increasing ABV after fermentation has started?

Braufather · Oct 17, 2016

Morning All

I Finished my third ever batch this weekend, and ended up with a low original gravity- ironically, it was looking too high pre boil so i ended up over compensating- by the time the post boil sample was at room temperature for reading the immersion cooler had pretty much done its job so i transferred to FV anyway and its been there for a couple of days now.

its a dry stout and had an OG of 1038, instead of target OG of 1048. Anything i can do to rectify it- worried i am going to end up with a 3% brew or something that not too pleasant to drink.:-(

cheers

Covrich · Oct 17, 2016

You could add some malt extract or help boost it up

craigite · Oct 17, 2016

If it was me I'd just go with what I got. it might turn out to be the best brew ever!
Keep good records of your brew day.
if it turns out good you might want to replicate :doh:

if it not as great as you hoped, you can avoid the same error.

Braufather · Oct 17, 2016

ok thanks, so either ad some dma, or leave it and suck it and see. will have a think.

i was going to barrel keg it for a family party we have in December- this will be the first time anyone has tried my home brew so don't want to put them off! maybe this batch could be one for the ladies and i could have a go at a stronger one next weekend.

Question remains though, going forward given that you should cool as quickly as possible after boil, how can you allow for the sample to cool? do you take the reading maybe 20 mins before end boil instead as a rough guide and estimate corrections if any from there?

DoctorMick · Oct 17, 2016

If you know your boil off rate you should be able to work out your post boil OG from your pre boil OG, I think that's how it is usually done.

Braufather · Oct 17, 2016

DoctorMick said:
If you know your boil off rate you should be able to work out your post boil OG from your pre boil OG, I think that's how it is usually done.

think thats where i went wrong, pre boil was actually same as target so i added a few litres of water to compensate boil off. my previous brews were ipas will loads of hops that seemed to absorb more water and i dont think my boil was as strong this time. end result ended up with 25 litres of wort instead of 22.

Cwrw666 · Oct 17, 2016

Just chuck in 500g of sugar - it'll put your ABV up by about 1% and won't affect the taste at all.
I do it regularly to make a 25KG sack of pale malt last for more brews.

Braufather · Oct 17, 2016

cwrw666- if i go that route - when i s the best time to do that? should i do that now in mid fermentation?

Slid · Oct 17, 2016

Braufather said:
cwrw666- if i go that route - when i s the best time to do that? should i do that now in mid fermentation?

Sounds OK to me and it is what I would do.

strange-steve · Oct 17, 2016

Braufather said:
cwrw666- if i go that route - when i s the best time to do that? should i do that now in mid fermentation?

Yeah add it mid fermentation, I've done this occasionally with high gravity belgian beers to try to encourage complete fermentation. Ideally you should disolve the sugar in a little water and boil for a few minutes to degas and sanitise before you add it.

craigite · Oct 19, 2016

adding sugar will up the abv but add nothing to the taste.

Braufather · Oct 20, 2016

will DME help the taste? is 1038 an acceptable starting gravity for a stout? i guess it depends on FG, will maybe check that first to see what i have to work with- should be ready in a couple of days.

Cwrw666 · Oct 20, 2016

craigite said:
adding sugar will up the abv but add nothing to the taste.

The way I look at it is that if you've followed the recipe and ended up with a lower than expected OG, you've still got all the taste you'd expect from the ingredients, just not managed to convert the starches to sugars. So adding a bit of sugar just ups the ABV. Don't add too much though as you'll end up with `homebrew twang' like you get with a 1 can kit when you add a full kilo of sugar.
At the moment I'm regularly adding a half kilo to all my brews and using less pale malt so I can squeeze 7 brews from a 25Kg bag of pale malt instead of 6. No noticeable affect on taste or body.

Personal91 · Oct 20, 2016

Braufather said:
Morning All

I Finished my third ever batch this weekend, and ended up with a low original gravity- ironically, it was looking too high pre boil so i ended up over compensating- by the time the post boil sample was at room temperature for reading the immersion cooler had pretty much done its job so i transferred to FV anyway and its been there for a couple of days now.

its a dry stout and had an OG of 1038, instead of target OG of 1048. Anything i can do to rectify it- worried i am going to end up with a 3% brew or something that not too pleasant to drink.:-(

cheers

regular white granulated sugar will do nothing but add abv - if you add too much to a regular brew though it will take away from the body - making it a 'thinner brew' - making it more of the constitution of water

strange-steve · Oct 20, 2016

Personal91 said:
regular white granulated sugar will do nothing but add abv - if you add too much to a regular brew though it will take away from the body - making it a 'thinner brew' - making it more of the constitution of water

That's not necessarily a bad thing though, look at the Belgians, some of the best brewers in the world and it's very rare to find a recipe with no sugar. It makes the beers more "digestible", ie. easy drinking which is very desirable in some styles.

People shouldn't be afraid of using sugar in brewing, the supposed twang or cidery flavours are not really an issue in my experience.

DoctorMick · Oct 20, 2016

strange-steve said:
That's not necessarily a bad thing though, look at the Belgians, some of the best brewers in the world and it's very rare to find a recipe with no sugar. It makes the beers more "digestible", ie. easy drinking which is very desirable in some styles.

People shouldn't be afraid of using sugar in brewing, the supposed twang or cidery flavours are not really an issue in my experience.

American DIPAs use sugar pretty regularly too.

Personal91 · Oct 23, 2016

strange-steve said:
That's not necessarily a bad thing though, look at the Belgians, some of the best brewers in the world and it's very rare to find a recipe with no sugar. It makes the beers more "digestible", ie. easy drinking which is very desirable in some styles.

People shouldn't be afraid of using sugar in brewing, the supposed twang or cidery flavours are not really an issue in my experience.

i will have to agree on the this - if something is too much like treacle it will sit too heavy on your stomach !

Benjamin_B · Oct 23, 2016

Or honey - 500g will give it a kick

Personal91 · Oct 23, 2016

Benjamin_B said:
Or honey - 500g will give it a kick

What difference to mouth feel and taste will it give ?

Benjamin_B · Oct 25, 2016

Personal91 said:
What difference to mouth feel and taste will it give ?

It will have a thicker and slightly sweeter flavour. Not all sugars in honey ferment. Also, you'll retain some of the honey aroma.

increasing ABV after fermentation has started?

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

Landlord.

Geek

Landlord.

Landlord.

Senior Member

Landlord.

Landlord.

Landlord.

Forum Friend

Quantum Brewer

Landlord.

Landlord.

Landlord.

Landlord.

Quantum Brewer

Senior Member

Landlord.

Resident Village Philosopher

Landlord.

Resident Village Philosopher

Similar threads

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!