How to increase abv in beer

[RNBEERGUY]

hey guys this maybe a stupid question but I heard that to raise abv just add sugar however why is that ? If a yeast is alcohol tolerant to 5% wouldn’t that mean it can only ferment to bring back the abv to 5% wouldn’t it make more sense to use a better yeast ?


Hey guys I apologize for the confusion I was only saying 5%as an example I should have probably said 15% I’m mainly asking cause if I want to make a boozier version of a beer what to do

 

[str1p3s]

Adding sugar (pure or extracted from grains in the mash) raises the abv. If you have a yeast strain that won't ferment past x%, you're right, it won't make a difference. Although I don't know what yeast strain can't do better than 5%.

 

[FunkedOut]

more sugar means more food for yeast to turn into alcohol.
if a yeast is tolerant to 5%, that means it dies at about 5% ABV and leave the additional sugar in place.
you need a yeast that is tolerant of more than 5% alcohol to raise the ABV above 5%.
you also need enough sugars for the yeast to convert.

 

[RNBEERGUY]

Adding sugar (pure or extracted from grains in the mash) raises the abv. If you have a yeast strain that won't ferment past x%, you're right, it won't make a difference. Although I don't know what yeast strain can't do better than 5%.

I was just giving an example thanks for the quick response

 

[bleme]

I don't think I have ever seen a yeast that was only tolerant to 5%. Most go to at least 10%. We use grains to get sugars: glucose, sucrose, fructose and maltose. All yeasts will convert glucose, sucrose and fructose but they vary in their ability to eat that maltose.

 

[Iseneye]

To raise ABV you can add sugar or more grains / extract. Other posters have covered off the 5% yeast bit.

 

[RNBEERGUY]

Hey guys I apologize for the confusion I was only saying 5%as an example I should have probably said 15% I’m mainly asking cause if I want to make a boozier version of a beer what to do

 

[bleme]

Hey guys I apologize for the confusion I was only saying 5%as an example I should have probably said 15% I’m mainly asking cause if I want to make a boozier version of a beer what to do

Use more grain or more extract..
Or freeze it and drain off the part the freezes last/melts first.

 

[mredge73]

Tell us about the beer you want to booze up.
Like the others said, you need to increase the OG by using a ferment-able sugar of some sort.
Simple sugars will booze it up and dry it out at the same time.
If you choose instead to bump up the malt backbone, it may require a bump in hops to counteract the residual sweetness.
Stay in the limits of your yeast and pitch more than usual.

 

[RNBEERGUY]

I plan on boozing up a heifeweizen and can you explain about staying in limits of yeast

 

[mredge73]

Most Hefe yeasts have are medium abv tolerant and have a ceiling of 10%.
Imperial Hefes aren't really a very popular style, usually brewed in limited quantities rarely exceeding 7%.
Maybe look into "Weizenbock" recipes but leave out most of the dark malts.

Anyway, I would recommend you design your recipe for an OG of 1.065.
If you get full conversion using all-grain you should finish at around 1.010 (7.22%).

If you are doing an extract batch, add the extract at the end of the boil and use some simple sugar to help get to your OG.
Honey and candied sugar works great in Belgium brews, but simple corn/cane sugar would work in a pinch.
It isn't very difficult, take a sample and if it is too low add some sugar and mix well. Repeat until you hit your target of 1.065.

Cool to the mid to upper range of the recommended temperature range for the yeast, Belgium strains like it warm but no higher than 75F.
Shake like hell after you drop the temp, and then pitch 2 packets/vials minimum. Use a blowoff tube or it will get nasty the next day.
good luck.

 

[Lefou]

I plan on boozing up a heifeweizen and can you explain about staying in limits of yeast

Weizenbock! I like that. Don't underpitch this high OG beer.

 

[bpgreen]

If all you want to do is increase the ABV, you can dump in a bunch of white sugar. It won't taste very good, but it'll have a high ABV.

 

[andrewmaixner]

I'd recommend reading the basic of beer in this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1938469356/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

even just the first few chapters would be beneficial

Direct answer: yeast eat sugar and poop out ethanol.

 

[hammy1983]

I recently added about 8% of my grain bill in priming sugar to boost the ABV as I screw up and adding to much water during the boil. I cant tell you it definitely effects mouth feel and makes your beer very dry.

 

[andrewmaixner]

I recently added about 8% of my grain bill in priming sugar to boost the ABV as I screw up and adding to much water during the boil. I cant tell you it definitely effects mouth feel and makes your beer very dry.

perceived dryness depends on a lot of other factors also -- yeast strain / byproducts, yeast attenuation, mash temperature, grain bill, etc.
I use large amounts of sugar in my low-mash-temp rye trippel and it is perfect (20 gravity points of sucrose, malt bill 11% rye, 3% honey malt, base pilsner malt, mashed at 148, using belgian strong ale yeast)