adding sugar after 2 weeks... to save weak beer

Roger_M · Nov 21, 2012

I'm making a Cooper English bitter kit and added a bag of spray malt the store sold me with it. I was in there today because it seems my beer is gonna be low in alcohol. She told me my initial gravity should have been 1.045 or so. Mine was 1.032 its now at 1.012 is it too late to add sugar? I'm told it's gonna end up at 1.008 or so.

Roger

aiptasia · Nov 21, 2012

No, it's not too late to add more except you run the risk of oxidizing the beer after primary fermentation is done. I would probably add more malt sugar to it, maybe some more amber malt extract (dry or liquid) to preserve the body and flavor of the beer. Adding sugar to the mix can thin out your beer while increasing the alcohol at the same time.

Roger_M · Nov 21, 2012

ok i will stop and get another bag of malt tomorrow and add it. thanks for the help

ACbrewer · Nov 21, 2012

The risk of oxidation is mildly offset by the addition of the malt. The extra O2 will go to making more yeast. However, it is still a risk. I say if it is what you want, go for it. Each lb of dme will add about 8 points to the gravity of a 5gallon beer. (maybe 7.5 points)

chickypad · Nov 21, 2012

Before you do anything, are you sure about that gravity reading? In other words, was this an extract kit and did you top off with water? With an extract kit if you add all the ingredients and your water volumes are correct you will hit your estimated gravity (or very close to it). It's very common though to get a falsely low reading from inadequate mixing if you topped off at all.

gcdowd · Nov 21, 2012

chickypad said:
Before you do anything, are you sure about that gravity reading? In other words, was this an extract kit and did you top off with water? With an extract kit if you add all the ingredients and your water volumes are correct you will hit your estimated gravity (or very close to it). It's very common though to get a falsely low reading from inadequate mixing if you topped off at all.

This. If this was an extract recipe and your volumes were correct, then chances are your OG was what she told you. If you post your recipe, we can calculate your OG for you.

ACbrewer · Nov 22, 2012

what was the original recipe? with an extract, we can figure out the expected OG (assuming that it didn't list one)

Revvy · Nov 22, 2012

It's an extract cooper's kit, despite what your initial reading was, if you topped off the water to the correct volume (I.e 5 gallons) then the gravity is REALLY what the recipe called for. It's a foolproof process. Don't mess with the beer, you're just one of thousands of new brewers who come here saying the same thing, read this. Attention new brewers, yes your original gravity reading is wrong. Don't panic.

adding sugar after 2 weeks... to save weak beer

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adding sugar after 2 weeks... to save weak beer

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