Light Beer

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coura

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Hi, i have just made up my third brew and was trying to make a light beer and someone told me to use half the amount of brewing sugar. I used coopers draught and 500 grams of brewing sugar and it started to bubble nicely through the airloc but after 30 hours stopped. It has been at 24 deg. constantly, any input would be great. Thanks.
 
less suger will take less time to ferment yes?

i don't think the overall time in fermenter would change drasticly though. mebbe 2 days less? i dunno i'm guessing based on the concept of fermentation completion graph would still slope at the same rate as a brew with more suger. you'd just start lower one axis.

i wouldn't change any details of your brew from that of a full strength.
 
Thanks for the input i dont think i will try that again.
 
Take SG readings over a few days to make sure it stops.
There are a lot of factors involved with fermentation.. times, temp being another and at 24deg it would have fermented out quicker than say at 18deg.

I have done beers that have taken 3 days or so then done, others taken a week or more, only way to know for sure are the SG readings, at least two in a row (one each day) the same and it's finished, if it's still a little higher than it should be then thats another story...
 
I generally leave things in primary for at least a week, usually 10 days. After another 4 to 7 days in secondary I'll bottle them. A+ clarity and no messing around with hydrometers, although I do take a final reading which for most things I make is 1.010 to 1.015.

Cheers - boingk

EDIT: Having said that, I generally use no less LDME than 500g, along with 350g or so of dextrose. Often it'll be something like 1.5kg of liquid malt instead. I brew at 16-20'C for ales, so that slows things down as well.
 
Visit your local homebrew shop.

They should have a nice baggie to add to a regular kit to make low-mid strength alcohol beer.

A good starting point would be 500 gms of dried malt extract.

Another suggestion is 250 gms of dried malt extract and 250 rams of dextrose.

Another suggestion is 250 gms of dried malt extract and 250 gms of maltodextrin.

Do not use plain sugar. Your beer will come out thin, cidery and watery. The same applies to full strength beers, avoid sugar and use better quality ingredients.

Try and get that ferment temperature down to 20, but anywhere between 18-22 is better than 24 degrees.

The advice about checking the sg with a hydrometer over two days to make sure it is stable is excellent. The same with boink's suggestion about leaving it in the fermenter a bit longer.
 
Hi, i have just made up my third brew and was trying to make a light beer and someone told me to use half the amount of brewing sugar. I used coopers draught and 500 grams of brewing sugar and it started to bubble nicely through the airloc but after 30 hours stopped. It has been at 24 deg. constantly, any input would be great. Thanks.


This may help in working out alc for a light beer ;)

http://www.liquorcraft.com.au/wa.asp?idWeb...p;idDetails=107
 
Hello

On the subject of light beer, as I sit here drinking a 8% stout (so smooth), I am going to try and brew a midstrength beer tomorrow from extract's and I am wondering were to start. I am going for a light bodied beer and don't have alot of variety from the local HBS. How much extract should I look at using and what and how much hops? I have a wide selection of hops ordered for Ross, thanks mate (even thoe we have never met). I have never done a whole extract brew but might as well start tommorrow. Any input is more that welcome.

Cheers
 
Try fooling around with THIS.

I used it prior to using BeerSmith to get a quick approximation of what I was going to get AbV-wise and in the body department.

Essentially a full-strength extract brew will use 3kg of liquid malt extract or 2.5kg of dried. This is before priming sugar is taken into account however, the usual 180g of sugar/dextrose giving another 0.3~0.4%. If you're after a mid-strength beer from extract I'd start at 1.75kg dried malt extract in 23 litres and see how that comes out its going to have a relatively light body, but probably better than commercial mid's. Hopping I'd cut down a bit to maybe 20IBU's, which using a 60min boil and 5% alpha acid hopping will give you 29g of hops required. Halve this if using high-alpha hops such as PoR. Personally I'd just go a single 10g addition of hops at 15 min in the boil for flavour, or a bit more if you like stronger hopping. Throw 5g in the fermenter for secondary, or in the last few days of fermentation if you only use primary.

Hope that works out - cheers!

- boingk
 
brewing low ABV without losing body seems to be a huge brewing challange.

does brewing a full strength brew and then diluting it work? what about arresting fermentation? how do you get body into a beer if you don't put enough suger in?

seems like more trouble than it's worth but i guess thats the point of challanges.
 
How about steeping some carapils or using a bit of wheat in the beer to increase the body?
 
Yah sponge I would love to use some grains for steeping but I need to order things like that from Perth and my fermenter is empty now. I have plans to order some stuff and store it for times like these. I have some idea of what im going to do and will let everyone know what the final product is like.

Cheers
 
I don't understand - you are TRYING to make a Light Beer????!!!?!?!?

It just doesn't make sense :p

:chug:

Yeah I mean, we're all just a bunch of raging alcoholics who only brew to get pissed, right?
 

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