How to reduce alcohol content.

[proost]

Is it possible to reduce the alcohol content of my kit beer? It's a wilko Cervesa kit that I have tweaked and at the present time, after 13 days in the FV, it's about 5.2%. I was aiming for it to finish at about 4.5%ish. The FV has 21 litres in it. Is it possible just to add water?
Any views on this?

 

[foxy]

Is it possible to reduce the alcohol content of my kit beer? It's a wilko Cervesa kit that I have tweaked and at the present time, after 13 days in the FV, it's about 5.2%. I was aiming for it to finish at about 4.5%ish. The FV has 21 litres in it. Is it possible just to add water?
Any views on this?

As long as the water is boiled and you don't go splashing it in, funnel and tube, keep the tube just above the beer until the water comes out, then just submerge it. And make sure it is sanitised.

 

[The Baron]

Yes you can back liquor as Foxy says but next time just add less sugar/brewing sugar or dried malt to reduce the OG so it has less fermentables to produce alcohol

 

[steveinUS]

I suggest caution and going slowly, or just leaving it be. The difference between a 4.5 and a 5.2 beer isn’t all that great. But adding water to reduce the ABV will also thin the beer out, which you might not like.

 

[Drunkula]

I didn't know why you boil the water if you're adding it later. It's to get oxygen out because you really can oxidise beer with just the pre-dissolved oxygen in the water.

 

[proost]

I suggest caution and going slowly, or just leaving it be. The difference between a 4.5 and a 5.2 beer isn’t all that great. But adding water to reduce the ABV will also thin the beer out, which you might not like.

That's what I am concerned about. I really made this to be a summer beer but made a mistake in the ingredients.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[foxy]

Some things can apply to home brewing which is carried out by the commercials. Commercial breweries brew high gravity beers only to be diluted down to the gravity which that particular beer hits the shelves at. Why, the biggest bugbear of commercial breweries is the lack of fermenter space, they can only build them so big, so the next best alternative is to brew high gravity beers and dilute down to the gravity expected. Same thing in proost's situation, a 4.5% beer is not going to be hanging around in the bottles to long, even if a little air gets in, there will be air in the headspace, the beer won't oxidise anytime soon. Either that or I drink my beers to quickly.

 

[proost]

I didn't know why you boil the water if you're adding it later. It's to get oxygen out because you really can oxidise beer with just the pre-dissolved oxygen in the water.

Didn't really think about that.