Adding Corn Sugar

[kev211]

Alright so heres the deal...

Ive got an extract kit that Im planning on brewing this weekend. The original recipe calls for only about 65 IBU's and 6.5% ABV. Not too bad, but I would really like to try to make this thing into or close to a double if I can. The recipe is 9LBS of ultralight DME and 1.5 LBS Crystal 15L for the steeping grains. I bought more hops at my LHBS to add in. According to brewers friend and the recipe the OG should be around 1.062. I was reading an article on Pliny the Elder in Zymurgy and in the recipe it called for .75LBS of corn sugar to the wort. I did that in brewers friend and sure enough my OG was around 1.071. And by doing that it brought my IBU's down to "normal" levels (closer to 130, as before they were upwards of 200).I already have a White Labs WLP001 starter going so Im not concerned about having enough viable yeast, my question just is... Does this sound like a good option? Has anyone done this before? Tips?

Thanks in advanced!!

 

[unionrdr]

I've been using a pound of demerara sugar in my PM IPA recipe. My total grains, extract & sugar was 9 1/2lbs for an OG of 1.061. Looked & tasted fantastic! I say give it a go.

 

[metanoia]

What is your hop schedule?

Based on your projected 130 IBUs, I'd turn it down quite a bit. Most palettes can't differentiate above 100 IBUs, so it seems like going that high is a waste of beautiful hops.

 

[kev211]

What is your hop schedule?

Based on your projected 130 IBUs, I'd turn it down quite a bit. Most palettes can't differentiate above 100 IBUs, so it seems like going that high is a waste of beautiful hops.

Thanks for the tip. This is my first double so the hop bill was kind of just a guessing thing (we'll call it an educated guess based on general knowledge and online hop flavor wheels).

But my hop schedule currently is as follows (keep in mind Im totally open to change so Ill take constructive criticism but be nice hahaha). Im a huge fan of the piney/earthy flavors so thats how I landed on this schedule...

Boil
1.00oz Columbus 90mins
2.00oz Chinook 45mins
1.00oz Magnum 30mins
2.00oz Simcoe 0mins
2.00oz Cascade 0mins

Dry Hop
1.00oz Simcoe 14Days
1.00oz Chinook 14Days
1.00oz Cascade 14Days

.50oz Magnum 5Days
.50oz Chinook 5Days
.50oz Simcoe 5Days

 

[andy6026]

When adding corn sugar the concern you should have is for the balance of the beer. It will add a dryer and more 'alcoholy' flavor. If you balance this out properly with your malts and hops then go for it... but getting the right balance is a bit tricky. I won't pretend to know what the 'correct' balance is for your recipe.

 

[kev211]

I wouldnt expect you to. I just appreciate the help . Like I said, I just got the idea from Pliny, and thats the amount they used. They actually called for less DME but still got a higher OG by .001. But i think its because of the steeping grains they used. Im totally new to this, but part of home brewing that I love is learning from errors (I just would like to not make a habit out of it :cross so if this comes out too boozy then Ill dial it back for the next batch

 

[chickypad]

How big is your batch? 9 lbs of DME in a 5 gal batch should be around 1.079 without any contribution from steeping grains. You can easily swap in a little sugar for DME in a bigger IPA to help dry it out and lighten the body, .75-1 lb is totally fine. I know you're basing this off the Pliny recipe but I agree that you don't need all those hops 30-90 range. You can probably get away with the oz of magnum at 60 then put all those other nice hops at 20 min or less so you get some of the flavor and aroma. Again, I know this is from the pliny clone but personally I would not dry hop for the whole 14 days. IME you don't gain anything more past 7 days.

 

[eatmorefrogs]

You're safe adding that much without really changing the beer too, too much.

I like to think of corn sugar boosts as a small cheat that's safe to get away with here and there as long as you don't get too carried away with it. The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (page 84) says not to exceed 20% of fermentables with corn sugar or you'll get a dry, cidery flavor. The more you add, the lighter the body gets.

 

[kev211]

Awesome! Thanks for the pointers! Chickypad, according to brewers friend for a 5.5 gallon boil it should be 1.065 with just the 9lbs so I added a little sugar. I'll definitely cut down on the hops

 

[unionrdr]

I agree to just do one bittering addition @ 60, then save the rest for 20 minutes down to about 8 or 10 for best flavor & less additional bittering at 30 & the like.

 

[Calder]

Your OG will be around 1.070. If that is the case, target your IBUs to be about 70. Actually, once you start topping 80, I'm not sure you get much efficiency out of the hops, or if you can tell the difference - just starts to become a waste of good hops. 70 IBUs is pretty decent!

For an IPA, sure use .75 lbs of sugar, it will help the beer by drying it out; especially since it is an extract brew. Plain table sugar would be fine; don't have to use corn sugar. I get that you think table sugar is bad ..... it's got a bad wrap, and in time I'm sure you will be OK with it.

1.5 lbs of crystal for an IPA is way high. Even for a pale ale. I'd go half a pound, maybe .75 since it is a light crystal. Crystal adds unfermentable sugars, which leaves the beer sweet. IPAs should be dry in my opinion.

Hop schedule is crap. What are you trying to accomplish. Are these all your hops that you have to make this beer, or do you have others. If you have more, tell us and we will help with the schedule. Some comments on hops:

- Use a single bittering charge, at 60 minutes.
- Magnum is a clean hop, should only be used for bittering. Any flavor it may have will be completely masked by the other hops you have.
- Columbus is mostly a bittering hop, but can work as a flavor hop.
- All flavor and aroma hops should be added at 15 mins or less.
- From what you have listed, you have 3.5 ozs of Simcoe, 3.5 ozs of Chinook, and 3 ozs of Cascade. You can make a great IPA out of these. Not sure what I'd do, but you seem to be blurring these. I think I would use the Chinook as flavor hops, at 15, 10, and 5, and mix the Cascade and Simcoe, and use at 5, 0 and dry. ..... I've not really thought it out.
- The zero minute addition should be after the wort has been cooled a little.
- Why 2 dry hops with the same hops? Just run a single dry hop. Dry hop times are a hot debate, I'd go at least 10 days, but not exceed 14.

That's my 5 cents worth.

 

[kev211]

So here's the story, the 1.5lbs and 9lbs is actually part of a kit that I wanted to modify a bit. So I can totally cut down on the crystal I was just "following" the recipe. I can get any other hops necessary, I was just putting flavor profiles together that I like. I really appreciate the help. I have no issue changing up the hop schedule, and will definitely be doing so after everyone's suggestions. I was just aiming for a really piney, earthy brew (which I also think the dryness will work well with so I'll be cutting down on the crystal for sure). I think I may follow your idea and use just the magnum as the bittering and see how I can work the rest of the hops in for flavoring. Tomorrow is brew day, so we'll see what I can figure out. I really appreciate the 5 cents. I'm always down for some constructive criticism so if you've got another 5 more cents I'd be glad to hear it

 

[unionrdr]

When I brew my Cougar country IPA, the flavor additions are from 20 down to 10 minutes. 15 or less is OK, but not necessary for flavor additions to work well. With bittering, flavor & dry hop additions, my CC IPA uses 8.3ozs of hops. With the kind of hops I use it's piney, resiny,grapefruit & the usual flavors associated with pliny & many other IPA's. I tried to get a good average of flavors I like in an IPA.

 

[kev211]

How many oz of the 8.3oz do you use for bittering and how many for flavor/dry hop?

 

[standpoint]

Just thought I'd throw in that I Often throw in a 5oz package of corn sugar in my brews, as I lie the little kick of alchohol it provides. I haven't noticed any real change in flavor done it for IPAs, pale ales, cream ale, etc.

 

[chickypad]

Awesome! Thanks for the pointers! Chickypad, according to brewers friend for a 5.5 gallon boil it should be 1.065 with just the 9lbs so I added a little sugar. I'll definitely cut down on the hops

Are you sure you are entering DME? It sounds like you are caluclating for LME. A 5.5 gal boil is going to give you under 5 gal post boil off. DME has 44-45 pts per gallon, or around 400 gravity pts for 9 lbs. In 5 gallons that's 1.080. Even if you are talking about having 5.5 gal post boil that's still more like 1.072.

 

[unionrdr]

How many oz of the 8.3oz do you use for bittering and how many for flavor/dry hop?

.3oz warrior for bittering, 1.2ozs each of mosaic (20), simcoe & ahtanum (15), East Kent Golding @ 12 minutes left in the boil. I dry hop 1 week with the remaining .8oz of each of the flavor hops.

 

[kev211]

Sorry, worded it wrong. Shooting for a 5.5 gal post boil. I'm gonna re calc all of my numbers right before I brew in the next couple of hours

 

[kev211]

Found my mistake. Luckily everything turned out alright even though I did the numbers wrong. Whoops! haha

I accidently swapped the batch size and estimated boil size which is why my numbers kept coming in excessively low. So when it came time to brew I added only .25LBS of corn sugar (ended up with an OG of 1.074, probably a little high but Ill learn from my mistakes), and when I realized my mistake and corrected the numbers my brewersfriend calc actually gave me an estimated OG of 1.075. So I got lucky and pretty close with my mistake! haha. :rockin: