Did your original gravity come out low or did the abv come out low post fermentation? Because if you know your OG then your expected abv after fermentation will only be affected by the efficiency of the yeast, otherwise your resulting abv should should only be maybe a few points off assuming you let it sit until the final gravity reaches close to 1.010. If you didn't take an original gravity reading then there's no way of knowing what the abv is
One factor I don't think you mentioned is the use of enzymes in the mash and/or fermenter to boost efficiency/ABV. A single drop (0.05 ml) of AMG in the fermenter is more than enough to drop your final gravity under 1.010 on a 5 gal batch. Five drops will easily finish out at 1.000 if you want a Brut ale. Once again, this is something that you have to balance carefully to keep the character of the beer, but I have no difficulty bumping my ABV by a percent or two.
That's a great idea if you good with getting a bit less volume of that higher ABV beer, which I personally would be as well. You'll likely still need to adjust hops a bit. As the density and gravity of the wort increases (which would happen when reducing water by one gallon), hop utilization theoretically decrease. This might not be as applicable to some styles of beer as others, but definitely worth running through brewing software at five gallons then scaling down to four gallons to confirm.
What I would ask is how to get more volume. I'm just starting out, and currently only doing gallon kits, but the post boil volume is lower than I would like. I know if I just add more water the OG and IBU will drop and it won't taste as good. Will the brew apps calculate pre and post boil volumes?
@@NorthernBrewerTV I second this suggestion. You could offer this as an option on purchase, for an additional charge of course. A lot of us who purchase kits from you rather than do our own recipes do so because we have limited time to devote to the hobby and just want to make good beer with as little hassle as possible. I think this would be a hugely popular option for you guys as well as increasing your profits. I am a loyal customer because you guys make the best kits and they have NEVER let me down. Kudos to Northern Brewer! Also kudos for responding to my suggestion (and I am sure from many others as well ) to do your shipping in more sturdy boxes. The latest all-grain shipment arrived undamaged since it was in a nice stout box. If I am spending 75$ + for multiple kits, it's nice to know that I no longer have to worry about them arriving intact since UPS is not always the most careful of shippers!
I don't bottle, so i have many bags of corn sugar and or priming sugar. i always think of tossing it into my wort to get the ABV up. This was a very informative video and next kit I'll try tossing it in, but how much more hops would need to be added, or does that depend on the style?
Definitely depends on the style and how much of an increase in gravity. Brewing software is very helpful here as you can just plug in different sets of hypothetical numbers and it will scale the ingredients for you.
Depends on how much higher the additional sugar boosts the original gravity, but as a general rule of thumb it's probably good to pitch more yeast or make a yeast starter to make sure it's healty enough to get to work on all the sugars being made available.
My "newbie" question is, why are all Imperials so flat? - lacking carbonation? I like the taste of higher ABV beers, but the "flatness" is a definite turnoff.
The syrupy denseness or viscocity of these high-ABV (and often high-FG) beers make it difficult for them to absorb and hold carbonation. If you brew your own, you could always try to keg and force carbonate a bit higher than you usually would for a standard strength beer, but it's totally a thing that many people notice and have asked about.
Ive got a great question regarding your extract kits. Every single time I try to brew one it turns out tasting like band aids. I use the exact same water as i do with all grain brews and those turn out awesome and as i intended to taste. What am i doing wrong or different with extracts that I need to do different?
I'm really not sure. Seems like you have a great process dialed in for all-grain brewing. Reach out to our brew crew at and see what they think. They are better equipped to dig in with you and troubleshoot the issue.
Are you adding a campden tablet to your water to neutralize the chlorine? I had this issue with my local water, especially when doing partial boils that the NB extract kit instructions specify. Now that I have a large enough brew kettle for all grain BIAB, even when brewing extract kits I now boil the entire amount of water ( I actually use 6 gallons to account for boil off) and I also use 1/2 of a Campden Tablet ( Sodium Metabisulfate ) to neutralize any cholorine or chloramines that may remain in my water. Since I started doing this I have never had a "band-aidy" batch. I think that is an off flavor that is produced when chlorine or chloramines react with some of the proteins in the malt. You MUST add the campden BEFORE any grain or malt extract hits your water, or else it is too late. An added benefit of the Campden addition is that Sodium Metabisulfate acts as a preservative that will increase the shelf life or keg life of your beer. This is especially important during the summer months, as municipal water systems typically use more chlorine / chloramine during hot weather when algae can be a problem in reservoirs.
@@chrisfeltman1902 yes, I add half a camden tablet same as you. like i said , EVERYTHING i do to my (city) water for all-grain i do for extracts. this is why i cant understand why my extracts turn out like this .and my all grains never have this taste.
Have "we" changes what an IPA is? My understanding is that India Pale Ale just had more hops then other English beer. The hops keep the beer from spoiling on the trip to India.
That is a loaded question if ever there was one. IPA is certain not easily defined at this point in our craft and homebrewing landscape. While that might have been the way it started, it's beyond that now with dozens of sub-categories (West Coast, East Coast, Brut, Cold, Red, Black, Hazy, etc.) I believe IPA now is used as a catch-all for beers of a specific bitterness-to-gravity ratio and/or based on hopping schedule and process.
Brewosaurus Rex, protector of the check-out counter! Hahahaha. That is actually the counter at our Saint Paul retail location looking out into the store from the POV of where our employees would be. Just happens to double as a nice presentation table from time to time in the off-hours.
Sorry some mates and I watched this,when you said you don't want to drink 7 percent beer,well we looked at each other and burst into laughter,but then again we are Aussies.lol
How would the profile be changed if one followed the recipe directions up to the end but keep boiling until they get to a higher starting gravity (a starting gravity that would give the beer the abv that they want if fermented to the same final gravity) than what the recipe calls for. Then when they reach the starting gravity that they want, kill the flame , throw in the final hop addition, and continue to follow the directions from there. I only ask because back in the early 2010's I used to do this with northern brewers black IPA recipe. They were pretty good and potent but I never tried not extending the boil so that I could compare the two.
If I understand you correctly I think the major difference would be that the bitterness would be even higher because any of the boil kettle hops are getting boiled that much longer. But if you've accounted for the higher gravity you'll get from boiling and adjusted hops accordingly, sounds like a good way to get to an Imperial Black IPA honestly.
