Upping ABV

[Pdunc]

I’m planning on brewing some Twisted Monk Witbier tomorrow. It comes in at 4.6 abv and I’d like to up it about 1%, close to Blue Moon’s abv of 5.4. I won’t be using any extra malt extract. I would like any recommendations on the kinds of sugars I could use and how much for a 2 gal batch, and am wondering how much the taste of the beer will be affected? Thanks.

[LouieMacGoo]

By adding just a fermentable sugar you always run the risk of negitively impacting flavor. Many time you will get a cidery off flavor. Added either a dry malt extract (DME) or Liquid Malt Extract (LME) will usually help to retain the flavor profiles. If you do add sugar I suggest using a brown sugar as opposed to white table sugar to lessen the flavor impact. I don't know for sure how much sugar to use but I would guess about a cup of sugar will get the ABV where you want it. If you go with malt extract DME I would say about a 1/2 pound.

[Pdunc]

Thank you for such a quick response. I will try it with just under a cup of brown sugar. I’ll let everyone know how it turns out.

[HerbMeowing]

1/4# sugar gets you ~0.5% ABV in a 2G batch.
1/2# DME or 9 oz LME gets you ~1% ABV.

Source: BeerSmith

[bpgreen]

I would strongly encourage you to use dme or lme rather than sugar. If you go with sugar, you'll be happier if you let it condition for an extra week or two.

[Pdunc]

Since I have never tried the Twisted Monk as it is without altering it with sugar, I will brew it as it is and let it ferment and condition longer than the instructions indicate in hopes of a good beer. If I really like this beer, can I assume that it will taste about the same but with higher abv if next time I brew it, I add more DME or LME? I ask this because I recently brewed the Mr Beer Bavarian Weisebier (5.0 ABV) and really liked it. I was planning on trying their “deluxe” version of the same beer which uses more LME And has an abv of 5.7 and was assuming it would probably have about the same flavor profile? Does this seem about right? I know that these are very basic questions, but I am very new to this hobby having only brewed one time so far.

[John Sand]

At a certain point you can throw a beer out of balance by adding extract. The sugar will ferment out completely, adding alcohol and reducing the body of the beer. More extract will add body, maltiness, and some sweetness. So at some point you would want more hops too. Brewing seemed very involved to me when I started, but with study and practice it all became clear.
Welcome aboard, have fun, keep us posted.

[FedoraDave]

I'd like to pass on some advice that could prove useful to a new brewer.

First, keep in mind that the HME kits from Mr. Beer and Brew Demon are meant to be sufficient unto themselves. That's the point of these HMEs; using them the way they come produces a beer that has been tested to be what it's supposed to be. As others have pointed out, adding adjuncts could throw the balance of the beer off. It'll still be beer, but it won't be the beer that it's meant to be. Whether you find it a disappointing beer is up to you. But in my experience, it's best to trust the people developing these HMEs to have done their jobs properly.

Second, my own experience when I first started out taught me a valuable lesson. After making my first Mr. Beer kit and realizing that homebrewing wasn't an arcane wizarding art that required years of study, I decided that I would use these HME kits to make beers with my own unique signature on them.

That lasted only a couple of batches later, when I added fresh strawberries to an American Pale Ale HME and wound up with the weirdest, most varied batch of beer I've ever come across. Within the same batch, some bottles were okay, some had no real additional flavor, and some had the hops and the sweetness of the berries fighting like the Second Battle of Bull Run.

That's when I realized I needed to put away the Mad Scientist gear, make the kits the way they were meant to be made, and also read, ask questions, and learn about the craft of brewing. Once I did that, I progressed a lot faster and soon I began developing my own extract and hops recipes, and then moving to all-grain brewing, in both instances creating recipes I still use and enjoy, as well as giving me the confidence to research styles and create new recipes all these years later.

As paradoxical as it sounds, I progressed a lot faster once I slowed down.

You wouldn't take a teenager who had just passed his driver's test and put him in a Formula 1 race car. You would probably be reluctant to let him drive too long on a highway during rush hour. Take your time and drive on the side roads until you have more experience and confidence. And be sure to come here with any questions or concerns you have. We'll always give the best advice we can. We want this to be a hobby you enjoy for a long time.