1st time home brewer

[TheArmada]

Hello everyone, I am a first time home brewer from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I have been spending a lot of time this summer researching the subject and getting to know how everything works. So finally last week I have decided to jump right in and brew my first beer.

I live in a small appartment therefore I have decided to brew small. I would like to know what you guys think about both beers I brewed so far and how they should end up:

The Original 1.0

Type: Extract
Yeast: 5 grams of Cooper's (Dry brewer's yeast)
Batch: 5 liters
OG: 1.028 (alcohol potential 4%)
20 minute boil

Malt: 1.5 lbs of CBW Golden Light malt extract (powder)

Hops profile:
0.4 oz Cascade 20 mins (pellets)
0.4 oz Willamette 15 mins (leafs)
0.4 oz Cascade 5 mins (pellets)
0.4 oz Willamette 5 mins (leafs)
1 teaspoon of honey
2 teaspoon of sugar

It's supposed to make an American light ale (pretty basic beer).

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The Original 1.01

Type: Extract
Yeast: 7 grams of Cooper's (Dry brewer's yeast)
Batch: 9 liters
OG: 1.041 (alcohol potential 5.2%)
20 minute boil

Malt: 1.5 lbs of CBW Golden Light malt extract (powder)

Hops profile:
0.5 oz Willamette 20 mins (leafs)
0.5 oz Willamette 15 mins (leafs)
0.5 oz Willamette 10 mins (leafs)
0.5 oz Cascade 5 mins (pellets)
4 teaspoon of sugar
1 sliced orange

It's supposed to make an orangy-ish IPA (not sure here).

 

[JLem]

First, welcome to HBT and homebrewing!

Now...to your beers...

Your OGs are low - especially the first one. "Alcohol potential" really does not apply to beer in the way I think you are looking at it. If your beers fermented out completely - like wine or cider - then, yes, a 1.028 starting gravity will yield you about 4% ABV (closer to 3.6%). However, beer is not like wine or cider and does not ferment out completely. Most beers finish with a gravity in the 1.010 - 1.015 range (though it can be lower or higher depending on a lot of variables). To get a 4% ABV beer, I would want a starting gravity of about 1.045....for a 5.2% beer, I'd want to start around 1.055.

Other than that, I don't see anything else that truly raises much concern with your recipes...though I guess the hopping rates seem high for a small batch...though this is not necessarily a bad thing...you're going to end up with some hoppy beers. Most standard recipes run a 60-90 minute boil, but your 20 minute boil will work fine - it simply means you're using more hops to get to a particular bitterness (if you boiled longer, you can use less hops for bitterness).

In the end, you have made beer...though they will be low in ABV. I imagine the first one will only be about 2% and the 2nd one only about 3.5%.

 

[TheArmada]

Very useful information - thank you very much sir. I supposed to upgrade my OG I should be adding more sugars ? According to you, what is the best method in order to raise ABV% ?

Dang, 2% beers probably won't even give me a little buzz. Seems like I'll end up with a bitter blonde ale with very low ABV.

 

[JLem]

Very useful information - thank you very much sir. I supposed to upgrade my OG I should be adding more sugars ? According to you, what is the best method in order to raise ABV% ?

Dang, 2% beers probably won't even give me a little buzz. Seems like I'll end up with a bitter blonde ale with very low ABV.

Yes, more sugar = more alcohol...and you COULD use any fermentable sugar (e.g. white granualted sugar, brown sugar, honey, etc)...HOWEVER, beer is much more than fermented sugar water - it is the malt that gives it flavor and body and foam. So, the best way to significantly increase your ABV would be to use more malt (extract, in your case). If you use too much simple sugar, you'll get a beer with high ABV, but watery and low on flavor.

To estimate ABV:
(OG - FG) x 131