HELP! forgot my sugar

[dreaded_rust]

So I was aiming for an IIPA today, forgot my 2lbs of sugar in the boil. Didnt realize it til I pitched yeast. Obviously undershot my OG and over pitched.

Can I add this sugar after the fact? I've read about people doing this with stouts after fermentation has started.

Advice please

 

[MGamber]

Yeah....add the sugar to a minimal amount of water needed to dissolve it and heat it up to kill anything that might be in it, cool it down and pour it into the carboy. Doesn't have to be a boil but should be close for a few minutes. You can do it days after fermentation starts. Not a big deal.

 

[MGamber]

LOL...come to think of it, there's been a couple times I've forgotten the sugar and just dumped it right into the fermenter when it was going nuts. I figure anything bad in the sugar is going to be overwhelmed by the yeast and, sure enough, nothing bad happened.

 

[dreaded_rust]

Right on.
Whats the best way to figure the OG after adding the sugar?

 

[MGamber]

That I couldn't tell you. There's a specific OG per oz/lb for corn sugar, you could find that and add it to the OG of the original batch, but I don't care enough about measurements to know what that it. Google it, should be easy to find. Cheers!

Well, not that I don't care, more that I'm lazy.

 

[day_trippr]

Right on.
Whats the best way to figure the OG after adding the sugar?

That would be your original expected OG, yes?


Anyway, a pound of corn sugar provides 46 "gravity points". Divide that by the beer volume to find the gravity increase.
So, in 5 gallons one pound of CS would add .0092 to the "original" gravity without the addition...

[edit - 36 points would be for a pound of grain]

Cheers!

 

[Rev2010]

Just a heads up, but you could also add it after fermentation has slowed, it doesn't have to be added right away. It's also said that adding it later might be beneficial as having the sugar in from the get go could cause yeast to go after the simpler chain molecules and possibly lead to a stalled fermentation. Don't know if after all these years that still stands as fact or if it's been debunked or whatnot, but I know mention of it was in Palmer's book.

*EDIT - quick google search and found an article on BYO where he writes:

"Brewing is all about utilizing sugars and those sugars always end up as monosaccharides when they are fermented. However, the yeast process each type of brewing sugar differently as it is being broken down into glucose and fructose, and these differences will effect our fermentation performance. Usually a high percentage of glucose and fructose in the wort will inhibit the fermentation of maltose and maltotriose, and this can lead to a stuck fermentation.

Therefore, brewing adjuncts high in monosaccharides should be added after primary fermentation has finished. These sugars can be used for priming though, with allowances made for the percent moisture and degree of fermentability."


Rev.

 

[passedpawn]

Be very careful adding fine materials like sugar and especially DME to an active fermentation. Add it slowly at first. When the wort is saturated with dissolved CO2, those small particles can cause a volcano of foam as the CO2 comes out of solution due to the addition of all these nucleation sites. I don't think I've had a problem with sugar, but DME will most certainly cause this.

 

[dreaded_rust]

Thanks for the advice everyone.
I boiled the 2lbs of sugar in about 1.5 qts of water for about 15 minutes. Poured it in last night, about 27 hpurs after pitching, without issue.
Seemed to be chugging along pretty well this morning so we'll see how it gos.

 

[tootal]

Major brewer's add some fresh wort to the secondary to get the beer going again and also so they can close off the valve and carbonate naturally. It's called Krausening. Your done now but if it happens again I would do what you did with boiling it in water then add in the secondary. Either way no worries!