I’m just learning this brewing process and it’s about one of the most enjoyable problem solving exercises I’ve tackled in my life and I’ve tried a few.
This morning on the bus I was trying to walk my amateur self through the process of how I would modulate my beer’s alcohol level either higher or lower. My mind slowly, and stickily dragged it’s wheels back to information on Enzymes and how they effect the starches in the beer. I then remembered that, of course, more sugars in your wort equals more alcohol in your beer and vice versa. I then wanted to remember how specifically I could create more or less sugars in my wort.
When I got to work I googled this quandry and came across the on-line version of John Palmer’s “How To Brew”. It was exactly what I needed. From what I can tell just about every question a budding brewer might have is answered clearly, specifically and thoroughly.
The short answer to my question of how to control the sugar content in my homebrew was found on page 5 of Chapter 14:
A lower mash temperature, less than or equal to 150°F, yields a thinner bodied, drier beer. A higher mash temperature, greater than or equal to 156°F, yields a less fermentable, sweeter beer. This is where a brewer can really fine tune a wort to best produce a particular style of beer.