Sugar Added to Wort, bad idea or really bad idea?

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gyrfalcon

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I made a beer that had this in it:

6lb Gold LME
2lb Light DME
Specialty Grains (8oz Carapils, 8oz Carmel 40L)
1oz Chinook pellets, 2oz Amarillo pellets
5 Simcoe Hop Plugs

So I was filling up a 6.5gallon carboy, and I guess I poured too much water in so the SG was at 1.050.

Do you think I totally screwed up the beer by adding around 2lbs of granulated sugar to move it up to 1.061?
 
I do not know exactly what the postive or negative effects will be. But I do know that regular granulated sugar is a disaccharide and yeast cannot use it. If you boiled the sugar in water first you would have broken bond and turned it to two monosacharrides which the yeast could use. I dont know what the effect on the tast will be. It may just end up as unfermintable sugar, that has no effect at all. Maybe a more experienced brewer can chime in with more info.
 
mikeyc said:
I do not know exactly what the postive or negative effects will be. But I do know that regular granulated sugar is a disaccharide and yeast cannot use it. If you boiled the sugar in water first you would have broken bond and turned it to two monosacharrides which the yeast could use. I dont know what the effect on the tast will be. It may just end up as unfermintable sugar, that has no effect at all. Maybe a more experienced brewer can chime in with more info.


Wow thanks for the quick and detailed reply... I need to take a few cellular biology and chemistry courses it seems. :D
 
yeah, I would have left it at the lower gravity and had a better quality beer. You boosted the ABV, but will also have a thinner drier beer that may (just MAY) have some cidery characteristics. It really depends on the beer style, though. That would be ok in some beers, not so good in others.
 
I do not know exactly what the postive or negative effects will be. But I do know that regular granulated sugar is a disaccharide and yeast cannot use it. If you boiled the sugar in water first you would have broken bond and turned it to two monosacharrides which the yeast could use. I dont know what the effect on the tast will be. It may just end up as unfermintable sugar, that has no effect at all. Maybe a more experienced brewer can chime in with more info.

If this is true then how does the yeast use the granulated sugar to carb?
 
Yeah. Yeast eat up sugar. That's what they do.
Eat sugar.
Poop alcohol.
Fart CO2.

I understand what he is saying but Im lost in the concept. I know granulated sugar works in carbing because I have used it before. In order to carb the yeast has to "fart" it out. So it would sume to stand that table sugar can be eaten by yeast.
 
I understand what he is saying but Im lost in the concept. I know granulated sugar works in carbing because I have used it before. In order to carb the yeast has to "fart" it out. So it would sume to stand that table sugar can be eaten by yeast.

Exactly!

I know that I sometimes get too... complex with the scientific jargon and folks don't follow me... :D
 
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