Crystal Sweetness

[Major Arcana]

Hey Fellas,

I bottled an APA a few weeks ago and cracked a bottle last night to try out, now it is very drinkable but does have quite a sweet taste to it. My question is, can the steeped crystal I added in this recipe be responsible for this sweetness or do you think I have tried a little to early? I do not have the recipe with me at the moment but off the top of my head it was a 19l batch with 1.5kg of coopers light LME around 700gm of DME, a hop schedule in there and the crystal I added was 500gm steeped etc.

Sorry if I am being a little vague, when I was drinking it, I tried to pin point what was responsible for this sweetness, and I remembered that 500gm of Crystal steeped is actually quite a fair bit for that size batch. But does Crystal add sweetness or fermentables? I thought not, or very little.?

Sorry it is a bit all over the place this question, would love to hear your thoughts.

cheers,

Dan

 

[manticle]

500g in a single batch will add a reasonable amount of sweetness. Sweetness can also be caused by stalled fermentation and is often present in all-extract beers so it could be a combo. Next time try 50% of that crystal amount.

 

[stewy]

Hey Fellas,

I bottled an APA a few weeks ago and cracked a bottle last night to try out, now it is very drinkable but does have quite a sweet taste to it. My question is, can the steeped crystal I added in this recipe be responsible for this sweetness or do you think I have tried a little to early? I do not have the recipe with me at the moment but off the top of my head it was a 19l batch with 1.5kg of coopers light LME around 700gm of DME, a hop schedule in there and the crystal I added was 500gm steeped etc.

Sorry if I am being a little vague, when I was drinking it, I tried to pin point what was responsible for this sweetness, and I remembered that 500gm of Crystal steeped is actually quite a fair bit for that size batch. But does Crystal add sweetness or fermentables? I thought not, or very little.?

Sorry it is a bit all over the place this question, would love to hear your thoughts.

cheers,

Dan

That much crystal would certainly contribute sweetness. I did a 14L APA batch bittered to 38IBU's & used 200g of medium crystal. It's given it a subtle sweetness which is what I was after. I imagine more than double that amount in only 5 more litres of wort would make it sweeter.

 

[Major Arcana]

500g in a single batch will add a reasonable amount of sweetness. Sweetness can also be caused by stalled fermentation and is often present in all-extract beers so it could be a combo. Next time try 50% of that crystal amount.

That much crystal would certainly contribute sweetness. I did a 14L APA batch bittered to 38IBU's & used 200g of medium crystal. It's given it a subtle sweetness which is what I was after. I imagine more than double that amount in only 5 more litres of wort would make it sweeter.

Thanks fellas I thought it might have been the cause for it, do you think the sweetness will disperse over time?

 

[manticle]

The balance of the beer may change, other elements may integrate better and you may prefer the beer but I wouldn't suggest it will really disperse or fade. Palates are a funny thing though.

Best thing is just to learn for next time - either up the bitterness or lower the crystal (or both)

 

[Major Arcana]

Cheers manticle,

Will definitely be dialling it down next time, ohwell another lesson learnt.

Bring on Friday arvo beers I rekn!!

cheers for the advice!

Dan :icon_cheers:

 

[stewy]

If it's too sweet, maybe you could use some spare hops as chewing tobacco while you drink your brews!!
;-)

 

[Blind Dog]

I haven’t brewed extract for a long while, but figure 500g of crystal in an AG equivalent would be close to 10% of the grain bill and kind of like sucking beer through sugar. Crystal is a big bad world though and ranges from super sweet pure sugar flavour lighter crystals through to the pruny/raisiny/toasty flavours of the dark crystals, and everything in between (and not really in between at all sometimes).

But as a rule of thumb I’d start at no more than 5% (so about 250g probably) of the grain bill and teak it from there. Its super easy to go overboard

 

[Forever Wort]

If you do end up with a too-sweet-to-drink brew, it is a good idea to hang onto it for a while in case you brew another beer that could benefit from the sweetness. Then you can blend in the jug and serve.

 

[Major Arcana]

I haven’t brewed extract for a long while, but figure 500g of crystal in an AG equivalent would be close to 10% of the grain bill and kind of like sucking beer through sugar. Crystal is a big bad world though and ranges from super sweet pure sugar flavour lighter crystals through to the pruny/raisiny/toasty flavours of the dark crystals, and everything in between (and not really in between at all sometimes).



But as a rule of thumb I’d start at no more than 5% (so about 250g probably) of the grain bill and teak it from there. Its super easy to go overboard

Cheers Blind Dog,

The stupid thing is at the time of making it etc I had a feeling it may have been too much. In all honesty though the beer is very drinkable it is the first sip that you realise it is a bit sweeter then any normal American Pale Ale. Ohwell 20 more 750ml long necks to go! haha.

cheers,

 

[Bribie G]

The thing about crystal malts is that they do not ferment out; their sugars are "locked into place" during kilning and are of a form that can't be used by yeast. The exact chemical processes I'll leave to somebody else to explain
So extended fermenting and maturation isn't likely to dry them out.

 

[Eagleburger]

The first time I used crystal I went over board. Sickly sweet. I kept it and used it to mellow another ale iI didn't want to wait for.

 

[Vini2ton]

500 isn't too much if you were going to balance out with a mega hop profile and high OG. Imperial stouts and such beasts as barley-wine call out for the complexities of crystals. But for a pale ale it's off tap and on tour. I archive my brews and yes, I reckon stored well, brews that I found cloying, after time do pass muster at a later date. A bit like that foul and detestable substance wine.

 

[SJW]

I rarley use crystal these days is unless its absolutly required. I tend to adjust mash temps for similar results