Refermenting in Secondary Carboy with Yeast & Dextrose

[DREBEESIE]

Hello, I recently made a Coopers Stout kit and the FG was "depressing". I did everything the instructions stated as well adding a half pound of belgian candy sugar (Dark) to try to boost the ABV a little. As of right now the FG is showing the the stout will have only 3.6% Alcohol

So I decided to conduct an experiement, I would like to know if what I did makes sense or if anyone has done this before.

I put one cup of dextrose and mixed it with hot water, poured it into a sanitized secondary carboy and than used the coopers fermenter spigot and drained it into the secondary carboy with half a packet of yeast.

I was trying to referment the beer. Has this ever been done before, will it produce off flavors? Will it boost the ABV?

I noticed there is a lot of bubbles in the airlock but not much foam on top.

Any comments on this topic would be useful. Thanks. Cheers!

I just thought I would add that I did not use a hose to transfer the beer to the secondary. Also I added a pound in total of dextrose plus another yeast packet.

It seems to be refermenting again, there is a bit of foam on top and sludge around the edges and bottom.

 

[Yooper]

1 cup of dextrose will provide almost nothing in a 5 or 6 gallon batch. Maybe .25% or so, if you're lucky.

You're more likely to ruin the beer by oxidizing it than improve it.

1 cup of sugar is really not much in the way of fermentables at all, and this sounds like a waste of sugar, time, yeast, and possibly tasty (albeit low ABV) beer.

 

[Calder]

OG and FG would help.

Once initial fermentation has started, NEVER do anything that could introduce oxygen.

If you want to add more fermentables, you can add it straight to the primary, or to a secondary, but rack using a cane and tube and keep the end under the wort.

1 lb of dextrose = 36 gravity points. This will increase the gravity by .007 for 5 gallons. Since it is completely fermentable it will increase the abv by 0.9%.

1 cup of dextrose is about 0.5 lbs (maybe slightly less). It will increase your abv by 0.4%. And ..... if you are really lucky, the additional activity will scrub most of the new oxygen out of the wort that you introduced by pouring from the spigot.

 

[DREBEESIE]

So I would like to confirm that adding another packet of yeast and about a pound of dextrose wouldn't hurt anything. It did foam over for a few minutes, but now it's got a thin layer of foam on top, lots of sugar at the bottom and lots of bubble in the airlock.

Did I botch this this batch?!

I am hoping if I leave it in the secondary for another two weeks before bottling that it will work it's self out.

 

[Yooper]

So I would like to confirm that adding another packet of yeast and about a pound of dextrose wouldn't hurt anything. It did foam over for a few minutes, but now it's got a thin layer of foam on top, lots of sugar at the bottom and lots of bubble in the airlock.

Did I botch this this batch?!

I am hoping if I leave it in the secondary for another two weeks before bottling that it will work it's self out.

Sorry if my post wasn't clear. Yes, I think this was botched. Adding fermentables is ok, but NOT by using a spigot and draining it out that way. You definitely got far less than 1% ABV from a cup of sugar.

Without knowing the OG and the FG, I can't say for sure what the original ABV could have been. But, yes, you've ruined this batch.

Bottle it soon (as soon as the re-fermentation from the cup of sugar ends, in a day or so), and drink it soon, before it's completely oxidized and completely undrinkable.

 

[DREBEESIE]

Bummer : ( I am glad i asked. I still have a lot to learn about home brewing. The og was around 1042 and the fg was around 1022

I should have left it in the primary and added more fermentables. Since this was a coopers kit it wouldnt cost me much to dump it.
I think I am going to skip over using a secondary fermenter for a while till I get more equipment. I have a two stage system but don't know much about how to use it. I look forward to learning. I will take this as a learning experience. thanks for your responses. Very useful information.

 

[WesternBrew]

DREBEESIE, did you use a hose when transfering to the secondary, or was your beer falling through the air? If you had used a hose I don't think it would have oxidized.

You wouldn't have boosted the abv much but I'm not sure you would have hurt anything.
I'm new to brewing so I'd love to hear Yoops opinion on this.

 

[DREBEESIE]

The batch turned out horrible. Very cidery, doesn't taste like stout at all.