had 2 lbs DME and 1 lb of sugar you'll get X and the taste is X.

For most common beers in the 1.050 range 1 lb of DME is like .07 -.08% increase I beleive it is.

Cost wise it's about $4-$5 to up your beers ABV by 1%

 

[Nashbrewer]

Adding sugar will thin the body no matter what. Since adding sugar increases the Alcohol % and Alcohol is thinner than water it will give a perception of decreased body. How much depends on the Alcohol % change, so it may or may not be a major factor in what you feel. It is a common technique used for IPA and Belgian trippels to get a very low body beer.