beer-brewing My First Homebrew

[cheezydemon]

I like the clear bottle carboy, and don't waste time thinking about cleaning them. My secret?
I get bottled water delivered on an as needed basis from the local water company, then I have pure H2O, no chlorine/chemicals,etc, and when I'm done with the bottle, I exchange the dirty bottle for a new bottle filled w/ fresh, pure H2O ready for the next batch.

Let us know how the beer turns out.

I used to do that, but someone pointed out to me that those bottles have a 7 on the ol' recycling symbol.

Bad news for drinking water, worse for solvents like alcohol.

Bite the bullet and get a couple of better bottles.

Seriously, research it.

 

[The Great Gonzo]

i been looking at these home brew kits and was wondering how you adjust the alcohol content . i like my beer to be between 5.9% and 9.9% alcohol content.

 

[Steve973]

Gonzo, "more available fermentable sugar means higher alcohol" is the short answer. It may be as simple as adding more malt extract or dextrose or even sucrose to your wort. However, that doesn't mean that you will achieve the drinkability that you want, or that your yeast will handle whatever alcohol you are trying to achieve, either. Also, the environmental conditions of the wort play a part in determining how much of the available fermentable sugars actually get fermented. So, this isn't really a simple question. It takes a lot of research, learning, and experience. Keep in mind that you want the best *tasting* beer that you can possibly make. If it's not strong enough for you, you can always drink another one, but you want to enjoy what you produce.