belgian dubbel

[dharvey]

i brewed a dubbel 16 days ago that has hit og/fg pretty well, 1.062 and 1.012. i put it in the secondary today and had a taste and it was pleasant but not that sweet. thoughts about bottling or adding more sugar/syrup to it (i added 2 lbs of candi syrup 90 during the boil--5 gallon size batch)?

 

[bionut]

What is your questions? Do you tink that the FG is too high? Or that the beer isn't sweet enough?
1.012 is not too much for a final gravity, specially if you mashed on the higher end of the saccarification range.

 

[Presto]

Adding sugar during the boil does nothing to make the finished beer sweeter. It does pretty much the opposite, in fact. If more sugar is added now, the yeast will simply eat that as well, unless it is some sort of unfermentable sugar. Lactose may be your best bet to sweeten after fermentation.

 

[dharvey]

yeah, just not sweet enough for what might usually pass as a dubbel. i mashed pretty low, 148.

 

[dharvey]

i didn't know that adding sugar during the boil wouldn't do anything...odd that so many recipes for belgians call for so much sugar. what does it do then? i might try a bit of lactose, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Presto]

The sugar in a belgian beer is meant to dry it out, lighten the body, and boost alcohol cheaply. The sweetness in most belgians is only perceived. The darker candi sugars add color and a little caramel taste as well. 1.012 FG is not that low for a dubbel. Many belgian beers are into the single point range or even lower for FG, but most will still have a little sweetness perceived on the front end. Dryness in the finish is very desirable.

 

[Presto]

Some time in the bottle will help the desired flavors come through. Age them in a dark place for a couple of months, and give them another taste.

 

[bionut]

i didn't know that adding sugar during the boil wouldn't do anything...odd that so many recipes for belgians call for so much sugar. what does it do then? i might try a bit of lactose, thanks for the suggestion.

So i was right then. The sugar will ferment and boost the alcohol content, the beer won't have a higher FG. You said your beer is already in the secondary, so adding now the sugar will re-start the fermentation, but will give you a beer with the same FG (or even lower if you add the sugar with some water).
If you want a sweeter taste you can add lactose or another unfermentable sugar, but this isn't advisible for a dubbel. Just go with 1.012 as is a very good FG.

 

[Presto]

So i was right then. The sugar will ferment and boost the alcohol content, the beer won't have a higher FG. You said your beer is already in the secondary, so adding now the sugar will re-start the fermentation, but will give you a beer with the same FG (or even lower if you add the sugar with some water).
If you want a sweeter taste you can add lactose or another unfermentable sugar, but this isn't advisible for a dubbel. Just go with 1.012 as is a very good FG.

I agree. 1.012 is right on par for a dubbel. You are also correct about sugar restarting fermentation. Adding sucrose or dextrose now will only lower FG farther when everything is finished as they are basically completely fermentable, and restarting the yeast will cause them to rework the remaining sugars in the wort that they didn't make it to the first time.