An alcohol content question...

[larin1477]

Hello all
This is my first post...not that anyone needs to know but I am a beginning brewer. I brewed my first batch back in 2000 and brewed 4 more successfull batches (all from kits). After moving from New England to Tennessee I decided 3 months ago to resume my passion. Ive recently brewed two more batches ...one and Irish red and an English pale. (only a 6 pack left gfrom the red...im terrible cant help myself!)...and I just bottled the pale yesterday. I am now trying a recipie Ive formulated myself. It will be partial exttract as I am not yet ready for all grain...next time i think...anyway my question is this. Ive seen in various strong ale or barleywine recipies that if you add up to 2lbs of honey to the boil it will add between 1.5-2.0 % more alcohol bv...does that mean if I add honey or sugar to ANY recipie that it will increase the alcohol content?....thanks in advance for any help.

[HogieWan]

yeast eat sugar. without oxygen, they can't use all the energy stored in sugar and end up converting it to alcohol. the more sugar they have to eat, the more alcohol will be produced. Malt extract IS sugar. Use more extract if you want a stronger beer - your tongue will thank you.

[toneyc]

On the other hand... You need to know *why*...

Adding honey can dry out a beer because it ferments out almost completely, eventually. Some beers do very well with a pound or so. St. Pat's Honey Wheat was a great example. If the honey is over half (I think) of your fermentables, you're making a braggot.

Table sugar will also dry out the beer while increasing the alcohol content. It is also debated that too much sugar (table or corn) will produce a cidery taste.

Corn sugar ferments out more than table sugar, but again, thins out the beer while adding alcohol. Can lead to a hot tasting beer.

Corn syrup and rice syrup belong in the same category as the sugars above, I think. They contribute alcohol but no body.

:)
Toney.

[larin1477]

Thank you for the info...I certainly brew for the taste so I will be careful with the sugars and stick with adding the extract. I am actually brewing a batch tomorrow afternoon that I will be using 11 lbs of extract in!...guess I wont need the two pounds of honey though...lol...thanks again.

[larin1477]

There arent any stupid questions right?...lol..
If I increase my boil from 60 min...to 90 or 120 what will that actually do?

Oh for any interested here is the recipie I am about to attempt tomorrow.

1 lb Bries 2 row
8oz biscuit
8oz crystal 60l
8oz carapils

11 lbs light extract

1 oz fuggles
.5oz cascade
.5oz cascade

going to add 3lbs of strawberries(marinated for 24-36hrs in 4oz vanilla and 1 1/2 cups of honey) to boil
also plan on dry hopping with 1 oz of fresh fuggles

call it "Fuggleberry Pie"
(this is a variation of an all grain recipie I saw somewhere)

[BrewDog]

No stupid questions.....

Extending your boil will cause 4 things:

1) More hop bitterness extraction.
2) More Mailliard reaction (browning) to the wort
3) More evaporation so less volume at the end of the boil -- adjust your water volumes appropriately.
4) Slightly more Proteins to floc out (resulting in slightly more hot break material)

You DON'T want to boil fruit in your beer. This will cause pectins to set and give you a very hazy beer.

I've never tried to make a fruit beer, so I'll let one of the experts tell you what is the best way to use fruit in a sanitary way.

[HogieWan]

at what times do you plan to add the hops you listed.

[larin1477]

The fuggles at 55 min
cascade at 30 and 5...any other objections to fruit in my boil?...if it causes a haze I might be ok with that...to try to get the flavor...

[HogieWan]

add the honey, vanilla, and fruit in the secondary when you add the dry hop. You might consider using all Fuggles if you want to keep the name, or switch the cascade and fuggle additions in the boil, otherwise, it'll taste and smell more like cascades than fuggles.

[larin1477]

thanks for the advice...just put the berries in the freezer..(already had them marinating)..also thanks for the advice on the hops...(good point!)...

[bigben]

there is a pod cast on fruit beers here. http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/jamil.php scroll down to the april 24 2006 show. I right clicked and saved as so I would have it for future reference.

[larin1477]

Thanks Bigben

[larin1477]

BTW...just an update ...after listening to the Jamil show on fruit beers...(thanks again Bigben)...I added the berry mixture to the boil...The hop usage went as follows...1oz fuggles, 1oz cascade (60) 1 oz fuggles (30)...1oz fuggles(15) also added the berries at 15...been in the primary for 60 hours ..still getting action out of the yeast...(used white labs high gravity..although im not sure I needed it...guessing the alc will be no higher than 8%...SG was 1.060)...

another quick question...Ive heard that you can use yeast more than once...ummm how?...I always throw away whats at the bottom of my fermenter after I rack....(thought it was trub?)

[Carl762]

http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14431

This will get you started. And, Hit the How to link ... down a few replies.

[Red T]

BEFORE YOU RACK, make another batch. Boil as normal and chill. Then when you would add (pitch) your yeast, rack to secondary and pour the wort onto the yeast bed. You will notice the fermentation start a lot quicker! I use the yeast three times before I let it go. I have pretty good results too. I haven't tried to use it more than that, it was advice I recieved from LHBS.

[barleyburps]

A while back I made a blackberry ale, where I added the partially frozen blackberries to the boil about 10 minutes before shutting off heat. Whereas I did get some berry character, It wasn't as much as what I'd get if I'd put them in a secondary fermentation.

It was o.k., but not a great beer. That's the only fruit beer I've made to date. Next time, the fruit will go in during a secondary fermentation.

On re-using yeast, after racking the beer out of my primary fermenter, I will swirl the yeast in the bottom with the residual remaining beer until it's frothed up and the majority is no longer stuck to the bottom, then I'll pour it into a sanitized jar, add a little tap water to thin it out a bit, cover it entirely with aluminum foil, and stick it in my fridge until I'm ready to brew again. This works very well for my lager yeasts, not as well for my ale yeasts.
I've used my lager yeasts for 50 generations at a time before, and still was making very good beer. My ale yeast tends to lose a lot of its esters after a few generations of bottom cropping.

[dparsons]

Originally posted by larin1477
Jesus is a Red Sox fan!

Nope, Jesus is an Angels fan. ;)

[larin1477]

Nope, Jesus is an Angels fan.

Actually I have proof ...winning the world series in 04..after 86 years...lol...BTW my wife says Jesus may be a Red Sox fan...but God is a Yankees fan!

Just to make sure im getting this ...the stuff at the bottom of my primary after I rack is not trub?...it is actually usable yeast?

[Red T]

Yes, and think of it as getting the cost of your beer down even more!!!

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by larin1477

Just to make sure im getting this ...the stuff at the bottom of my primary after I rack is not trub?...it is actually usable yeast?

it's both

[larin1477]

Originally posted by Red T
BEFORE YOU RACK, make another batch. Boil as normal and chill. Then when you would add (pitch) your yeast, rack to secondary and pour the wort onto the yeast bed. You will notice the fermentation start a lot quicker! I use the yeast three times before I let it go. I have pretty good results too. I haven't tried to use it more than that, it was advice I recieved from LHBS.

So doing this I should then make another batch of beer that is approximatley the same type or flavor right?...also should i stir the trub at the bottom or just pour the new batch over it...(oh wait i should stir it anyway to oxegenate the batch right?)

[Red T]

A beer that is the same or close to the same. That being said you can go darker if you wish. I try to think three batches at a time. Start with the lightest and work to the darkest. Take into consideration the yeast style that you used, does it fit the three beers that you want to make? Or is it close enough? Questions that you should ask yourself before you make that next batch.


When I chill my wort, I use an immersion chiller, when the temp is right, pull out the chiller and stir the wort swiftly. One direction and allow the action of the swirl to put most of the trub to the center of the pot. Once that happens (give it about 10-20 min.) siphon it into your fermenter with the used yeast. I would cover it while waiting. Don't want to contaminate it! Once it's in your fermenter shake the heck out of it, aerate it well, as this is good for the yeast to properly do it's job. Then you are on your way to the next great beer!

I usually use a weekend to do my brewing. One weekend to start one batch, the next to brew the second and rack the first. Then the following weekend to brew and rack again. Possibly bottle the first batch if it's ready. That works for me, but then again I have a great wife that lets me do what I like. She's the best!

[larin1477]

Ok all after a week in the primary I just racked the Fuggleberry pie into the secondary...

SG was 1.059
Gravity now is 1.029

I tasted the remainder in the Hydro jar its not bad (should have racked over berries or puree in secondary for more berry flavor)

Also there are telltale signs of minor carbonation (ie taste..and trace bubbles in hydro test tube)...
Two questions should I add more yeast?...also Should i not add any sugar before bottling since it looks like it will carbonate on its own?

[Red T]

I would leave it a lone as far as the yeast goes. It will continue to ferment in secondary. And as far as the priming sugar, I would think that you will still need to use it. Check and see what your final gravity reading is going to be to make sure that fermentation is complete.