Backsweeten beer?

[Homercidal]

Brewed an Amber last week and wanted it to be full bodied and kind of sweet so I could oak and bourbon it and get a fall beer I could enjoy.

Well, it turned out a bit too bitter and not sweet at all. I doubt oaking it at this point is going to make it a tasty beer, so I wonder what I can reasonably do to add some sweetness.

Dextrine?

Kind of spitballing here. I'll drink it, but it's not going to be what I hoped for. After mashing at 160 and using 1.5 lbs of crystal, I can't believe it ended up like this. It's sitting at 1.026 too!

Another case of missing the IBU mark again. This time too bitter.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Lactose will sweeten it up without adding fermentables. I recently did this with a hefeweizen that finished a bit lower than I wanted. 8 oz of lactose boiled in a bit of water and added to the keg sweetened it up nicely.

 

[Kent88]

Was going to suggest lactose, but I'm sure you're well aware that it isn't all that sweet.

It would be time consuming, but you could always try brewing another beer, maybe a little less bitter this time, and blend.

 

[Homercidal]

Both were options I've thought about. I really wanted something quick and easy. I might try lactose and see what happens, but I agree it's not that sweet.

My keg is already empty and ready, so brewing another beer and adding 1-2 weeks additional time is not ideal. I mean, it won't kill me to wait, but...

 

[JimRausch]

Don't rule out Xylitol either. You'd have to experiment with amount, but I'd suggest 1/2 cup per 5G as a starting point.

 

[RM-MN]

Brewed an Amber last week and wanted it to be full bodied and kind of sweet so I could oak and bourbon it and get a fall beer I could enjoy.

Well, it turned out a bit too bitter and not sweet at all. I doubt oaking it at this point is going to make it a tasty beer, so I wonder what I can reasonably do to add some sweetness.

Dextrine?

Kind of spitballing here. I'll drink it, but it's not going to be what I hoped for. After mashing at 160 and using 1.5 lbs of crystal, I can't believe it ended up like this. It's sitting at 1.026 too!

Another case of missing the IBU mark again. This time too bitter.

Dextrine should add body without changing the sweetness. I might steep some C-10 or C-20 and add that to the fermented beer. It may add a little fermentable sugar too so take that into account as it may take a few days to ferment out. It shouldn't matter if you are adding oak and letting it sit for the flavors to leach out as there should be very little fermentably sugar and won't affect the oaking.

 

[ArcLight]

Is it possible that the sweetness is correct but that the bitterness is masking it?
I know it's a pain but if you made a smaller test batch and cut down on the hops maybe you would be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Homercidal]

Tasted again last night to see if it's progressed, and it doesn't seem as bitter as before. I think there may have been some hop matter floating around in the beer, even though it looked fairly clear for only being 1 week old.

In any case, I added some whiskey to the sample in various amounts and I could not get it to have a level of flavor that fit the beer. It just tasted off. The beer itself tasted ok. Very malty, actually, if not really very sweet. Not sure if I want to continue the experiment at this point or not. I'd hate to ruin 2.5 gallons of beer.

I think my plan now is to keg and carb this beer and then add some whiskey to a glass and evaluate at that point. I can always add it to the keg if it ends up tasting ok then.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I have a pumpkin porter that I'm needing to adjust -- the cinnamon flavor is off/bitterish I've got spice and vanilla macerating in vodka and plan on adding lactose when bottling. Small batch, thankfully.

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

I wouldn't make any rash decisions after a week. I think that oak aging will mellow it out enough but don't age it in your barrel too long. A 5gal barrel will age it enough in a week to 10 days at the max.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

If you can find pure Sucralose (the sweet part of Splenda), it would not take much at all to sweeten a full five gallon batch, likely as little as half a teaspoon. It is 100% unfermentable, so it would pretty much be an instant fix and it is stable at the lower pH of a finished beer (where aspartame is not)