So I made my first extract batch in a while and under shot my og by about 7 pts (1.054 instead of 1.061 before adding sugar). My plan is to add 2.25-2.5 lbs of sugar to the fermenter, however this makes my sugar additives at 22-25%. Triples are recommended being no more than 20%. A thought is to boil up a pound of dme and add it with the sugar, to get back where my original recipe indicated the og should be. Any issues with this or is 25% sugar okay?
Over 20% sugar in tripel
- Thread starter trevorc13
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beergolf
Well-Known Member
If it was extract I seriously doubt you missed your OG. Was it a partial boil? If so then it was just the top off water was not fully mixed. With extract it is almost impossible to miss OG unless your volumes were off. I would just stick with the original recipe.
ChessRockwell
Well-Known Member
I definitely wouldn't go with that much sugar, it could end up tasting pretty cidery. I don't see why you couldn't add like a pound of DME boiled with a pound of sugar.
*sigh*
Not this again...A tripel is SUPPOSED to have sugar in it....and under 30% is fine.
We need to stop this repeating this oversimplification.
That's actually another one of those brewer's myths that new brewer's tend to repeat over and over like canon, without full understanding what they're talking about.
Too much sugar, in a recipe can give off off flavors, or make a beer cidery, but we're talking about someone who wants to bump up the alcohol on his 6 pounds of extract beer by adding another 6 pounds of table sugar to it.
That whole thing about not adding sugar or else you make "cidery" beer is one of those little "chestnuts" that noobs repeat without thinking deeper about it. When we talk about it being a bad thing, is when the ration of sugar to malt quite high, like frat boys trying to bump up their coopers can...yeah that's a bad thing...but we're not talking about that here, we're talking about an acceptable brewing process for many styles of beer...
I mean do you like Belgian beers? Are they "cidery?" Are they crappy tasting because of the simple sugars that are added? If you like them, that's how they achieved the beer you like.
Belgian beers are a style that are supposed to have simple sugars in it. It raises the abv, but it also cuts down on some of the body, promotes the formation of certain flavors and helps dry the beer out.
Adding sugars traditionally are a way of upping the ABV without boosting the body. They also can thin out a heavier bodied beer. And dry it out.
If you are trying to make a high gravity beer if you used all grain you'd have a thick and heavy beer.
The easiest comparison to make is the difference between a Barleywine and a Belgian Dark Strong Ale. They are pretty close in color, ibus and gravity, but since the Belgian beer replaces some of the grain with sugars it's a thinner, more refreshing finish....where the barleywine is almost like a liqueur.
A pound or two isn't going to affect the beer in a negative way, especially if the recipe calls for. Even a cooper's which people want to deride, or some others suggest replacing with malt extract, is really meant to have exactly the amount of sugar the recipe might call for. But if you willy nilly add a couple more pounds to it, that's another story.
It's about balance in a recipe, the correct amount of sugar in a recipe is fine, and often serves an important purpose.
Suggesting adding extract to replace sugar in a belgian tripel, is BAD advice.....
Revvy is right, add the sugar, that's what is needed to make a tripel. Boil plain old table sugar in a small amount of water, cool it down, and add it to the fermenter. If you want to add more character, use some brown sugar or pick up jaggerery or piloncillo/panela. I use piloncillo in my dubbels, depends on whether you're going for a white or a bruin.
ChessRockwell
Well-Known Member
Geez, sorry! I'll just let the Gods answer all the questions instead of contributing any of my useless "noob" experience, as you put it. I'm well aware simple sugars are absolutely necessary in tripels, and why, I just thought 1.056 was kind of on the low side of gravity for that style and wasn't sure if it would have enough extract to balance that much sugar. I apologize if I didn't do all the math and I'm sure it will be fine like you said.
I wasn't just repeating a "myth" without understanding what I was talking about, I've definitely added too much corn sugar trying to dry out an IPA before and it did taste very cidery and not at all pleasant to me, so I was just trying contribute information based on my own experience. I know it was a different style of beer, amounts were probably different, and maybe my information wasn't near as relevant or helpful as yours Revvy but I think you sure could stand to be a little less rude and condescending to others on here while you're helping someone!
Again, sorry!
I wasn't just repeating a "myth" without understanding what I was talking about, I've definitely added too much corn sugar trying to dry out an IPA before and it did taste very cidery and not at all pleasant to me, so I was just trying contribute information based on my own experience. I know it was a different style of beer, amounts were probably different, and maybe my information wasn't near as relevant or helpful as yours Revvy but I think you sure could stand to be a little less rude and condescending to others on here while you're helping someone!
Again, sorry!
I think the more significant point is that it is an extract recipe and the OG is probably just fine without adding anything....it just wasn't mixed well....unless his volume is WAY off.
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trevorc13
Well-Known Member
To make you feel better, your suggestion is what I decided to do. Basically I figured it's my beer, my recipe, and I want it the way I planned to have it. I feel better about it, and after tasting it in the secondary (yes I use a secondary) it tastes pretty good. Revvy gets uptight a lot (not the first time), but his advice is well experienced. Take him with a grain of salt...he's just ornery.
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trevorc13
Well-Known Member
It was a full boil...I'm still confused about it.
ReverseApacheMaster
Well-Known Member
Your beer will be totally ****ed and destroy your entire house.
ChessRockwell
Well-Known Member
Did you use LME? I've noticed a certain brand of LME I've used consistently came up with a lower OG than it should have based on what the software said. DME has always been pretty consistent for me...
Couldn't different makers of LME dry it out more/less and have varying amounts of water in it? Wouldn't that be a way to miss your OG using extract?
That's great. Just great. That's why you always put a box of nails on top of your beer to increase lethality.
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trevorc13
Well-Known Member
Yeah it was LME. I even did the math by hand and it should have come up with a higher OG. Oh well. I'll make sure I check my preboil gravity better next time.
ChessRockwell
Well-Known Member
LOL... maybe I'll try that!
There's a good chance that this 'cidery' taste that new brewers may encounter when using sugar may in fact be acetaldehyde due to the fact they are pitching 1/4oz (7g) of yeast that's been on a supermarket shelf for months into a full 5gal (19L) batch.
Yes.
