Just started brewing.

[WillBill]

Hi, I have just started brewing my own beer and on my first attempt things did not turn out too bad!   Drinkable, nice and clear, smelled ok and tasted quite nice. I was a bit disappointed with the ABV 3.41%. I brewed a "Coopers English Bitter" I used a Coopers beer enhancer for fermentation, opening gravity was 1.034  final gravity 1.008 for 2 days. The temperature varied between 22-24 centigrade for the 7 days.

Is there any way i could get an higher ABV%   say around 5%?  Plus would be glad to listen to any advice.

Cheers.

PS. did not have a top when poured,

 

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by BillBiliing

[Aussiekraut]

Hi @BillBiliing, welcome to the forum and the bottomless pit that is home brewing  

1.034 seems a little low. A kit and kilo recipe is usually around the 1.039-1.040 mark. It is possible that things weren't completely mixed when you took the sample, which would explain the low reading. Also, don't forget, the first sample always lies. Take a sample, tip it out and take another one and measure its SG. The 1.008 FG sounds about right. 

In order to increase the ABV level, you need to add more fermentables like extra malt or even dextrose. The more fermentable material you put in, the higher the ABV will be, up to the point, where the yeast dies from alcohol poisoning  

Also, bottle conditioning will add approx. 0.4-0.5% alcohol to the beer, so if you calculate ABV to be around 4.5%, you will get around 5% in the bottle. 

 

[JoeB7]

8 hours ago, BillBiliing said:

PS. did not have a top when poured,

 

 

You mean no head?

Rinse & sanitise well, add some extra light malt, add some hops, make sure you have enough sugar for 2nd ferment (but not TOO much), good clean cold glass when pouring. The folks on here will even have scientific advice on how to get an ice cream head on it 

[Journeyman]

2 hours ago, JoeB7 said:

You mean no head?

Rinse & sanitise well, add some extra light malt, add some hops, make sure you have enough sugar for 2nd ferment (but not TOO much), good clean cold glass when pouring. The folks on here will even have scientific advice on how to get an ice cream head on it 

THIS ^^...  And give it TIME! 2 weeks in the bottle is a MINIMUM for drinkability (although most of us try it after a week, just because...  )

You will notice a significant difference even between 2 weeks and 3 or 4 weeks.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Journeyman

[JoeB7]

Funny you say that @Journeyman, just put a test stubbie in the fridge as it's day 7 in the bottle 

[Lab Cat]

18 hours ago, BillBiliing said:

I was a bit disappointed with the ABV 3.41%

For higher abv, use more fermentables. I think EB is better with all dry malt and should result in a better head. Use 1.2 or 1.5kg

[WillBill]

Many thanks to you all. Will do as advised.

Happy brewing

[WillBill]

12 hours ago, Aussiekraut said:

Hi @BillBiliing, welcome to the forum and the bottomless pit that is home brewing  

1.034 seems a little low. A kit and kilo recipe is usually around the 1.039-1.040 mark. It is possible that things weren't completely mixed when you took the sample, which would explain the low reading. Also, don't forget, the first sample always lies. Take a sample, tip it out and take another one and measure its SG. The 1.008 FG sounds about right. 

In order to increase the ABV level, you need to add more fermentables like extra malt or even dextrose. The more fermentable material you put in, the higher the ABV will be, up to the point, where the yeast dies from alcohol poisoning  

Also, bottle conditioning will add approx. 0.4-0.5% alcohol to the beer, so if you calculate ABV to be around 4.5%, you will get around 5% in the bottle. 

 

 

11 hours ago, JoeB7 said:

You mean no head?

Rinse & sanitise well, add some extra light malt, add some hops, make sure you have enough sugar for 2nd ferment (but not TOO much), good clean cold glass when pouring. The folks on here will even have scientific advice on how to get an ice cream head on it 

 

9 hours ago, Journeyman said:

THIS ^^...  And give it TIME! 2 weeks in the bottle is a MINIMUM for drinkability (although most of us try it after a week, just because...  )

You will notice a significant difference even between 2 weeks and 3 or 4 weeks.

 

1 hour ago, Lab Cat said:

For higher abv, use more fermentables. I think EB is better with all dry malt and should result in a better head. Use 1.2 or 1.5kg

Thanks to you all, your advice taken onboard. Will let you know how i get on.  Happy brewing.

[WillBill]

23 hours ago, Lab Cat said:

For higher abv, use more fermentables. I think EB is better with all dry malt and should result in a better head. Use 1.2 or 1.5kg

Lab Cat, are quantities for a 23 litre brew?

[Lab Cat]

1 hour ago, WillBill said:

Lab Cat, are quantities for a 23 litre brew?

Yes. For a brew around 5%, I use 1.5kg malt. I use all dry malt for most of my beers.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Lab Cat