Sub 4% brew kits

[twoshots]

Sub 4% brew kits. Do they exist? Without putting gallons of my brew on the stove to get rid of some of the alcohol if possible.

After my last silly, new to the art, question I'm back with another. I'd generally refer to myself as a 'little and often' drinker (ignoring my first 'leaky' barrel of Wherry...). There's something in my head that equates sitting with a glass of ale as the definition of 'having a moment'. One of those quiet moments with a Thwaites Best Bitter (3.6%) over the weekend made me wonder if kits are available at this strength? Or is the stronger ABV beer just easier to keep sanitised etc.?

 

[Cononthebarber]

You could make up a batch as per the kit instructions and then add extra water once it's fermented to get you desired ABV. there's a calculator in the top left corner to help you work out how much. :thumb:

 

[iceo]

I would drop the amount of sugar/malt top bring the % down then you should lose any flavour or body

 

[chrig]

Some of the single can kits are reasonably well regarded. Rather than adding 1kg of sugar / brew enhancer you could add less for lower abv.

 

[Templar]

I'm in a similar situation as well - I prefer my lower strength brews too. But many of my brews come out at less than 4% anyway, without tinkering.

This may be because I tend to use 1kg beer enhancer, but it may not be. I brewed a Wilko Golden recently, and it came out at barely 3%. It's a lovely drop, just what I was looking for, though given I didn't alter the recipe in any way, or brew long with extra water, I can't figure why this happened. I can only assume it hadn't quite finished (I'm not in a position to check the brew regularly, for various reasons), but the 30 year old barrel it is in hasn't exploded or even leaked yet, so I don't think it can be that. Maybe it's just not a strong brew.

 

[Cononthebarber]

Its probably more to do with that kit instructions and estimates are wildly optimistic, I've not brewed a single kit that has reached its estimated OG or FG. Having said that it should also be noted that homebrewer's hydrometers at £1.99 or there-abouts are also not the most accurate. To get a much more accurate reading you'd need a set of professional hydrometers more in the region of £50+ or a more expensive refractometer...