HELP! Adding sugar during fermentation

Hawkdiesel · 01-03-2011, 01:10 PM

I Made a batch of belgian trippel outside on a cold day. Among the many
Things that went wrong was the fact that not all the lme made it out
Of the container. Long story short, the og was supposed
To be 1.072 mine was 1.062. It's been in the fermentor for
5 days. I Was considering adding 1 -2 pounds of candied sugar
Mixed with a cup of boiling water and cooled of course to boost
gravity and overall alcoholic content.

What are the implications? Risks/rewards? Suggestions?

mkirkland · 01-03-2011, 02:33 PM

I suppose you could add some sugar to the batch now but me personally would worry about infecting the batch and losing everything. I would just let it do its thing as is and just enjoy that beer. IMO

Then you will know what to change the next time that you brew that recipe.

IceFisherChris · 01-03-2011, 03:23 PM

A pound of DME would bring it up to 1.071 without adding additional water.
I'm not sure how successful it would be to just add it in dry form so you might have to mix in a little water so it dissolves better.

ebeer · 01-03-2011, 06:59 PM

I think adding sugar at this point is mostly going to result in increased alcohol (and potentially a slightly drier or crisp mouth feel likely due to alcohol). I don't think adding sugar now is going to increase your final gravity since it's all nearly 100% fermentable. What you will get is increased alcohol and potentially some flavor contribution depending on which sugar you choose.

With that said, I've got a Tripel fermenting now that I added 10% turbinado sugar to at 4 days into the fermentation. I mixed into warm water, brought to a boil, chilled, and added.

92greenyj · 01-03-2011, 07:18 PM

I've done this before on a barleywine. What I did was make a 6 pack worth of "beer feed". a mix of belgian candy sugar and DME. boiled on the stove then bottled and capped. Once a week i would add a bottle to the carboy. Seemed to work pretty well. ended up with a final ABV of 18% on it