Something I've noticed

[jpeebs]

So I've been watching the show Brewmasters for the past couple days and I've noticed that, in almost all their beers, Dogfish Head puts either extra honey or extra sugar in their boils. Is this just for a higher ABV? And I'd so, is it something you can do with just about any beer? How much will it affect flavor?

 

[gstrawn]

I don't personally know why DFH does it. But yes it will boost alcohol content, but will also thin the beer out by bringing it to a lower FG. When I used to do extract beers that were big, or I wanted to finish low (like a saison) I would add some sugar. I wouldn't recommend adding it just as an alcohol booster, it will boost the alcohol but at the cost of mouth feel. You could always design a recipe around this by adding extra crystal malts or whatever