Hey guys, so i see there have been some conversations about this topic. I am basically looking for the best time to add syrup to an batch. I am kegging, and I want to make sure the sweetness aspect gets into the beer. IVe seen people say to add it at various times during the boil. Ive done this and do not get any added sweetness, and often times end up with a darker beer than I was going for. Some people say to add it after the blow up, but then say that you will get little sweetness out of it. My thought was this, after primary, rack to secondary, add the syrup, then immediately cold crash for remainder of the secondary, go right into keg afterward. Thoughts? Im not a huge fan of adding where there will be any additional fermentation. I switched to force carbonation mainly because I thought that the addition of sugar for bottle conditioning, and the consequential "reactivation" of the yeast, always made my beer flavor altered. Thus why I have the plan listed above. Just wanted some opinions of anyone who works with syrups or who has done this before. THANKS
Adding Kandi syrup to fermentor
- Thread starter Brent87
- Start date
-
- Tags
- fermentor keg sweetening syrup
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
mirthfuldragon
Well-Known Member
Even at low temperatures, there will still be some living yeast kicking around to chew through the additional sugars. To achieve what you are thinking, you would need to kill all the yeasts (potentially with campden and potassium sorbate - similar to wine).
The better way to achieve sweetness is to mash at higher temperatures, which leaves more complex sugars unconverted (so the yeasts cannot eat them), or use a lower-attenuating yeast.
You could also use an artificial sugar like splenda or lactose, which are unfermentable.
Candi syrups are traditionally used for exactly the opposite effect of what you are doing - adding flavor/alcohol without adding sweetness - just ask my 1.008 FG Belgian quad - dark mahogany brown and 11% ABV.
The better way to achieve sweetness is to mash at higher temperatures, which leaves more complex sugars unconverted (so the yeasts cannot eat them), or use a lower-attenuating yeast.
You could also use an artificial sugar like splenda or lactose, which are unfermentable.
Candi syrups are traditionally used for exactly the opposite effect of what you are doing - adding flavor/alcohol without adding sweetness - just ask my 1.008 FG Belgian quad - dark mahogany brown and 11% ABV.
I see what you are saying. Well shooooooot. Im about ready to go into the secondary. Where does one obtain lactose? I dont know that I have ever seen that anywhere. So riddle me this....I do use a brite tank filtration system. 5micron and then to a 1micron. I do this because I do not like any additional yeast flavors overpowering my beers....would after running it through the brite tank, remove enough yeast to achieve what im trying to do? I know some maybe get through and still ferment some of the sugar, but with it being at 33degrees and pressurized I would think my conversion rates at that point would be pretty low. Next time Ill know, I guess just trying to save this batch and have it be half way what i was shooting for. Ok, and your brew makes sense to me now, I used Kandi syrup before in the boil, and I ended up with a product much darker than I expected and weighed in at 9.2%ABV. Now one question about your suggestion of higher mash temps. I was led to believe that would lead to an increase in Tannin release and contribute to off flavors?
mirthfuldragon
Well-Known Member
Lactose is milk sugar. You can find it online or at any well-stocked home brew supply shop. It is what provides the "milk" in milk stouts. I personally do not get a lot of milk flavor from it, but it does add sweetness and cannot be fermented by yeast, so it will sweeten without any risk.
Per Wyeast, yeast cells are 5-10 microns, so filtering down to 1 micron should remove all of them in theory. There is still probably going to be some risk of live yeast getting in and getting to the new sugar, but in a keg at low temperatures, I would agree that the risk is pretty minimal.
What is the style, OG, FG, and IBU of the beer itself? Some styles are going to be dryer as a matter of style, where others are going to be sweeter. Yeast selection is going to be another aspect of it - some yeasts attenuate higher than others. British yeasts, for example, are known to leave residual sweetness, were Belgian yeasts leave the beer dry, and saison yeasts leave a sugar desert. I personally like drier beers and brew on the drier end of the style sheets (dumped a keg of 1.022 Oktoberfest, to give you an idea, which was stupid - I should have thrown a higher-attenuating strain at it to fix it).
As for mashing, I have no experience in tannin extraction. By a "high" mash temperature, I would look to something in the 157-158°. I am brewing a lambic this weekend, with a mash temp target of 160°, with the point being to leave complex sugars in the wort for the brettanomyces to chew through.
Per Wyeast, yeast cells are 5-10 microns, so filtering down to 1 micron should remove all of them in theory. There is still probably going to be some risk of live yeast getting in and getting to the new sugar, but in a keg at low temperatures, I would agree that the risk is pretty minimal.
What is the style, OG, FG, and IBU of the beer itself? Some styles are going to be dryer as a matter of style, where others are going to be sweeter. Yeast selection is going to be another aspect of it - some yeasts attenuate higher than others. British yeasts, for example, are known to leave residual sweetness, were Belgian yeasts leave the beer dry, and saison yeasts leave a sugar desert. I personally like drier beers and brew on the drier end of the style sheets (dumped a keg of 1.022 Oktoberfest, to give you an idea, which was stupid - I should have thrown a higher-attenuating strain at it to fix it).
As for mashing, I have no experience in tannin extraction. By a "high" mash temperature, I would look to something in the 157-158°. I am brewing a lambic this weekend, with a mash temp target of 160°, with the point being to leave complex sugars in the wort for the brettanomyces to chew through.
Similar threads
