Brewing with or without enhancer

[biertschi]

Hello,

This is my second topic on this forum. As I said on my first message, I am quite new at brewing. So, there's something confuses me and I want learn about it. That's why I want to ask experienced brewers here.

I'll brew my new beer by using Gozdawa liquid hopped malt extract. And they provide enhancer too. When I read about enhancer, it says it can be used instead of 1 kg sugar. So, is that mean I already need 1 kg sugar even if I decide to make it without enhancer?

I used to use 8 kg Mr.Beer kit and only used hopped malt extract and yeast. And then I used carbonation drops while bottling. But I never add sugar or sth else at the begining.

When I sent a mail to Godzawa about this situation, they told me that: "Hello
it's possible but our 1.7kg cans are hopped for 18-23 litres of worth.
You can make 10-11l worth wihtout sugar/dextrose/enhancer but it will be hopped twice."

So, when I use this malt extract for 23 liters beer, it's a must to use 1 kg sugar or 1 kg enhancer, am I right? If I do it like I used to do with Mr.Beer (only with extract) the outcome won't be anything good. Or am I missing something?

Thanks in advance.

 

[badlee]

You can do it with no sugar if you like. But it wil be weak.
The"enhancer" might have a mixture of things like sugar,maltodextrin and/or lactose,to name a few.
I would use the enhancer just so that you know what it does

 

[biertschi]

You can do it with no sugar if you like. But it wil be weak.
The"enhancer" might have a mixture of things like sugar,maltodextrin and/or lactose,to name a few.
I would use the enhancer just so that you know what it does

Thanks for your reply.

I guess I'll order 2 cans of extract and 1 enhancer and I'll brew one can with enhancer and another one with sugar. I think this is the best way to experience the difference.

 

[badlee]

That is the spirit! Be sure and document your process and findings

 

[unionrdr]

It sounds similar to Cooper's in my estimation. Brew enhancer one is just dextrose, while brew enhancer two is dex, maltodextrin & plain light DME. So it would be interesting to try both to see which one you like better. I thought the enhancer with the DME in it tasted better, but the all dextrose one didn't work too bad either.

 

[biertschi]

It sounds similar to Cooper's in my estimation. Brew enhancer one is just dextrose, while brew enhancer two is dex, maltodextrin & plain light DME. So it would be interesting to try both to see which one you like better. I thought the enhancer with the DME in it tasted better, but the all dextrose one didn't work too bad either.

Hi,

There are 2 varieties of Gozdawa enhacers. Light and dark. Light is for lighter beers like pilsner, lager etc. and dark is for darker ones like stout, beligan christmas ale etc. As far as I know, they both includes %50 DME (light or dark) and %50 glucose.

Well, I ordered hopped LMEs (stout and wheat) and one dark enhancer. I'll use it with stout and I'll try sugar with wheat. We'll see the outcome

By the way, there's nothing extra I have to do, right? I'll only add it (enhancer or sugar) to the water with malt extract at the begining and stir it until it dissolves and then all the process is all same. Am I right?

 

[unionrdr]

If you're not doing any hop additions, you can boil the water, then take it off the heat to add the LME & the enhancer. Stir it in really well, to the point where no more LME can be scraped off the bottom of the kettle. Then chill. If you're doing partial boil, have some water chilling in the fridge a day or two before brew day. Chill the boiled wort to about 75F, add to fermenter, then top off to recipe volume with the chilled water. This will get the wort down to 65F or so very quickly. You may even get some cold break.

 

[guitarguy6]

The kit you're brewing sounds exactly like a Coopers extract kit. If you make a full 23 liter batch with the just the extarct can your beer will be around %3 abv. Coopers sells brew enhancer 1 and 2. Brew enhancer 1 is a mix of dextrose and maltodextrin and will kick up the ABV to about %4.2 and adds to the body and mouth feel of the beer. Brew enhancer 2 is dextrose, maltodextrine and dry malt extract and kicks up the ABV to around %4.5. I mostly brew all grain but I have recently started messing around with basic no boil kits. I've found that brew enhancer 2 is pretty good but instead I'll usually add 2LB DME and then dry hop the kit with an appropriate hop variety. I always hated most no boil extract beers but found out it was because most people don't add an enhancer or DME, they just throw in 1KG or more to get a higher abv. This tends to give the beer a green apple type flavor that I always associated with basic kits. DME with some dry hops can make a basic kit taste pretty good.

 

[IslandLizard]

Why not just use 100% DME (or LME) and use NO "Enhancer" at all. 100,000s of brewers do it that way. Steep some specialty malts for extra flavor and/or color.

Sounds like the "Enhancer" is a fancy marketing name for sugar with some add-ons.

How to Brew.

 

[badlee]

@IslandLizard
I think the OP is very much interested in the learing process. How the beer come out via instructions vs(later on) how it comes out with some brew knowledge

 

[kh54s10]

I am glad I skipped the pre-hopped extract beers. It sounds like stirring up a batch of powdered lemonade...... I started with extract and steeping grain kits that included hops from Northern Brewer. They are quality kits.

The idea of doing 2 beers, one with enhancer and one with sugar sounds like an interesting experiment.

 

[IslandLizard]

@IslandLizard
I think the OP is very much interested in the learning process. How the beer come out via instructions vs(later on) how it comes out with some brew knowledge

Fixed it for you.

The OP wants to learn, he said so.

The problem is, those kits use catchy marketing names for their simple sugar products and make it look like voodoo. Just wave your arms over the brew while uttering "whowho-beer-whowho..."

I provided the link to learn "How to Brew" without the magic can, or bag. Come on!

 

[unionrdr]

Well, everybody's got a point where they feel comfortable to start from. I started from that same spot. But ran with it after that one.,.,.

 

[badlee]

@IslandLizard
You are spot on about the simple sugars and matketing.
As @uniondr said,everyone has a comfort zone for starting.
I did two Coopers with a kg of sugar and then malted my own wheat for a 100% wheat biab brew.
But,my great uncle has been brewing Coopers kits for 25 years and loves them.
OP
Get your first few brews in,find your sea legs and grow as a brewer from there.
Try not to be intimidated by all of the choices out there.

 

[biertschi]

Thanks everyone!

Of course I'll try different methods in time. But for now, I'm focused on brewing with LME+enhancer, LME+sugar or only LME. I'll experience the difference between those three methods and then try some new things. So, as far as I understand, there's nothing wrong with brewing 23 liters beer out of 1.7 liter hopped LME + 1 kg sugar. (Technically, I mean) Am I right? (I am asking again because I don't waste the LME and want to be sure about that)

 

[badlee]

There is nothing wrong with it