Liquid extract advice

[danielito]

Hi,
I'm about to brew my first batch after a few years away from the brewing pot. I'm starting with LME. I have a 1.5 kg jar of pale ale extract, about 0.5 kg of crushed wheat grains and a bag of yeast. The guy I got it from said I should add 1kg of sugar to the extract, but the last time I used sugar in a cook, the beer tasted funny. My question is: will it taste better with a1 kg of honey instead or is the sugar crucial to the LME brew?
Thanks
Dani

 

[papa87]

i am relatively new to brewing myself, but saw that you haven't had a response. i just know the consensus you'll usually gather about sugar is it thins out and dries out a beer, and unless that is desired for some reason, most people steer clear of dumping in sugar in a large quantity like that. in other words, don't have sugar try to replace what 2 cans of LME should be doing for you. i know how impulsive it can be to start brewing, and you probably already have....but i would definetely say a 2nd jar of pale ale extract (3kg/6.6lbs total in your recipe) would be the way to go. that seems to be the staple of all extract brewing recipes, the 3kg/6.6lbs of LME or DME, unless you are going for a real low ABV beer like under 3% or doing a partial mash (which you don't appear to be doing either). on a side note your post probably didn't get any love because it was in introductions forum, the beginner beer brewing forum typically yields best results to questions like this (through trial and error i've learned this). anyhow, best of luck on the pale ale

 

[unionrdr]

If I've learned this mashing/steeping stuff right (going into practice tomorrow),you need some base malt,like two row barley malt to mash the wheat. Biab would work well with 1.125-1.5 quarts of water per pound of grain. Mashed at 150-165F for 1 hour. Then pull grain bag,place in collander above kettle,& rinse (sparge) with 160F or so water,about 1.5qt. Bring to a boil. Right before it boils,you'll get a foamy hot break that you need to stir down while spritzing with a water bottle. When it boils,add maybe half the LME off the heat,stirring to mix completely. Back on the heat & bring to a boil. Start hop additions...

 

[danielito]

Thanks for the response,

I figured I was in the wrong forum. As I understand, more sugar equals higher alcohol level most of the kits require adding sugar. The problem is that the sugar adds no flavor to the brew, that's why I was thinking about adding honey. It turns out that honey adds aroma but no flavors or very subtle flavor. So I think I'll take your advise and get some more LME.
So thanks again for the response and for directing me to the right forum.
See you around
Dani