Late sugar addition to fermentation, BU:GU

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ipscman

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On the Podcast from thebrewingnetwork.com on Belgian Tripels (about 33 minute point), JZ talks about a trick to lower attenuation (in this case he wanted it around 86%.

Trick: About 2/3 the way through acctive fermentation in primary, add 1/2 lb cane sugar (boiled/cooled) to fermenter. I did this on a Belgian and got 92% ADF. Worked great.

In order to get the balance of BU:GU ratio he suggests going into BeerSmith, ProMash etc. and removing the late sugar addition from the recipe. Then LOWER the hop addition amounts until you reach your original desired bitterness ratio.

Question: When adding the late sugar aren't we:

- In effect raising the initial SG? Isn't SG just a reflection of the amount of sugar in the wort, so adding it late should be added into your SG?

- If so, then it seems like the hop additions should NOT be reduced but left alone to get the desired bitterness ratio.

???
 
Hops utilization occurs during the boil and is a affected by the wart density at the time of the boil. So your level of bitter is determined based on your boil numbers. Much like dry hopping will not effect your bitterness level. By adding sugar to the fermenter you are increasing your gravity but not changing the level of bitterness.
 
I think what he was saying on the podcast is that since you are not including that sugar in the boil, you will get better utilization from the hops. So you will want remove the sugar and lower the hops until you get to the same IBUs and then when all is said and done you will have the same BU:GU.
 
I am not able to listen to the podcast so I may be off here in how the recipie is originally created.
It just seems to go against logic to create a recipe with the sugar in it, adjusting hops and what not, just to get your GU. Then removing the sugar and adjusting your hops again to get your desired BU.

Why not just create the recipe and get your BU and then add the sugar to get your GU?
 
I am not able to listen to the podcast so I may be off here in how the recipie is originally created.
It just seems to go against logic to create a recipe with the sugar in it, adjusting hops and what not, just to get your GU. Then removing the sugar and adjusting your hops again to get your desired BU.

Why not just create the recipe and get your BU and then add the sugar to get your GU?

In his book, as printed, all the numbers are for having the sugar in there from the beginning of the boil. He was simply mentioning that if you want to wait and add the sugar later, you need to reduce your hops to get the same IBUs.
 
Ah, I see. everything makes sense now. I guess that's what I get for jumping into a thread with only half the information. Matching BU:GU ratio's while achieving lower attenuation by adding the sugar during fermentation.
 
O.K. I think that I would need to adjust the OG after all is said and done, to reflect the additional sugar. The end result will be:

- anticipated bitterness ratio

- a higher SG than originally reflected in BeerSmith (because we aren't including the late fermentation sugar in the recipe). I have to add the gravity points for the sugar later

- resulting in a higher level of apparent attenuation

- and a higher ABV level

Sound right?
 
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