Leave out the sugar in a Belgian tripel?

[albino314]

It seems like the only reason to add plain sugar is to boost ABV without changing flavor. If I want a lighter beer, can I just leave out the sugar? Or will that affect the flavor?

I'm not talking about dark candi syrups or raw sugar like turbinado. I know they contribute unique flavors.

Thanks!
Josh

 

[LLBeanJ]

The main reason for the sugar is to get to a lower FG. Additional grain can be used to raise the OG, but without simple sugars in the recipe, more than likely the FG will not be to style even with low mash temps.

 

[albino314]

That makes sense to me if you replace some of the malt with sugar to get a lower FG. The resulting beer would have a lighter body and the same ABV.

But if you have two recipes that are identical except that one has extra sugar added, would the increased ABV create a perception of lightness even though they both have the same FG?

Here's the recipe that made me think about this:

Basic tripel
14lb Pilsner Malt
2lb Sucrose
OG 1.082
FG 1.011
ABV 9.4%

Tripel without sugar
14lb Pilsner Malt
OG 1.066
FG 1.011
ABV 7.2%


It seems to me that these two recipes would taste very similar, since the FG is the same. But the one without sugar would be 2% lower ABV.

What am I missing?

Thanks,
Josh

 

[Qhrumphf]

The FG likely will not be the same, and even if it does the beer with sugar will come across leaner and dryer.

There's more to balance than OG, FG, and IBUs.

 

[albino314]

Thanks, guys! I'm going to make a split batch so I can teach myself what sugar's effect tastes like. (-:

Josh

 

[filthyastronaut]

Stylistically I'd say the one without sugar would probably be better classified as a Belgian Blond. The high ABV with the dryness from sugar is a characteristic of the style.

 

[MHBT]

Leaving sugar out of a tripel is like leaving your infant in a hot car for 8 hours. ok that was a bad analogy but it is needed to dry the beer out..i personaly would not make a tripel without sugar but experiment and see what happens cheers.

 

[ong]

That makes sense to me if you replace some of the malt with sugar to get a lower FG. The resulting beer would have a lighter body and the same ABV.



But if you have two recipes that are identical except that one has extra sugar added, would the increased ABV create a perception of lightness even though they both have the same FG?

Ethanol has a density below 0.8 g/cm3, so adding alcohol to an aqueous solution reduces the gravity.

 

[sven945]

That makes sense to me if you replace some of the malt with sugar to get a lower FG. The resulting beer would have a lighter body and the same ABV.

But if you have two recipes that are identical except that one has extra sugar added, would the increased ABV create a perception of lightness even though they both have the same FG?

Here's the recipe that made me think about this:

Basic tripel
14lb Pilsner Malt
2lb Sucrose
OG 1.082
FG 1.011
ABV 9.4%

Tripel without sugar
14lb Pilsner Malt
OG 1.066
FG 1.011
ABV 7.2%


It seems to me that these two recipes would taste very similar, since the FG is the same. But the one without sugar would be 2% lower ABV.

What am I missing?

Thanks,
Josh

I can't imagine a properly looked after Belgian yeast would stop at 1.011 with that second grain bill, despite what any software may estimate.