how to measure sugar.

[kwaidonjin]

Hi, extract brewing, My kit calls for 2 .2lbs of dextrose. I have a big 5 lb bag of dextrose. so how do I measure it to get the 2 lbs. I don't have a scale all I have is a measuring cup..... So, is 2 8 ounce measuring cups equal to 1 lb of sugar? or is it measured differently? I was thinking 4 8 ounce cups plus another 4 ounces would be good, does this sound right? I am making a muntons american style light.I tried the search function but after 20 min of looking I gave up.

 

[buffalobrewer]

measure out the 5 lbs to figure out how many cups are in there. divide by 5, multiply by 2. let's say it comes out to 10 cups in 5lb bag. you would have 2 cups/lb, multiply by 2 and you come up with 4 cups.

 

[weirdboy]

You don't even have to do the multiplication. Just divide the sugar into 5 equal portions, and use two of them.

 

[kwaidonjin]

You don't even have to do the multiplication. Just divide the sugar into 5 equal portions, and use two of them.

O.k. So that sounds good but does 8 ounce in measuring cup equal half pound??????????

 

[buffalobrewer]

nope, liquid oz does not equal volume oz (might for water, but I can't remember)

 

[thezepster]

Probably not. the measuring cup could be in fluid ounces, which measures volume not weight.

 

[Kickass]

Then you get into levels of compaction within the sugar.

Big picture: Eyeball it, for the batch you're making it's not going to be that big of a deal. Your gravity might be off by just a little but thats all. Oh, and add a scale to your brew equipment list.

 

[Beer_Guy]

measure out the 5 lbs to figure out how many cups are in there. divide by 5, multiply by 2. let's say it comes out to 10 cups in 5lb bag. you would have 2 cups/lb, multiply by 2 and you come up with 4 cups.

+1 on this.

It is really simple.

Use a measuring cup to find the volume in cups of YOUR 5lb bag.
Then multiply the results by 0.44 to get the number of cups you should use for 2.2lbs.

Here is a link to a unit calculator that can help in dividing up a cup into tablespoons.
Units of Measure

I did this same thing with my extract cans to divide them for use in 0.75 gallon batches. It worked great. Before I started I figured out that I would have half a can left. When I finished putting down four batches, I had HALF a can left.

 

[shelly_belly]

1oz(weight) of dextrose = 1.5oz(volume)
2.2pounds = 6cups,4.8oz

I compacted slightly by tapping the measuring cup against my palm 3 times.

 

[Pommy]

just guess it mate, its not going to make that much difference. Just pour a bit under half in and your brewing.

 

[kwaidonjin]

also, if you keg some and decide to bottle a few, how much sugar would you use per pint? does one teaspoon sound like too much?

 

[Pommy]

yeah, I would say 1/2 tsp would be about right per pint for most beers. 3/4 tsp would be the most I would do for especially carbonated lagers.

 

[kwaidonjin]

yeah, I would say 1/2 tsp would be about right per pint for most beers. 3/4 tsp would be the most I would do for especially carbonated lagers.

O.K. thanks for the response.

 

[BigB]

O.k. So that sounds good but does 8 ounce in measuring cup equal half pound??????????

I have compared the weights of 1 cup of wheat DME and of 1 cup of Amber DME. I found that the DME weighs approximately 4 oz per cup. I say approximately because the density varies slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer, batch to batch, the humidity its been exposed to, and even how it is scooped. I have measured it as light as 3.5 oz per cup up to 4.5 ozs per cup. Also, I always weigh my corn sugar for priming, and I would say for the most part, 4 ozs is little under one cup. So to answer the question, No... an 8 oz measuring cup is approximately 1/4 pound.EDIT: OOps, didn't see it was a revived old thread...nevermind

 

[malkore]

Honestly, if you have any intention of brewing for long, get yourself a $30 digital kitchen scale that does ounces, grams and pounds.

you'll use it plenty, and it serves a purpose other than measuring *only* brew ingredients.

 

[Edwinsessi]

Kitchen scales are best for doing these tasks. Some latest digital scales offers 0.001 grams accuracy which is awesome . How ever some of above suggestions are also good you need to try these.

 

[podz]

Honestly, if you have any intention of brewing for long, get yourself a $30 digital kitchen scale that does ounces, grams and pounds.

you'll use it plenty, and it serves a purpose other than measuring *only* brew ingredients.

+1

I picked up one of those from Lidl for 10 EUR.

I've used it to weigh sugar for my cider batches as well as weighing pellets for dry hopping. It's only got 1 gram accuracy, but that's good enough for my purposes since I'm not trying to play Walter White.

 

[clockwise]

not to sound obtuse, but just buy a cheap $10 scale. it will make life easier.

 

[podz]

Some latest digital scales offers 0.001 grams accuracy which is awesome .

It's largely marketing BS, though, with these kitchen scales. At this resolution, put 5 of them next to each other and you get 5 very different answers. And I've never seen a digital kitchen scale that could be calibrated. And even if they could, calibration weights are also expensive.

I have even seen (tested myself in a store) 2 identical digital kitchen scales give different answers at 1 gram resolution (same coin weighed 5g on one and 7g on the other). Most of them are wildly inaccurate on the low end, i.e. might not even move from zero at all until you've put more than 5 grams on top of them.

That said, they are good enough for weighing 750 grams of sugar for a 20 liter batch of cider. They might be a bit inaccurate for people who want to weigh 7 grams (0.25 OZ) of hops.