Forgot to add corn sugar - add it now?

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BeerNewbie

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I made a quick beer yesterday using a can of Munton's hopped malt extract. I added a pound of Golden Light DME and a pound of Pilsen Light DME (kind of like a MW 20-min boil kit). I was going to also add a cup or two of corn sugar to help with the gravity and fill it to 5.5 gal.

I filled it to 5.5 gal, and couldn't figure out why the gravity was only 1.046. Then, this morning, I remembered I didn't add the corn sugar like I planned.

Can I still add the corn sugar? If so, how? (Boil up two cups water per cup of sugar?) Also, anyone have a recommendation as to how much I should add?

Is there a math equation/program to find out how much the sugar will raise the beginning gravity after I add it?
 
One pound of sugar will yield 8 points.

You can add it any time. Mix it with 2 cups of water and stir to dissolve. Bring to a gentle boil for 2-3 minutes. Cool to 70 degrees (or so) and mix in gently.
 
If your yeast isn't going yet it's no problem at all. If the yeast is already going, just be a little careful. I think it will be fine.
 
I will also be doing this in a couple days with a batch that I undershot the beginning gravity on. Two cups of water is enough to dissolve 1 pound of corn sugar? Also, if I understand correctly, oxidation at this point isn't a big deal, right? Since the yeast is still undergoing fermentation, they are in need of oxygen, so no off-flavors?
 
Any easy way of doing this with a carboy? Is it OK that it may splash a little dropping from my funnel?

i've always just dumped it in there, and had great results. i wouldn't worry about a little splashing from the funnel. i've also never stirred or mixed in any way, fermentation creates enough circulation in there to get a good mix.
 
Just try not to splash too much and don't worry about what little normal splashing you get from funneling it in. 2 cups of water should be enough I'd think. If you can, add it at high krausen.

And remember to tell everyone that you didn't forget to add it--you decided to do "incremental feeding" to let the yeast process more complex sugars before feeding them the dextrose. It's an advanced technique.
 
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