Increasing ABV in homebrewed Ale

Camilo

Hello.
I am using a kit ("Coopers Real Ale") and whilst im not sure what percent it is designed to be i want to make it 5% ABV in.
But how do i do this?
Do i just dump in more sugar?? And if so at what stage and how much more? Do i need more yeast?

I have researched this but what i found didnt seem to be related to what i was thinking, my focus is on the ABV, not on the quality, i merely like my cheap and cheerful(plus strong) homebrew's, not an ale fit for Dagda.

Any help is much appreciated

guildofevil

Camilo wrote: »

Hello.
I am using a kit ("Coopers Real Ale") and whilst im not sure what percent it is designed to be i want to make it 5% ABV in.

I would expect it to have an Original Gravity of 1.040, resulting in a 4% Vol Beer.

Camilo wrote: »

But how do i do this? Do i just dump in more sugar??

Dry Malt Extract would be better but sugar will do the job.

Camilo wrote: »

And if so at what stage and how much more?

With the rest of the sugar, on brew day and an extra 500g should do the trick.

Camilo wrote: »

Do i need more yeast?

No, one pack of yeast should do the job.

Camilo wrote: »

I have researched this but what i found didnt seem to be related to what i was thinking, my focus is on the ABV, not on the quality, i merely like my cheap and cheerful(plus strong) homebrew's, not an ale fit for Dagda.

I understand that quality isn't that much of an issue for you, but 1.5kg is a lot of sugar and will result in quite a thin, watery beer. I would advise you to use at least 500g of Dry Malt Extract in the mix, for a much improved beer.

So you use 1 X Coopers Real Ale kit, 1kg sugar and 500g of Dry Malt Extract.

rubadub

You can also just use less water, I remember one cider kit I used to get would have 2 instructions/recipes , one for a stronger one just using less water. I tasted many manky brews from people adding too much sugar just to get it stronger.

Camilo

guildofevil wrote: »

I would expect it to have an Original Gravity of 1.040, resulting in a 4% Vol Beer.

Dry Malt Extract would be better but sugar will do the job.

With the rest of the sugar, on brew day and an extra 500g should do the trick.

No, one pack of yeast should do the job.

I understand that quality isn't that much of an issue for you, but 1.5kg is a lot of sugar and will result in quite a thin, watery beer. I would advise you to use at least 500g of Dry Malt Extract in the mix, for a much improved beer.

So you use 1 X Coopers Real Ale kit, 1kg sugar and 500g of Dry Malt Extract.

Thanks for the detailed reply

I know it sounds very scumbaggy to claim to not care about quality but i merely mean that compared to the amount of work and love that more experienced brewers put into every brew that i simply prefer a nice, simple, all-round brew.

I'll try to get some malt extract but if that is not available, i use the 1.5kg, then put the extra spoonfull of sugar into each bottle at bottling and that shall bring me up to around the 5% range?

guildofevil

Camilo wrote: »

then put the extra spoonfull of sugar into each bottle at bottling and that shall bring me up to around the 5% range?

Ghaaa! No! Don't do that!
The sugar you add at bottling time is there to generate carbon dioxide. If you add more sugar to the bottle you will end up with more pressure in the bottle, resulting in a gushing bottle every time you open one. Some may even explode!

I usually add half a teaspoon of sugar to each bottle and find that you get plenty of carbonation.

Using 1.5kg of sugar with the kit will get you to 5% vol without risking gushers or bottle bombs.

Camilo

guildofevil wrote: »

Ghaaa! No! Don't do that!
The sugar you add at bottling time is there to generate carbon dioxide. If you add more sugar to the bottle you will end up with more pressure in the bottle, resulting in a gushing bottle every time you open one. Some may even explode!

I usually add half a teaspoon of sugar to each bottle and find that you get plenty of carbonation.

Using 1.5kg of sugar with the kit will get you to 5% vol without risking gushers or bottle bombs.

You have saved my brew good sir, many thanks.

Would using even 1/4 of a teaspoon of sugar per bottle(just to play it safe) be a very unwise move?

Could you recommend any types of shops that would sell the dry malt extract? Like a pharmacy or some type of shop

guildofevil

To make it clear. You DO need to add sugar to your beer at bottling time. The purpose of this is to produce carbon dioxide in the bottle, so your beer is fizzy when you drink it.

I add 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar, some people add a full teaspoon, but that results in pretty lively beer. Adding a full teaspoon of sugar will increase the alcohol content of a pint bottle of beer by about 0.3% Vol.

If you want to increase the alcohol content of your beer by adding sugar, do this at the start of the brewing process, not at bottling time.

Read Getting started: Brewing beer, with beer kits for a step by step guide to making beer, from selecting the kit, to bottling the beer.

You can get DME from homebrew shops.
If you don't have one near, food grade Liquid Malt Extract can be bought in health food shops. This is not as good an option as the dry stuff and it may darken your beer slightly (tuning pale yellow to light amber).

You would need 600g - 650g of LME to get the same amount of fermentables as 500g of DME.

This is still a much better option than using 1.5kg of sugar.