Hello all. I am new here and new to brewing. I have made a few batches that turned out nice but were low in alcohol content. I have one that finished at only about 3.5% it has a good flavor to it but not any kick alcohol wise. I have the same recipe in primary again had been going for 4 days. I plan on moving it to secondary this Saturday. Is there any thing I can do to give this beer more punch in the secondary if so how long would it need to stay in secondary.
want more kick to my brew
- Thread starter nimo
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First let's verify your process to try and figure out why you are not hitting your ABV. What recipe did you brew and how are you reading your hydrometer/gravity. It is possible that your readings are off or not temperature corrected. It is also possible, assuming extract batches, that your OG reading is off due to a poor mix of top off water and wort. When brewing extract it is pretty difficult to not hit your expected numbers.
A little more information will help.
A little more information will help.
It on one of the can pre mixed deals. I forget the brand the only thing it tells me to add is sugar. It had a nice taste just no butt.
I was just wondering if I could add some more sugar or maybe another can of malt to it during secondary to bring the alcohol level up or if that had to be done during the primary.
If there is not much I can do at this point it is still a good treating beer so I don't figure it to be a loss..
Next time will make sure I do something from a recipe instead of a premix.
I was just wondering if I could add some more sugar or maybe another can of malt to it during secondary to bring the alcohol level up or if that had to be done during the primary.
If there is not much I can do at this point it is still a good treating beer so I don't figure it to be a loss..
Next time will make sure I do something from a recipe instead of a premix.
nimo, we need a little more information before we can help you. first thing to figure out is whether this beer is supposed to be weak. if it's not, we would like to help you figure out where you went wrong or what process could be improved.
to answer your question, you can definitely add more sugar to boost alcohol. however, you should be careful about how much you add - too much sugar can make your beer very thin and "hot" (taste like solvent, paint thinner, etc). so instead of a tasty weak beer, you'll end up with a disgusting strong beer... i know which one i'd rather have. you can add sugar in either primary or secondary, although primary is best.
you could add a can of malt extract, although i've never done this. you're only 4 days in so there is enough yeast around to munch through it. after you add it, you may want to gently swirl your FV to rouse the yeast that have fallen to the bottom. be sure to do this in primary, NOT secondary!
no matter which option you choose:
1) do it as quickly as possible, tonight if you can
2) boil the sugar or malt in some water to sterilize it. do not add it directly to primary. boil for 5 minutes, let cool (putting the pot in an ice bath will speed things up), then add to primary. if you go with sugar, add just enough water to absorb all the sugar. if you go with malt... i don't know how much you should use, but you need to be careful that you don't burn the thick syrup. i'd say at least as much water as extract, maybe more.
good luck, be sure to come back and let us know how it goes.
to answer your question, you can definitely add more sugar to boost alcohol. however, you should be careful about how much you add - too much sugar can make your beer very thin and "hot" (taste like solvent, paint thinner, etc). so instead of a tasty weak beer, you'll end up with a disgusting strong beer... i know which one i'd rather have. you can add sugar in either primary or secondary, although primary is best.
you could add a can of malt extract, although i've never done this. you're only 4 days in so there is enough yeast around to munch through it. after you add it, you may want to gently swirl your FV to rouse the yeast that have fallen to the bottom. be sure to do this in primary, NOT secondary!
no matter which option you choose:
1) do it as quickly as possible, tonight if you can
2) boil the sugar or malt in some water to sterilize it. do not add it directly to primary. boil for 5 minutes, let cool (putting the pot in an ice bath will speed things up), then add to primary. if you go with sugar, add just enough water to absorb all the sugar. if you go with malt... i don't know how much you should use, but you need to be careful that you don't burn the thick syrup. i'd say at least as much water as extract, maybe more.
good luck, be sure to come back and let us know how it goes.
Whattawort
Well-Known Member
Had no idea that beer had butts. You learn something new everyday. Maybe I should start canning now.
FWIW - Add a lb of dme at the end of your boil to up the abv and verify that your hydrometer is accurate or that you're compensating for temp when taking your readings.
Try Belgian Strong Ale :cross:
Whattawort
Well-Known Member
Just sit back and enjoy it. I have a beer on hand that came out to 3.8abv because I miscalculated the grain/water ratio. Still made a fantastic session beer. Perfect for football saturdays.
You didn't mention the brand of the "pre-mix kit" that you used. I'm fairly new to home brewing having started with various Cooper's kits. I had batches that seemed to ferment little (or at least less than I thought they should have). I had trouble getting to the final gravity that I thought I should have reached and have now come to adding DME and/or dextrose to each batch. I wondered about the content of fermentable in the kits. I still like the kits, though I have since moved on to extract brewing for the most part. Your observation is not unique. Reasonble tasting beer but little alcohol content.
did you boil it first? if it came straight from a can you're probably OK not boiling it, but if you bought it in bulk, or if it's been repackaged by the brew shop, it's best to boil first to sterilize. also helps it mix in... pure syrup can end up falling to the bottom in a clump.
ah, if you're using powder you're definitely going to want to boil it. it'll both sanitize it and help break up the clumps/distribute it evenly.
1.5 lb malt added to the batch. I boiled approximately 3 cups of water melted malt into it chilled to 70° stirred the batch added malt then stirred again.
Fermentation took of quickly with the malt addition. I will monitor the batch and give up dates as it goes.
The original alcohol content for this batch was 3.8%.
The gravity was brought back up to 1.020 with the malt addition so I should have a good abv when it gets done this time
Fermentation took of quickly with the malt addition. I will monitor the batch and give up dates as it goes.
The original alcohol content for this batch was 3.8%.
The gravity was brought back up to 1.020 with the malt addition so I should have a good abv when it gets done this time
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