New to the forum and new to brewing

[Eltherel]

Hi All, My wife and I are both new to brewing.  We just started drinking our first batch ( a red ale).  It was a kit and it turned out pretty good.  I have a couple of questions that I can't find answers to.  Our next project is going to be a Cranberry/Ginger Wheat beer.  Quest #1: How many lbs. of cranberries would you suggest using to give it a slight but definate cranberry taste and Quest. #2:  How do I increase the alcohol content (6% and up)?

 

[BeerSmith]

Welcome!
  Happy to have you here.

  Not sure about the cranberries, but adding more extract or malt will increase your alcohol content.

Brad

 

[Wastegate]

I have heard 1/2# per gallon, but I have never made Cranberry beer, so I don't have a reference point.

I would however caution you on two things based on your comments/questions, seeing that this is batch #2.
1. Do some reading about adding fruit to beer. Use organic fruit to keep the pesticides to a minimum, and fruit preparation prior to adding them to the beer is key.
2. Stick with recipes that are known and don't change them at this point in your hobby. Why? Because there are many things that need to be taken into consideration if you want to make a beer with more than 6%abv. Yeast average attenuation, yeast flocculation, the amount of fermentables in the wort, fermentation temperatures, procedures involved with making high ABV beer, and worst of all Bottle Bombs! If your hydrometer reads above 1.018 don't bottle it! Call your LBS and ask for Help.

At this stage in your hobby, Read everything, Brew like a mad man, Get lots of batches under your belt, give beer away, Ask for your bottles back (Bottles are the most expensive part of this hobby). And most of all, have fun doing it!

Cheers
Preston

 

[Rep]

...
2. Stick with recipes that are known and don't change them at this point in your hobby. Why? Because there are many things that need to be taken into consideration if you want to make a beer with more than 6%abv. Yeast average attenuation, yeast flocculation, the amount of fermentables in the wort, fermentation temperatures, procedures involved with making high ABV beer, and worst of all Bottle Bombs! If your hydrometer reads above 1.018 don't bottle it! Call your LBS and ask for Help.

At this stage in your hobby, Read everything, Brew like a mad man, Get lots of batches under your belt,..............

Patience when waiting to try a bottle of that first beer that was only bottled last week is hard, but worth the wait.  Patience when learning all Useless noted above will make for better beer.

Like traveling, if you only concentrate on the fun you will have at the destination, you will lose out on the fun you could have getting there.

Welcome to the Beersmith forum and this wonderful hobby.

 

[SOGOAK]

Rep Where aboot are you in 'sconsi?  I suppose I'm now classified as a fib.  I grew up in militiagan.

Anyway...

Waiting is the easiest but most torturesome ways to improve your beer.  In order to ease the anxiety I suggest:

Relax and have a homebrew -that is to say, try to make as much as you can so something is always ready.

It is also nice to have a couple batches in different phases so you can work on them a little at a time.

 

[Rep]

Rep Where aboot are you in 'sconsi?  I suppose I'm now classified as a fib.  I grew up in militiagan....

I live in Menomonie, WI.  It is about 25 miles west of Eau Claire, or, 60 Miles east of St. Paul, MN.

 

[SOGOAK]

Menomonie-I have been to Hayward and Cable for the Chequamagon 40 a few times.  I really love that flowage landscape.  We have a little of that in Michigan, but far more dunes and scrub forrest left over from extensive logging.

 

[Rep]

Menomonie-I have been to Hayward and Cable for the Chequamagon 40 a few times.  I really love that flowage landscape.  We have a little of that in Michigan, but far more dunes and scrub forrest left over from extensive logging.

Hayward is about 100 miles north of me.  I was up on the St. Croix kayacking last fall when we ran into the fat tire MB event.

You on the west coast of MI?