Increasing ABV in second fermenter

[brewingbryan]

So I racked my first homebrew into the secondary fermenter about six days ago. I checked on the hydrometer reading today and right now it has it at ~4 percent alcohol for a stout. I was hoping to hit at least 5 percent.

I know some threads have criticized the reading you may get from a secondary partially through the process, but is there an easy way to pump up the yeast to get that extra 1 percent?

 

[djfriesen]

Rather than looking at the alcohol content scale, try reading the straight gravity scale. This is a much more accurate way to calculate alcohol content. Did you happen to record those numbers? How long has it been since you pitched? How long was the wort in primary? As long as the yeast are eating sugars, the gravity is going to drop and the alcohol content will go up.

Personally, I would advise against messing with it. Since you pulled it off the yeast cake, you won't have much yeast available for and additional sugar-munching. And even if you hadn't, I don't like the idea of adding stuff after pitching, with the exception of flavor additions/hops. Chances are, your beer will end up tasting fine. If you're not happy with the alcohol content, you can fix your process for the next batch.

If you post your complete recipe and process, we can help fine-tune it for you, so as to help you make the best possible finished product.

 

[brewingbryan]

Ahh, then I won't worry. I used a recipe kit from Northern Homebrew: Dark Cherry Stout Extract Kit w/ Specialty Grains : Northern Brewer

I didn't even think about the fact I'd be stealing yeast away from the mix when I did the reading. It's certainly not a big deal, so I'll adjust for the next batch. If you've got an idea, please share!