Adding Cane Sugar to raise ABV

[nicobrews]

Hey guys,

My next brew will be an all-grain Belgian Blond Ale and I want to incorporate cane sugar in order to raise the ABV with out effecting the body or taste. I want to ensure the ABV is between 7-8% so I don't want to add too much.

My question is, in which part of the brewing process do I add the cane sugar? Do I add while I'm mashing? Do I disolve in the wort right before boil? Add during boiling? Or add into the fermentor?

In theory I suppose all of these could work but I want to make sure I do it correctly. Any and all help is very much appreciated!

Cheers,

NB

 

[day_trippr]

Definitely in the boil, and the later you add it, the less effect it will have on hop utilization...

Cheers!

 

[nicobrews]

Definitely in the boil, and the later you add it, the less effect it will have on hop utilization...

Cheers!

Would their be any benefit in adding the cane sugar at 45 min vs. adding it at 5 min? Or would I just lose hop utilization?

Thank you for the help, friend!

 

[day_trippr]

I can't think of a single benefit, and along with the potential attenuation of hop utilization, there's the increased potential for Maillard reactions - which may or may not fit the recipe...

Cheers!

 

[nicobrews]

I can't think of a single benefit, and along with the potential attenuation of hop utilization, there's the increased potential for Maillard reactions - which may or may not fit the recipe...

Cheers!

Very interesting. I will go ahead and add the cane sugar towards the end of the boil. I still need to figure out how much I want to add but I'll do a little bit more research.

Thank you again!

Cheers

 

[55x11]

Very interesting. I will go ahead and add the cane sugar towards the end of the boil. I still need to figure out how much I want to add but I'll do a little bit more research.

Thank you again!

Cheers

I almost always add during fermentation. When yeast is active, perhaps decreasing activity (on the back side of fermentation but still going strong).
This reduces pressure on yeast from too many sugars and allows me to dial in how much to add after I measure the starting gravity.

 

[CJ-3]

If you are going for a big beer in the 8% range make sure you have a good healthy yeast pitch.
Either multiple packs of dry yeast or a big starter for liquid yeast

 

[day_trippr]

Wait - 8% is a "big beer" now?

I can see adding sugars to the fermentor when brewing up something in the double-digits ABV range, but 7-8% is pretty tame territory for every strain I've ever used...

Cheers!

 

[laredo7mm]

...I want to incorporate cane sugar in order to raise the ABV with out effecting the body...

I don't think that is possible. Adding cane sugar will thin out the beer. Whether it is noticeable or not is subjective.

If you are doing an all grain beer, why not add some more base grain to hit your desired OG? Or add some DME to boost the amount of fermentables? That way the body of the beer shouldn't be affected.

 

[HLSheppard]

I just brewed a Belgian Tripel last weekend and added cane sugar to dry it out and some DME to keep the body. I'm interested to see how it works out. ABV should be just over 10.4% I did a 2L starter and oxygenated the wort for 60 seconds.

 

[Brewmasher]

While it is customary to use 10-20% sugar in dubbles and triples, blonds usually do not rely much on sugar, although you certainly could use some if you wanted.


I suggest using a yeast like WY 3711 or the Belle saison, or at least finishing the fermentation with it. These yeasts will attenuate a 1.060 wort to just about nothing while still retaining some body even if sugar is used. That will put you in your target ABV. Sugar will still lower malt, and increase hop character.

As far as when to add it, if you are after ester character from the yeast, add it at knockout to prevent caramelization. Stressing the yeast a bit, and high ferment temps will increase esters (fruity)

If you are after a cleaner or spicy (phenol) character, boil the sugar in some water (not much or it will thin the beer), let it cool, and add 2-3 days into fermentation like the previous poster said. If you are finishing with a different yeast, that would be the time to do it. Ferment cooler.

 

[nicobrews]

I don't think that is possible. Adding cane sugar will thin out the beer. Whether it is noticeable or not is subjective.

If you are doing an all grain beer, why not add some more base grain to hit your desired OG? Or add some DME to boost the amount of fermentables? That way the body of the beer shouldn't be affected.

Yeah I was a little confused on the effects of adding cane sugar but I did some research and learned it can change the body of the beer tremendously. My assumption was that adding cane sugar would strictly raise the ABV and dry out the beer but that would just be too simple right?

I'll end up doing three trials. One with my original recipe, one with adding more base malt and then one with cane sugar. I'll see which one turns out the best to my liking.

Thanks for the help,

Cheers!