Success! and a few questions

[dietz]

I brewed my first batch 2 weeks ago and broke my hydrometer after the first reading. My OG was on 1.040 (not surprising since it was an extract kit) but I'm happy to report that I hit my FG as well (1.012). Fermentation was fast and vigorous, and the airlock was done showing activity within 3 days. Today was the first time that I touched the bucket in 2 weeks. I'm letting it sit for another week, then kegging and leaving at serving PSI for a week.

Here's what I need a hand with. I brewed a sierra clone extract kit from midwest and never really thought about the alcohol content. Now that I put my #'s into a few different calculators I'm coming up with ~3.6%. I can live with it but would really like to get into IPA's in the 6% range. Is there anything I can do with a kit like this to achieve that? Is it as easy as just adding more fermentables? Or would I just be better off looking for a kit with a higher OG?

Thanks -

 

[RM-MN]

Yes???

Good beer is a balancing act between the malts and the hops. You may find that you like the flavor you get by adding malt while the guy sitting next to you will prefer a beer with more bitterness. The only way to be sure is to try it, but first you should let this beer mature a bit and see how it comes out. I find that many of my beers seem to have so much more alcohol effects than beers that I may buy that I don't need any more alcohol. Your body may react different than mine.