Imperial stouts and adding sugar

[Javaslinger]

I see that in most Imperial stouts and big beers people add sugar of one kind or the other. From what I've read this is typically because their mash tun can't handle enough grain to get the gravity they're looking for. What if it can? Any downside to just getting to your gravity with grain alone? Is that a better end product that adding sugar? Or will that potentially make it too syrupy sweet?

Thanks!

 

[jheinikel]

No problem at all. I use a 10g Igloo and recently mashed 23lbs of grain. It was to the top, but I always prefer to get my sugar from grains rather than just feeding it corn sugar.

 

[Sadu]

I don't add sugar to mine, and won a decent sized comp recently with one so it can't have been too bad.
But I think, like an IIPA, there is heaps of body and flavor that a small sugar addition won't hurt at all.
Typically people mash these a bit low to make sure they don't finish too sweet, so adding a small sugar addition helps with that too. I'd be happy going to about 10% sugar and maybe up the mash temp a degree from what the all malt version would be.

 

[Imperator85]

It is definitely possible, though I doubt a small sugar addition will really affect your perceptions of a high gravity Imperial Stout. One thing to keep in mind is that something like adding sugar could be a reflection of someone's process. Maybe someone tried mashing low and did get the result they wanted (on their setup). Maybe it was an extract brew. Or maybe they just added it because someone else added it, and that person added it because this other person added it...

 

[BrewnoobUNC]

What temp are you mashing? I just did an imperial stout with lactose added to the boil. The flavor is very nice but a hair sweet. The OG was around 1.09 but I could only get the FG down to 1.026. This left it with a lot lower abv around 8% instead of the 10ish I was going for. And again, a bit sweet.

 

[Sadu]

My prize winning one was around 1.090 / 1.026 but it took a good 9 months to be drinkable. Up until then it was sickly sweet with boozy alcohol flavours. If you haven't already aged it, I'd say put it in a cool place and forget about it for a while.

 

[C-Rider]

I aged on w/11% ABV for a y ear to even out the bite from the high ABV. I added molasses but more for flavor that it's sugar content. Also won local contest w/it. Plan on aging it for at least a year to really improve it.

 

[RM-MN]

What temp are you mashing? I just did an imperial stout with lactose added to the boil. The flavor is very nice but a hair sweet. The OG was around 1.09 but I could only get the FG down to 1.026. This left it with a lot lower abv around 8% instead of the 10ish I was going for. And again, a bit sweet.

Yeasts have a hard time attenuating an imperial stout because there are plenty of unfermentable sugars that give the stout its character plus the higher amount of alcohol present as the beer nears final gravity may make the yeast quit. When you added lactose you increased the unfermentable sugars so it should not be a surprise that the beer finished too sweet. You add lactose to a milk stout to keep it sweeter. Leave it out of an imperial as they tend to finish a bit sweet without that.

 

[C-Rider]

I aged on w/11% ABV for a y ear to even out the bite from the high ABV. I added molasses but more for flavor that it's sugar content. Also won local contest w/it. Plan on aging it for at least a year to really improve it.

This one started at 1.115 and finished at 1.030. Was not sweet at all.

 

[thedevilandgod]

Simple sugars help jumpstart the yeast which means more yeast when the simple sugars are all digested. High gravity beers have lots of maltose and it’s harder for the yeast to eat all these up. You’ll be more likely to hit FG with some simple sugars (table, corn, light brown) in the bill.

 

[mr_stout]

I see that in most Imperial stouts and big beers people add sugar of one kind or the other. From what I've read this is typically because their mash tun can't handle enough grain to get the gravity they're looking for. What if it can? Any downside to just getting to your gravity with grain alone? Is that a better end product that adding sugar? Or will that potentially make it too syrupy sweet?

Thanks!

I have hundreds of stout recipies. I have rarely seen any with sugar added to them. What is the recipe that you are using? It will not be sweet because the yeast will eat up the sugar. If you put too much sugar it will overpower the yeast and it will be sweet. I think alittle brown sugar could be added to increase the alcohol amount if you wanted to.

 

[Javaslinger]

I have hundreds of stout recipies. I have rarely seen any with sugar added to them. What is the recipe that you are using? It will not be sweet because the yeast will eat up the sugar. If you put too much sugar it will overpower the yeast and it will be sweet. I think alittle brown sugar could be added to increase the alcohol amount if you wanted to.

Well this surprises me. In fact your post inspired me to do a search. Almost all recipes I've run across in BYO or in general online searches have had some kind of sugar adjunct. However, looking at the past 10 years of winners in the National Homebrew Competition - None of them have added sugar.

I think this may be my answer. It looks like it's more an issue of lack of space in the mash tun. The added sugar allows for a boost in gravity they can't accomplish with most systems.

 

[chris000]

... It looks like it's more an issue of lack of space in the mash tun. The added sugar allows for a boost in gravity they can't accomplish with most systems.

that is no real reason, it's because monkey see monkey do, people just copy blindly or look for the easiest/fastest way of getting there.
not saying every homebrewer has to stick to the Reinheitsgebot all the time, but it is a principle I cherish
a double mash is simple and doesn't require additional equipment!

 

[GHBWNY]

With the several imp. stouts I've brewed, I've never experienced the need to add sugar. To the OP's point, adding sugar in the boil (except for lactose) will not make the beer "sweet and syrupy"; it will have more of a tendency to dry it out and possibly push it toward the boozy side. A well-balanced grain bill should give you a great stout. If you want to up ABV and avoid problems of too much mash for your tun, you could always add a little dark DME late in the boil, but you'd want to scale your hop schedule accordingly.

 

[Javaslinger]

With the several imp. stouts I've brewed, I've never experienced the need to add sugar. To the OP's point, adding sugar in the boil (except for lactose) will not make the beer "sweet and syrupy"; it will have more of a tendency to dry it out and possibly push it toward the boozy side. A well-balanced grain bill should give you a great stout. If you want to up ABV and avoid problems of too much mash for your tun, you could always add a little dark DME late in the boil, but you'd want to scale your hop schedule accordingly.

I wasn't suggesting that adding sugar would make it 'sweet and syrupy', rather the opposite. Some articles I've read seem to suggest that if you go for a big gravity beer 1.095 or larger purely from the grain bill you will be an overly syrupy beer. They suggest that you can get that extreme high gravity by adding sugar adjuncts and avoid the syrupy mouthfeel.

 

[GHBWNY]

Or will that potentially make it too syrupy sweet?

Sorry, must have misinterpreted your question.