Mr. No-Tip
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So I've decided to continue my series of not particularly scientific fermentation experiments with suggestive titles.
We've all heard the suggestion that simple sugars should not be added to Belgians until the ferment is well underway. The theory is that this prevents the yeast pigging out on the simple sugars and tiring themselves out before getting through all the maltose.
I've brewed a Belgian Golden Strong each year for the last two years. My recipe is pretty simple with 75% pils and 25% dextrose and the White Labs Belgian Strong Ale yeast. In 2013, I added the dextrose a few days into fermentation, following the theory and finishing up at 1.006. Last year, I just 'turned off' and added it at zero. I'd just forgotten about the rule.The beer ended up stalling at around 1.010, putting some creedence to the late sugar theory. Thankfully with another week at 24 degrees, a good yeast cake stir, the beer finished up at a 1.003 for a whopping 96% apparent attenuation. The bottles took a good while to carbonate, but eventually they did, and it went on to be a pretty successful beer at the nationals last year.
So while the straight edition had problems, it wasn't problematic in the long run. I want to now test this with a bit more rigour.
Last night I brewed 50l of BGS, split into two batches. One got the sugar edition and started at 1.072, the other was pitched at 1.050 and will get the sugar in a few days.
I'll update this thread with observations of the ferment, final gravity, and final product, hopefully giving something definitive to the theory...
We've all heard the suggestion that simple sugars should not be added to Belgians until the ferment is well underway. The theory is that this prevents the yeast pigging out on the simple sugars and tiring themselves out before getting through all the maltose.
I've brewed a Belgian Golden Strong each year for the last two years. My recipe is pretty simple with 75% pils and 25% dextrose and the White Labs Belgian Strong Ale yeast. In 2013, I added the dextrose a few days into fermentation, following the theory and finishing up at 1.006. Last year, I just 'turned off' and added it at zero. I'd just forgotten about the rule.The beer ended up stalling at around 1.010, putting some creedence to the late sugar theory. Thankfully with another week at 24 degrees, a good yeast cake stir, the beer finished up at a 1.003 for a whopping 96% apparent attenuation. The bottles took a good while to carbonate, but eventually they did, and it went on to be a pretty successful beer at the nationals last year.
So while the straight edition had problems, it wasn't problematic in the long run. I want to now test this with a bit more rigour.
Last night I brewed 50l of BGS, split into two batches. One got the sugar edition and started at 1.072, the other was pitched at 1.050 and will get the sugar in a few days.
I'll update this thread with observations of the ferment, final gravity, and final product, hopefully giving something definitive to the theory...