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new member from orlando fl

A

andy

hey everyone my buddy dave and me andy are new to homebrewing. we are currently on our third batch of all grain brew. one lager and two pale ales. we are brewing 5 gallon batches and are fairly happy with the taste and aroma of our beer but the alcohol level is pretty low around 3 to 4 percent. we may have jumped the gun a little bit, we only tried one or two recipes out of a book then we started to try making are own recipes. he is the lager man im making ipa recipes. we are hoping that with the research that we are doing plus if we can get some help and knowledge from some others on this website we can make a brew we can be happy with, who knows maybe after a little while we can pass on some info we get to other inspiring future brewmasters also. thanks we will post our newest recipe tommorow and hope to get some guidence of what we can do to improve our efficiency.
 
Here's a couple of things that might help you, in case you aren't already aware of them: 1. temperature control is paramount - miss a few degrees low and you don't get good alpha amylase conversion, miss a few degrees high and you get dextrin formation - both will lead to lower alcohol production.  2. make sure you have given enough time for the conversion - use an iodine test to make sure you have converted all the starch you extracted from the grain and 3. make sure you have healthy viable yeast by hydrating dry yeast aerating your wort and pitching enough for the volume/gravity beer you're making.  Good luck and welcome to the forum.
 
How To Brew by John Palmer

Brewing Classic Styles by Palmer and Zainasheff

Find a local home brew club to join. 
 
MaltLicker said:
How To Brew by John Palmer

Brewing Classic Styles by Palmer and Zainasheff

These two books are the best resources I ever read.  I read both before starting (though Brewing Classic Styles I leafed through more than read) and was well prepared with my equipment and process.  My proficiency was not alwyas great but it was consistent.  I improved over time with the help the Beersmith blogs and podcasts http://www.beersmith.com/blog.  Listening to The Brewing Network podcasts help tremendously too.

May your yeast always propagate,
- Joe
 
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