Double sugar disaster

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louisbrewg

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Hi there
In spite of having brewed w kits for many years... I made a rookie mistake. I have a bucket of Mangrove Jack's Australian Pale Ale on the go. It's been fermenting for 1o or 11 days and the airlock is still active. I just realised that I added double the sugar necessary. The packaging said to add either 1.9 lbs brew enhancer OR 2.2 Lbs LME. I was distracted and foolishly added both. I know :rolleyes:. I feel stupid.

Have I got a bucket full of garbage or have I got a bucket full of really sweet and strong ale? What do you guys suggest?

Any help appreciated
 

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Have I got a bucket full of garbage or have I got a bucket full of really sweet and strong ale? What do you guys suggest?

You'll have a higher ABV beer. It will also have more residual sugars than it would otherwise have had. And since you haven't added more hop bitterness to balance, the beer will be a little sweeter. You'll have to see if that's a good or bad thing when you taste it.
 
I haven't dry hopped. I usuually rack over to a bottling bucket and add them then...so that will provide some bitterness. I don't usually check the initial or final gravity for ABV...and I haven't done so in this batch. Is there any way to predict a ball park ABV?
 
I haven't dry hopped. I usuually rack over to a bottling bucket and add them then...so that will provide some bitterness.

Dry hopping can add a small amount of bitterness, but because the alpha acids in the hops won't be isomerized by a boil/high temps, it won't be much.

I don't usually check the initial or final gravity for ABV...and I haven't done so in this batch. Is there any way to predict a ball point ABV?

Well, the package in your pic says 5.1% ABV. Is that including the Brew Enhancer or the DME? And is this a 5 gallon batch? And what was the yeast strain?
 
so...the batch includes BOTH LME and Brewing sugar as I had no brew enhancer. The package identifies the yeast as m44US West Coast 10g.
I was extremely hassled that day, and learned the lesson that even kit brewing requires a calm mood and some space. Thanks for any advice...I'm just wondering how high the ABV is likely to be...approx
 
Let's try it this way. Can you just list every fermentable that you used (and the amounts), whether it was part of the kit or not? And was this 5 gallons? (Or if metric, how many liters?)
 
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Ok... Thanks. I used 1.9 lbs brewing sugar (glucose/dextrose monohydrate) and 2.2 lbs liquid malt extract. The batch is 23 litres
 
If the recipe calls for one or the other adding the one that was not supposed to be added will not change things too much. That is not a lot of extra fermentables. It will likely be a bit sweeter but not excessively so.
 
With my first batch ever I made it from a kit and added extra sugar to boost the ABV. I think my beer was around 10% and undrinkable. I learned a lot from that experience. You might just end up with a higher ABV and like the beer, who knows.
 
Ok... Thanks. I used 1.9 lbs brewing sugar (glucose/dextrose monohydrate) and 2.2 lbs liquid malt extract. The batch is 23 litres

Ok, good. So, no Brew Enhancer at all. And nothing but the LME and the corn sugar.

Per BrewCipher, 1.9 lbs of corn sugar and 2.2 lbs of LME in 23 liters of wort should give an OG of about 1.027, and your yeast should get that to an ABV of about 3.6%.

ETA: I'm not sure why you thought this might be a sweet beer. With 46% corn sugar, this is going to be a very dry beer.
 
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OK, one more time on the math. The pouch is hopped LME, 4 pounds if I remember correctly. Now add 2.2 lbs LME and 1.9 lbs corn sugar in a 23 liter (6 gal) batch. Taking the numbers for briess LME at 6.2 and dextrose at 1.9, I get 5.72% abv and a final of 1.009 with West Coast yeast. Quite reasonable, if higher than intended on the alcohol. Now the bittering. The pouch is designed with either the LME or the sugar. So it has enough bitter for the LME, the sugar leaves no extra residuals. I did another pouch from MJ, it was not light on the bitter anyway, at least with sugar (although I did it as a 5 gallon). Overall, you are a bit high for a session beer, but I am sure it will be fine otherwise.

Just looked at the pouch abv, at 5.1%. they may have increased the pouch weight... If I assume the pouch + LME gives the 5.1%, adding 1.9 lbs of sugar gives 6.88%. The LME leaves 1.011 FG, still not sweet. The bitter should still be OK, for the reasons above. May have to give it extra time to mellow...
 
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Ok, good. So, no Brew Enhancer at all. And nothing but the LME and the corn sugar.

Per BrewCipher, 1.9 lbs of corn sugar and 2.2 lbs of LME in 23 liters of wort should give an OG of about 1.027, and your yeast should get that to an ABV of about 3.6%.

ETA: I'm not sure why you thought this might be a sweet beer. With 46% corn sugar, this is going to be a very dry beer.

One of those two ingredients was supposed to be added to the Pale Ale kit. The other would be an addition. Again I think the amounts is small enough 1.9 pounds OR 2.2 pounds that it will raise the ABV some. I don't know the difference between Brew Enhancer and Corn sugar. But I doubt it is enough to ruin the beer.
 
Thanks for that..much appreciated. The temp strip says 20 on the brewing bucket. Guidelines are 18-22 so I think it's probably where it should be. I've added the hop bag and will rack to bottling bucket tomorrow or the nxt day. The airlock is giving its last few gasps. I really appreciate your knowledge and generosity. I'll let you know the outcome in a month or so..once its had tiime to settle in the bottle.
 
Just tho update the generous responders...i popped open a bottle after a week....good fizz...a bit sweet but held a decent head and it tastes like it'll be quite drinkable
 
you may have racked early. buckets can leak gas. invest in a hydrometer, OG and FG will tell you much more. a good investment toward better beer

and keep an eye on it. if the gravity was high, you may have bottle bombs.
 
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