% Corn Sugar

[Aubie Stout]

I'm not looking to boost alcohol content! LOL.....


I'm currently using a 5 gal mash tun. When I try and make a bigger beer like an IPA, I run out of room. I've used corn sugar before up to about 8% with no ill effects. I was wondering if I could go as high as 15% without compromising the beer too much. Try to keep my base malt to about 10 pounds so I can mash with no problems.


PS: Bigger mash tun is on the way!

 

[danielinva]

You're probably going to want to up your gravity with extract as opposed to sugar. Up to about a pound can be appropriate in some recipes, but getting up to 15% with a 5 gallon mash tun and corn sugar is going to produce some nasty hooch beer.

 

[Aubie Stout]

So DME or LME? I guess it'd be like doing a big partial mash. Thanks.

 

[chefmike]

DME is shelf stable if kept cool and dry. that would be my choice.

 

[david_42]

That much sugar was used historically in IPAs to dry them out. Shouldn't be a problem.

 

[danielinva]

Oh, I totally misread the original post. Thought you were trying to get to 15% alcohol not 15% of your total sugars. I've probably gone that high in a cream ale with no ill effects.

 

[Aubie Stout]

15% corn sugar wouldn't make it too dry? Just looking to do a traditional IPA not an Imperial IPA.

 

[user 22118]

You just asked if IPA could be too dry? Hehehe! Don't worry about drying it out too much, but if you are All Grain, then just mash a little warmer if you want to keep body in the beer. I mash about 155 for a normal IPA without sugar, but if I am adding sugar, I try to hit 157 if I can. If Imperial, I mash at 152 and use sugar. Works every time. I strive for 1.012-1.016 in my IPA's. Higher is too sweet, less is too thin.

 

[Schlenkerla]

According to Chuck's good book, the limit he quotes is 20%. That applies to any sugar type.

 

[Bensiff]

Don't worry about getting more grain into your 5 gallon. I've gone just under 14 lbs with 1.15qt/lb ratio in my 5 gallon...as long as the math is good as there will be no room to adjust. I personally like tossing a little sugar into my IPA's that have gravity much higher than 1.055 range...say 5% or so.