How do I increase/decrease the alchol content in homemade beer?
The 2 most common ways for increasing ABV are either adding more LME/DME (which will add extra body and/or flavor) or adding extra Dextrose (corn sugar). I’m not sure the proportions for Malt, but in a 5 gallon batch, 1 pound of Dextrose added to your primary will give you an approx. 1% increase. Follow your recipe as normal, and use the normal yeast your recipe calls for, but just add an extra pound of dextrose. Use your hydrometer to check your original SG, and then you will be able to calculate you FG. If the yeast that the recipe calls for is not high alcohol tolerant, then once primary fermentation has finished, you’ll want to pitch something like Red Star Champagne. NOTE: If you are looking for a high gravity ‘big beer’, do not try adding a few pounds of sugar to a light ale recipe. The alcohol will overpower the flavor and you will get a horrible finished product. Try starting with a high gravity recipe first, something like a Wee Heavy or a Barleywine.
