How much sugar to add to correct a low OG

[rtharter]

I brewed an IPA with a target OG of 1.078 but my OG was 1.057 @ 60 deg. In the fermentor. I did use some extra sparge water to get to the proper boil volume. My concern is I am going to have a very low alcohol beer. I was planning to boil about 2 cups of sugar in 1 pint of water, cool to 70 deg and add to the fermenting wort to extend the fermenting process a bit without affecting the body of the beer. Thoughts, ideas, Thanks, Bob

 

[ChshreCat]

My first option would be to let it go and just have a lower ABV beer, but...

If you were going to add something to it, I'd go with some extract rather than sugar. Sugar will dry the beer out, making it thinner in body and flavor. Extract (DME or LME) will help replace fermentables you didn't get into the batch without altering it too much.

btw... Was this a full boil or a partial boil with top up water added at the end?

 

[kanzimonson]

I say keep it where it is and tell people it's an Extra Pale Ale. In the past, when I've tried to correct beers that didn't come out right, I never "trusted" the final results. What I mean is, even if it tasted alright, I wasn't really sure how much my additions affected it, and what would the beer have been like had I not altered it?

On a second note, this is why I started taking lots of gravity readings during the brew process. Especially preboil so you know how much sugar is in your kettle.

And try to break the habit of topping off after the boil (if you're doing this). I was guilty of topping off because "I'll be damned if I'm not getting 5 gallons of beer out of this batch!" But I never took into account the sugars that I was losing to the hops and trub. My gravities were always 3-8 points lower than what I would expect based on the preboil gravity.

 

[dzlater]

I'd probably leave it but if you want to add sugar it will add 46 point per lb per gallon.

 

[ChshreCat]

In a 5 gallon batch, 1lb of corn sugar will raise your OG by .008

but adding sugar would be the last thing I'd want to do to this beer.

 

[rtharter]

Thanks. This was a full boil. I did not top off after the boil but used some extra water in sparging before boiling. I don't like being short of 5 gal but I generally deal with it if I am.

 

[rtharter]

Thanks everyone for the information. I will leave it as is and hope for the best!

 

[rtharter]

So do you mean taking a few OG readings while mashing rather than just at the end? If at the end of mashing, before the boil, the OG is low it sounds like the best thing to do is add some extract to bring it back in line. What can be done in the mashing process to make sure I hit the OG target, other than holding the proper temp?
What do you recommend for taking the OG readings. It's get's rather tedious cooling the wort to 60deg each time when using a hydrometer.
Thanks, Bob