How to boost ABV.

More malt extract would increase both the body and the ABV. A pound of DME (or about 1.2 lbs LME) will (depending on yeast strain) increase the ABV by something approaching the 1% you're looking for.

You could also increase the carapils for more body, but it's less fermentable than extract, so wouldn't boost ABV as much for an equivalent increase in body.

Part of your issue may be that your steep is really a mini-mash. Munich malt has enough enzymes to convert its own starches (and then some), but it's not the most powerful malt from that standpoint, so the 30 minute mini-mash may not be enough for full conversion.

Also, are you sure you're getting all the LME into the kettle?

 

I have the same question when it comes to extract batches. I have not hit a target gravity or a ABV yet and it's always on the low side. While so far they have tasted just fine but I'd like to hit the projected ABV.

I've read about using half of the extract to start the boil then the other half near the end to increase the ratio. I've also read to add more sugars during the boil like candidate sugar or a DME but nothing consistent and I don't want to change the intended flavor by adding a bunch of extra sugar. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

You'll increase hop isomerization this way. That won't change your overall gravity. Look at it this way. Sugar, (fermentables), go into the wort. It doesn't boil out. Your final volume will be the biggest factor on what kind of Original Gravity you get with a set amount of sugar.

As for what you add to the kettle, you'll get different flavors across the boards. Honey, sugar, fructose, or an simple sugar is nearly 100% fermentable. There are subtle differences that make a difference in your final beer. As for more complex sugars like maltose and starches, you're getting into what's left after the yeast are done with their meal. That will give you your Final Gravity and you will generally taste maltiness/sweetness here. There's a big difference between a FG of 1.009 in an APA and a FG of 1.024 in a Barleywine. Hops play a role here too, but you get the gist.

 

If an extract batch's gravity is way off, I can think of two main causes:

1) Inaccurately measured ingredients. Either malt extract or water. Most likely water. If your batch is watery, you probably have used too much water. Either you over diluted after boiling (if you do not do a full boil) or you did not boil down to the proper volume. It is possible that you measured out too little extract, but seems less likely that you would make a mistake that would lead to a highly noticeable impact.

2) Inadequately mixed wort at the time the gravity was measured. This is most likely to occur if you did not do a full boil. However, this error should really show up in the measurement and not the perception of the beer. By the time you transfer to the fermenter, allow plenty of time for diffusion and mixing via active fermentation, well, it gets mixed pretty well by the time it gets to your glass (unless you are also having priming issues, which can be mixing related too).

3. I guess poor yield from steeping grains too, could add to this, but most extract batches aren't counting on steeping grains to add a lot of gravity. Make sure the grains are crushed well, or double crush them.

 

As @VikeMan touched on, I would make sure your getting all the LME out of the container and into the water. This was my issue for my first couple extract batches. You can pre-warm the LME by placing the container in a pot of hot water, then pour in all you can, then dip the container into the boiling wort to swish around a bit to melt out the remaining amount.

Or just switch to DME which is a lot easier and in my case, improved the color of my beers.

 

Honestly its pretty hard not to hit the ABV on an extract batch as long as you measured correctly and followed the instructions. One thing I noticed was after boil when you add the plain water to whatever your intended volume is, 5 gallons in my case, I don't think the wort and the water mix that well right away which can lead to strange/low o.g. readings. just my .02

 

A couple of areas that haven't been touched on: Are you confident you are measuring OG and FG accurately? Remember, your hydrometer should be calibrated and all readings adjusted for actual temperature of the sample. None of this is tricky, but isn't intuitive for a new brewer.

You really should use good software (like Brewcipher) to have a predicted FG and then compare to actual FG. From your explanation, finishing with a thin body (too low FG) and below predicted ABV are inconsistent . . . possibly more than one error (measuring, instrumentation, software, etc).

You should start developing a feel for yeast attenuation. Of course it varies by strain (and other parameters), but ideally you pick a yeast and use that attenuation to create a target OG/FG . . . this is the starting point on recipe creation. You probably want to stick with kits as a new brewer, but ultimately this is how you "shape" your beer to your personal taste.

As important as measuring your FG is to compare your brew to a known beer you like. Drink a commercial IPA side-by-side with your homebrew IPA and compare the body (mouthfeel). Better yet, do this tasting blind, you'll be surprised how perception changes when you don't know the origin of the brew.

 

And using an 'extra' pound of DME (or 1.2 pounds of LME) should achieve that for you. This will definitely get you more ABV and whether the FG is higher enough for you is a matter of preference.

In a future batch you can up the amount of specialty malt (e.g., crystal malt) as well if you still desire more body.

Cheers!

 

• Water measurement may be an issue for me I usually just use gallon milk jugs to measure since my brew pot does not have lines.
• I did not realize it was that important to get all of the extract out of the container, I usually just scrape out as much as I can and keep it moving.

I appreciate the advice I'm looking forward to trying these out on my next brew day.

 

This was a 5 gallon batch, right? Assuming that means 5 gallons into the fermenter (recipes/instructions vary), then 5.25 gallons would result in OG points (and ultimately an ABV) that's only ~95% of what you'd get in 5 gallons.

 

So I did a "duct-tape" fix tonight. 1 part of my citra hopped homebrew IPA to 1 part Lagunitas Hop Stoopid mixed in my favorite glass. That's how you boost ABV and body with very quick results! Tasted pretty good as well.[/QUOTE]

Bumping up your abv would be as simple as adding more malt extract or some simple sugar. Simple sugars will tend to thin the beer out. Carapils, flaked malts, and maltodextrin are a quick fix for giving a thicker mouth feel. It's not exactly a Zombie Dust clone that way, but you've got to make it work for your system. I don't think they're using LME over at 3 Floyds.

 

Reducing the water would increase the OG, but isn't really fixing the issue though. The recipe should account for losses in the kettle and carboy due to trub, hot break, hops material, ect.....

In my AG system for example, I loose .15 gallons per lb of grain i the mash, 1 gallon an hour boil off rate, .5 gallons to kettle trub, and .5 to carboy material. So in the end, to keg 5 gallons of beer, I could use 8+ gallons of water to start with. Using a brewing worksheet, it works out how much grain I would need to hit my target OG/FG based on these losses.

I would suggest using a brewing worksheet like brewcipher that @VikeMan has put together and graciously shared. You can enter in your equipment profiles that would account for these losses along the brewing process and adjust ingredients to end up with 5 gallons of bottled/kegged beer at the correct OG. Just google "brewcipher" and his BA post with the link to the document is always the first choice.

 

Unlikely. I get the idea you don't measure OG/FG and are basing your results on intuition. I would double-down on the science side of the process first.

 

Not to tell you how to suck an egg, but since you are only 2 batches into homebrewing, I'll mention another thing about gravity readings that isn't obvious when you start. You have to get rid of most of the carbonation in the beer before taking the FG reading. Even though you didn't carbonate it yet in terms of the final bottling/kegging, there is quite a bit of CO2 in the beer right after fermentation. It will cause you to get high FG readings and think your ABV is low. You have to shake up your sample for a while to degas.