Adding Sugar For Mouthfeel

[The_Duck]

Hi All,

The other day I brewed up an Amber Ale hopped with Galaxy and Amarillo.

Hop wise it seems fine, if a little too hoppy initially. This is now fading from a massive roar to loud party.

Problem is, the mouthfeel is a bit thin and the ale is just a bit watery. Somehow I managed to screw something up in the grainbill or water volume (or both).

Anyway, I took the brew to the last club meet and a few people suggested adding some sugar to round out the mouthfeel and sweeten it slightly.

After researching in several of my books, a lot of british ales use about 450g of sugar in the recipe for a 23 litre batch.

The question is, if the sugar is being added to the KEG, how much would you add to ~17litres and how would you prep it ? 1 litre boiling water and dump in Xg of sugar ? How many would X be ?

Anyone done this before and if so any tips ?

Duck

 

[np1962]

They probably meant adding the sugar to the recipe the next time you brew it.
Adding it to a keg now wouldn't achieve what you are after.
Will get the yeast back into action, cloud the beer and add plenty of fizz.
Some add lactose to ciders to back sweeten, may be possible but not my bag so can't really comment.
Cheers
Nige

 

[The_Duck]

Well yes obviously if I was brewing it again, I would adjust the recipe so I didn't need to add sugar

Any Melbourne Brewers out there remember saying "add some sugar to that and it will help" ??


Duck

 

[A3k]

I wouldn't be adding sugar now

 

[Bribie G]

In many British ales, sugar was added not to add mouthfeel but to actually thin out the body of the beer. Traditionally, British beer (= ale) drinkers would congregate with their mates after work in the Mines or Steelworks (yes I'm still in that generation and did just so) and sink seven or eight pints of beer that would be around 4.3% ABV - the idea was to sup a sessionable refreshing ale that wasn't too heavy in body or flavour. It would go down like mother's milk pint after pint - Bribie reaches for box of Kleenex at this point :lol:

This is somewhat in contrast to all malt beers such as German Munich Helles where the drinking environment is more like Sunday afternoon in the outside beer cafe under the trees, slowly slurping the full bodied rich liquid bread.
So I've often thought that the use of sugaz in UK mainstreams is a bit like in Australia where they were looking for an easy slam-it-down brew for the six o'clock swill which happened up to the late 1960s.

Sugaz = more sessionable and lighter in lingering malt character.

Interestingly in the EU nowadays I believe that most UK mass produced beers are now back to fermentables derived from malt or other grains such as maize (major component of Carling) and sugaz not used so much nowadays, but I often put up to 15% in special bitters if the recipe can accommodate it (normally brew >5% anyway so they can indeed take it without insult)

:icon_cheers:

 

[DJR]

Sugar will fully ferment and just add alcohol and no real mouthfeel.

I'd redo the batch next time with more malt and less hops.

If you do want to get it rocking now you can use light dry malt extract either in liquid form straight in or in dry form added to water. 500g or so will bring it up, add residual sweetness and body (as the malt contains dextrins or medium-chain sugars that will not be fermented by the yeast).

It'll make your keg a bit cloudy but if you have yeast in the bottom and warm the keg up with the malt in it'll wake up and do its thing...

Oh - if you do this of course you have to vent the pressure that will build up from fermentation somewhere - i've never fermented in a keg...

 

[The_Duck]

Hmmmm,

Maybe if I dissolve the dried extract in some boiling water and add to the keg....

The keg relief valve is rated for 135 PSI so I doubt that it is of major concern but I will start it with little pressure in the keg to start with.

Eventually it will clear or settle out I guess. Also, the keg is not in the fridge, it is in the rack in the garage awaiting deployment.

Maybe I can just sit the keg on a transformer brick that puts out a bit of warmth and it will be enuff to fire it up again.


Anyone see any issues with this approach ?


Duck

 

[thesunsettree]

if it were me i'd just down it with great disregard of any expectations, knowing it will get me pissed, and concern myself with next brew (but hey thats just me). maybe mash a few degs higher next brew to give a bit more body, possibly thats what your looking for, (i know i was when first doing mashes) and check thermometer calibration.
my 2c

cheers
matt

 

[The_Duck]

if it were me i'd just down it with great disregard of any expectations, knowing it will get me pissed, and concern myself with next brew (but hey thats just me). maybe mash a few degs higher next brew to give a bit more body, possibly thats what your looking for, (i know i was when first doing mashes) and check thermometer calibration.
my 2c

cheers
matt

Hmmmm Mash temps were pretty good and stable at 66-68. As you say... might be better to just suck it down and replace with a fresh batch

PS... My folks are building a new house in your suburb. When I get up there next time, I should stop in for a brew


Duck

 

[thesunsettree]

Hmmmm Mash temps were pretty good and stable at 66-68. As you say... might be better to just suck it down and replace with a fresh batch

PS... My folks are building a new house in your suburb. When I get up there next time, I should stop in for a brew


Duck

no probs mate, let me know when your up as i travel a bit for work but home most of the time (away 1 week a month-ish). your mash temps sound ball park imo, whats ur og and fg, i normally use us05 in apa's and find it chews its way through everything and get higher alc% then intended. i'll pour a beer for you now, but it might be hot by the time you get here so i better drink it instead . where are your parents building, we are in riverside.

cheers\
matt

 

[The_Duck]

no probs mate, let me know when your up as i travel a bit for work but home most of the time (away 1 week a month-ish). your mash temps sound ball park imo, whats ur og and fg, i normally use us05 in apa's and find it chews its way through everything and get higher alc% then intended. i'll pour a beer for you now, but it might be hot by the time you get here so i better drink it instead . where are your parents building, we are in riverside.

cheers\
matt

Sovereign ? Drive. It has river frontage (well.. backage I guess)

Duck

 

[thesunsettree]

Sovereign ? Drive. It has river frontage (well.. backage I guess)

Duck

lol, in easy staggering distance when you come up :icon_cheers: , could get messy!!

matt

edit - sovereign strait

 

[crozdog]

I wouldn't add sugar for the reasons given, but might consider steeping some carapils eg in a coffee plunger & adding it to your keg once it cools to add some more dextrins.

 

[RdeVjun]

I seldom bookmark posts in a thread but this one gets special mention as an exception. And for good reason- IMO you've got it in the first pass! :icon_cheers:

In many British ales, sugar was added not to add mouthfeel but to actually thin out the body of the beer. Traditionally, British beer (= ale) drinkers would congregate with their mates after work in the Mines or Steelworks (yes I'm still in that generation and did just so) and sink seven or eight pints of beer that would be around 4.3% ABV - the idea was to sup a sessionable refreshing ale that wasn't too heavy in body or flavour. It would go down like mother's milk pint after pint - Bribie reaches for box of Kleenex at this point :lol:

This is somewhat in contrast to all malt beers such as German Munich Helles where the drinking environment is more like Sunday afternoon in the outside beer cafe under the trees, slowly slurping the full bodied rich liquid bread.
So I've often thought that the use of sugaz in UK mainstreams is a bit like in Australia where they were looking for an easy slam-it-down brew for the six o'clock swill which happened up to the late 1960s.

Sugaz = more sessionable and lighter in lingering malt character.

Interestingly in the EU nowadays I believe that most UK mass produced beers are now back to fermentables derived from malt or other grains such as maize (major component of Carling) and sugaz not used so much nowadays, but I often put up to 15% in special bitters if the recipe can accommodate it (normally brew >5% anyway so they can indeed take it without insult)

:icon_cheers:

OP, some sugar at this point is not going to achieve anything worthwhile, it most likely exacerbate the problem plus give you some other troubles, so just drink it and learn from the experience. I suspect the context of the 'add sugar' (paraphrasing) feedback was more about the recipe or mashing and not about the situation you're in, but without all the details it is hard to know. As Bribie relates, sugar isn't sweetness, some clarification would be advised before proceeding.