Sugar

[donaldb]

Has anyone added sugar during the boil process to add streanth of the beer alcohol content?

 

[tojo]

Definitely! More fermentable sugars=elevated abv

 

[bigbeergeek]

Sure, I've added all kinds of sugars to the boil kettle (or boiled them in a little water and added them to the fermentor after fermentation starts): brown sugar, white sugar, caramel, molasses, honey, date sugar.

I typically add sugars that are going to contribute some flavor to the beer (like molasses to an imperial stout). I only add table sugar when I want to make the beer a little thinner and lighter bodied, like in a belgian tripel or if I did an extract batch. That's the potential problem with adding table sugar to a recipes willy-nilly to boost alcohol: the sugar is highly fermentable and leaves no flavorful traces behind. Beers with too much table sugar taste sort of apple cider -- not typically a desired trait.

 

[donaldb]

What about a small amount of fine powder sugar,,say 8oz.?

 

[bigbeergeek]

I wouldn't use confectioners sugar because of potential cloudiness from the corn starch. 8 oz of sugar is going to raise your alcohol by about 0.5%. I don't think 8 oz would contribute a cidery note to the average gravity batch of beer, but it will lighten the body somewhat. Depending on the style, that could benefit or deduct from the quality of the final product. What style of beer are we talking about here?

 

[donaldb]

American light,,

 

[bigbeergeek]

Ah. That's probably going to help the beer, then. Brew on!

 

[donaldb]

Thanks,,will see how it works out,,

 

[Calder]

I don't know anyone who has had 'cidery' flavors from adding plain sugar to a beer. I've certainly never had it and often add up to 20% of the fermentables, as plain table sugar, in Belgians, to help dry them out; even up to 30%.

Now, when adding sugar, you really should have an idea what it will do to the beer. It will lower the final gravity (making it drier), and will thin it out (more alcohol, with less balancing flavors).

In the extreme, you can have too much sugar for the yeast, but adding a half pound will generally not make much difference. A half pound of corn sugar in 5 gallons will increase the abv by about 0.5%.

 

[beergolf]

I don't know anyone who has had 'cidery' flavors from adding plain sugar to a beer. I've certainly never had it and often add up to 20% of the fermentables, as plain table sugar, in Belgians, to help dry them out; even up to 30%.

Now, when adding sugar, you really should have an idea what it will do to the beer. It will lower the final gravity (making it drier), and will thin it out (more alcohol, with less balancing flavors).

In the extreme, you can have too much sugar for the yeast, but adding a half pound will generally not make much difference. A half pound of corn sugar in 5 gallons will increase the abv by about 0.5%.

Agree. Some beers like Belgians all use a lot of sugar. I brew Belgian often and even at 20-25% sugar there is no cidery taste. This is one of those things that keeps getting repeated that really does not happen.

The problem to just adding sugar to a recipe to increase the ABV will often thin out the body and throw things out of balance