Is it ever too late?

[PeteOz77]

Just finished fermenting 10 gallons, and I am not happy with teh ABV, it's less than 3.8%. My OG was 1.045, o I guess I should have anticiapted this and just added more LME straight away.

Question is: Now that fermentation is complete (finished yesterday) IS it too late to add say another pound of LME or Dextrose to is, to get it going again and raise the ABV?

Any idea how long it might take at 65°F to ferment back down?

Or should I just keg it and serve it as a lighter alternative? It's a light amber ale.

 

[Soulive]

In the past I had an English IPA that I added brown sugar to in the secondary. It bumped up the ABV and added some caramel flavor to it. Adding extract is probably a better idea than just sugar though, to avoid cidery characteristics. Boil up your LME and add it in. To figure out the new ABV, download Beersmith's free trail and plug in the numbers. If you don't wanna download it, I can punch it in for you...

 

[DeathBrewer]

i would say enjoy the small beer and try again your next batch...just cuz there isn't as much alcohol doesn't mean it won't taste great.

but you can add the extract if you want. just boil it up with h20 first. don't shake up your fermenter, just pour it in with minimal splashing.

 

[PeteOz77]

i would say enjoy the small beer and try again your next batch...just cuz there isn't as much alcohol doesn't mean it won't taste great.

but you can add the extract if you want. just boil it up with h20 first. don't shake up your fermenter, just pour it in with minimal splashing.

I was going to just drink it the way that it is, but I have a double batch of 46L (12 gallons) and want it to be a bit stronger. I really enjoy the alcohol taste and the bite/warmth, not just looking to get drunk

Am I boiling it just to dissolve it, or is it to kill any nasties?

 

[uglygoat]

both... but make sure you let it cool down to the temp that is already in the carboy.

 

[PeteOz77]

Good stuff!

Thanks guys!

Soulive, can you give me an idea of how the OG would have been affected by an additional 1 pound of LME added to 23Litres that has an OG of 1.045?

 

[Soulive]

Good stuff!

Thanks guys!

Soulive, can you give me an idea of how the OG would have been affected by an additional 1 pound of LME added to 23Litres that has an OG of 1.045?

1lb should raise you to 1.051+/- for the OG...

 

[PeteOz77]

Thanks Mate! That will bring me up from 3.8ABV to 4.9 if I get the same FG as I have now.

Cheers!

 

[PeteOz77]

OK, I boiled 1 litre of water, added 1KG (2.205lbs) of LME blended with a bit of dextrose an maltodextrin, and chucked in about 15gm of simcoe pellets, simmered it for about 10 mins, cooled it down quickly and pitched it in. Half in each 23 Liter fermenter.

I had fermentation going again in less than 30 minutes!

I am hoping this finishes up in 2-3 more days, and I am hoping to keg next week, as this has already been fermenting since the 16th, we will see how this secondary fermentation goes.

Soulive, if you get a chance to punch that in again, please use 1.1 pounds.

I'll let this thread know how the final product comes out.