GOOD NEWS!!!

[beer_fungus]

I bottled my first batch batch! I did an American Light Ale extract kit and I tasted a wee bit before I bottled and it tasted like actual beer! I cannot wait for it to be done conditioning.

I do have a question. I want to brew a stout for St. Patrick's Day but all the recipes I think look tasty are lower on ABV than I would prefer. Is there a way to adjust the recipe or fermentation to increase the ABV without ruining the beer?

Please keep in mind I'm new to this and I have very rudimentary equipment.

Can't wait to start brewing this next batch, thanks for any information!!

[Ozwald]

Congrats!

Most stouts are much lower in ABV than non-beer geeks think. Guiness, for example, is a very light beer.

Since you're new to the game, I would highly suggest brewing your kits as is. One of the quickest ways to ruin a beer is to start messing with it, especially if you don't have the experience to back it up. Brew for quality, not quantity (volume or booze).

That being said, you could add a little dextrose to the boil or you could reduce the volume of water by a small amount. The amounts in either method would depend on a number of factors & for either to turn out well you may have to make a few other tweaks along the way, which leads me back to my original point.

I would still recommend you brew the kit as intended & gain some more experience. Before you know it, you'll be jumping to all-grain & experimenting with stuff like this constantly.

Just my $0.02.

[brewinhard]

Congrats!

Most stouts are much lower in ABV than non-beer geeks think. Guiness, for example, is a very light beer.

Since you're new to the game, I would highly suggest brewing your kits as is. One of the quickest ways to ruin a beer is to start messing with it, especially if you don't have the experience to back it up. Brew for quality, not quantity (volume or booze).

That being said, you could add a little dextrose to the boil or you could reduce the volume of water by a small amount. The amounts in either method would depend on a number of factors & for either to turn out well you may have to make a few other tweaks along the way, which leads me back to my original point.

I would still recommend you brew the kit as intended & gain some more experience. Before you know it, you'll be jumping to all-grain & experimenting with stuff like this constantly.

Just my $0.02.

This is good advice for your second batch. Get used to the process and the crucial steps within. Once those steps become comfortable to you, then you can look at recipe adjustment.

[beer_fungus]

Thanks Guys! I'll stick to the recipe.