Higher alcohol content

[Anno]

Hi all, i am very new to brewing and find that asking questions is the best way to lear and in my home brew kit i read that the alcohol comes from the sugar or something.
Out of curiosity is this correct? Why wouldn't people just ad like 10% or so, more sugar to make a stronger beer or would it taste disgusting? or did I read it wrong and the alcohol strength comes from somewhere else

Thanks and please be gentle haha :unsure:

 

[wbosher]

Alcohol comes from the yeasties eating the sugar, also produces Co2. Adding more sugar (or dextrose) to the fermenter will increase the alc in the brew but will also have the effect of making it thinner and drier.

Don't be tempted to add too much sugar to the bottles if you're bottling...search "bottle bomb", nasty.

 

[Anno]

so its the bi product of the two mixed together..... No im not ganna do that. however is there a way to make beer more like 6% rather than 5% etc

 

[Bribie G]

If you are making a kit beer to the standard instructions using a kilo of sugar then you will end up with about a Tooheys New strength of beer. To make it stronger in alcohol without it becoming thin and chemically in flavour, you can get yourself a kilo of Brew Enhancer 2 which includes some light dried malt extract and some maltodextrin, which give the beer a richer smoother taste. Then in addition to that, put in half a kilo of dextrose (glucose).

The beer will end up stronger but taste better than the "standard" kit plus kilo.

 

[Anno]

Wow you made it sound delicious. So i am assuming you or someone you know has tried this...... is it worth it? you really made it sound like it would make a much nicer beer not just stronger but better tasting.

 

[Diesel80]

Wow you made it sound delicious. So i am assuming you or someone you know has tried this...... is it worth it? you really made it sound like it would make a much nicer beer not just stronger but better tasting.

Anno,

plenty have tried it. In the Kit and Extract section of the forum you will see it referenced / mentioned many times.

The other thing you can consider to make stronger beer, it to dilute the kit less.
Instead of adding water to top up to 23 litres, top up to 20 instead. Beer will be slightly stronger, but of course you will make a little less each time.

Plenty of ways to skin a cat.

Be careful though, if seeking stronger beer, sometimes you will through out the balance between malt, hops etc. Could end up with some harsh flavoured beer as a result.

I would probably focus on the 4-5% strength beers and get them down pat. When you are happy with them then research some more and delve into some stronger beverages or even mid strength beers (these also have their challenges).

The best beer i have ever made is only 4.2%, I don't want the keg to finish.....but alas it will soon.
Alcohol isn't everything when it comes to beer, flavour I reckon is more important.

Cheers,
D80

 

[wbosher]

Download Ians spreadsheet, it's awesome for playing around with kit beer and adding different ingredients. Not sure where the link is, but you'll find it with a quick search, or someone else might know where it is.

Have a play around, it's well worth it. It will probably also take you down the slippery slide to AG beer eventually though.

EDIT: here is the link - http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/29655-kit-and-extract-beer-spreadsheet/page-26#entry990422

 

[sp0rk]

Hi Anno,
Do yourself a favour and have a good read of John Palmer’s How To Brew website
http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html
It gives you a good basic understanding of brewing principles and the science behind them,
It’s answered a lot of my questions and gotten me to the point of now starting to read more advanced texts (Briggs, Kunze, Etc...) so I can start to study for the IBD exams

 

[adamh]

Also the more sugars you have, the more yeast you need. Otherwise they get the union onto you.

 

[Anno]

Okie Dokie. I don't think im ganna try making it stronger haha. i do like the idea of experimenting with the ingredients to change the tastes as i do agree that flavour is more important.
thanks for the advice guys you have cleared a few things up for me...

 

[JDW81]

Have a chat to the guys in your local home brew shop. If they are worth their salt they'll be able help you out questions and point you in the right direction when it comes to putting recipes together. When I first started out the first 3-4 brews were ones which were put together by the gents at Grain and Grape. Once I got the hang of it I was able to put them together myself.

 

[wbosher]

I agree, flavour is far more important than alc strength. I'd rather be able to have several medium strength alc beers but great tasting on a work night, than a couple high alc ones.