Advice? Beer is MUCH strong than calculated ABV

[Mrandrebb]

Hi all, I'm new to homebrewing, and after my first two batches have turned out much stronger than expected, I'd appreciate more experienced advice on whether my ABV has been underestimated or if there might be something wrong with the beer I'm making.

My first couple of batches were made with hopped liquid extract kits and light candi sugar — not very adventurous, but a good learning experience, and the beer tasted good.

The problem was that this ABV calculator predicted an ABV of 4.5%, hydrometer readings pegged it at 5.3%, and it seemed to me to be stronger even than that. Two beers and I would be sloshed. Not at all pleasant. I know my tolerance, and this took me completely by surprise.

I'd really like to know whether I just miscalculated the ABV or if there's something else making the beer so intoxicating, so I can correct the next batch. Here are the recipe and fermentation details.

Batch size: 5 gal/23L
LME: 3.3 lbs (1 can)
DME: 2.25 lbs

Priming sugar: 3/4C dextrose

1 week in primary, 2 weeks in secondary, 1 week in bottles before opening the first one.

Many thanks in advance!

 

[sptaylor70]

Possibly your yeast is more attenuating than you think? You have the choice of low, medium, and high, so it might be high. When I run your ingredients through TastyBrew, I don't get to 5.3% until I set the attenuation to around 90% (which is unusually high). Have you checked your wort volume? What yeast are you using, and what temperature are you fermenting at?

 

[Mrandrebb]

Thanks for the reply, sptaylor70.

I just used the dry yeast packet that came with the Munton's LME kit. I guessed medium attenuation when estimating the ABV, although the hydrometer measurements I took later suggested it had a high attenuation.

As long as you think that it was probably just more alcoholic than I expected, I'll reduce the adjunct fermentables in my next batch and not worry about whether I'm brewing something harmful.

 

[CarnieBrew]

Test your hydrometer in room temperature water and make sure it shows close enough to 1000. Once you're happy it's accurate, it does not lie! Take your OG, minus your FG, and divide that by 7.46. So a 1050/1010 brew would be 40/7.46 = 5.36%. If you're bottle/keg priming, add another 0.4%, and that's your approximate alcohol content. It may vary by say 0.2% or so, but no more than that, unless you're brewing huge gravity beers, and that's another matter entirely...

 

[FatsSchindee]

Test your hydrometer in room temperature water and make sure it shows close enough to 1000. Once you're happy it's accurate, it does not lie! Take your OG, minus your FG, and divide that by 7.46. So a 1050/1010 brew would be 40/7.46 = 5.36%. If you're bottle/keg priming, add another 0.4%, and that's your approximate alcohol content. It may vary by say 0.2% or so, but no more than that, unless you're brewing huge gravity beers, and that's another matter entirely...

I've always read OG - FG X 131... So in the above example 1.050 - 1.010 = 0.04 X 131 = 5.24%. Not a big difference, but that's what I've seen in Papazian and Palmer. I'm still relatively new to brewing, though, so I could be wrong...

 

[amandabab]

the yeast doing the work, rarely consult online calculators or computer programs for advice on how to do their job.

if your hydrometer is calibrated, it doesn't lie.