Sugar Limits In Primary Fermentation
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chris.taylor.98
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Hi Sepul,
Firstly don't get too tied up too quickly on trying to perfect your brewing process.
Most of us started off where you are, and I think its good to try and not make it too complicated too early on.
As others have mentioned the simple act of replacing sugar additions with malt extract for the can kit will result in a much better beer.
Also malt (DME) is mostly fermentable, but also contains some many important elements required for healthy yeast production (such as FAN etc) that is missing in the more simple sugars. The malt also leaves some body behind which usually results in a more fuller and richer tasting beer ( as opposed to the watery thin taste you get with straight sugar ).
Unfortunately you don't really have any idea what has been put in the can kit (and they are doing it to make a profit, ie cheaper ingredients), and what sort of quality it is, so you need to assume its not going to be top notch. Hence the malt addition is a good start as at least you know it will improve the standard of the overall beer.
The next step is to start adding some hop additions, and from there dropping the can kits all together and making your own recipes. Some people never get this far and are still more than satisfied with the beer they produce.
Of course if you get hooked, you will eventually have to cross over to the dark side of all grain brewing
... but that is another story.
So start with the malt extract, then move onto some extra hops, then when you start understanding (and have experienced) a bit more what is going on start moving to do your own thing and ditch the can kits.
Also a great way to explore craft brewing further is to get involved in homebrew club and of course keep posting on AHB.
Firstly don't get too tied up too quickly on trying to perfect your brewing process.
Most of us started off where you are, and I think its good to try and not make it too complicated too early on.
As others have mentioned the simple act of replacing sugar additions with malt extract for the can kit will result in a much better beer.
Also malt (DME) is mostly fermentable, but also contains some many important elements required for healthy yeast production (such as FAN etc) that is missing in the more simple sugars. The malt also leaves some body behind which usually results in a more fuller and richer tasting beer ( as opposed to the watery thin taste you get with straight sugar ).
Unfortunately you don't really have any idea what has been put in the can kit (and they are doing it to make a profit, ie cheaper ingredients), and what sort of quality it is, so you need to assume its not going to be top notch. Hence the malt addition is a good start as at least you know it will improve the standard of the overall beer.
The next step is to start adding some hop additions, and from there dropping the can kits all together and making your own recipes. Some people never get this far and are still more than satisfied with the beer they produce.
Of course if you get hooked, you will eventually have to cross over to the dark side of all grain brewing
... but that is another story.So start with the malt extract, then move onto some extra hops, then when you start understanding (and have experienced) a bit more what is going on start moving to do your own thing and ditch the can kits.
Also a great way to explore craft brewing further is to get involved in homebrew club and of course keep posting on AHB.
justsomeguy
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Sepul,
You can actually add heaps of suger and get it to ferment. Whether it tastes any good is another matter as others have already indicated. The most I've added was 6kg. Used nearly 200gms of yeast on it as well. Smelt bloody awful, like a real cheap bottle of wine. I did actually taste the stuff as well. Very hot. Ok, I did have a reason for using so much suger. I ran it all through a, umm, let's call it a 'cleaning apparatus', shall we
After 'cleaning' the residual stuff was a foul smelling liquid. Totally discusting.
If you want to use sugar when brewing I say 'go for it'. Its your beer so do what you like with it. If it doesn't taste the way you want just chuck it out and chalk it up to a lesson learned.
gary
You can actually add heaps of suger and get it to ferment. Whether it tastes any good is another matter as others have already indicated. The most I've added was 6kg. Used nearly 200gms of yeast on it as well. Smelt bloody awful, like a real cheap bottle of wine. I did actually taste the stuff as well. Very hot. Ok, I did have a reason for using so much suger. I ran it all through a, umm, let's call it a 'cleaning apparatus', shall we
After 'cleaning' the residual stuff was a foul smelling liquid. Totally discusting.
If you want to use sugar when brewing I say 'go for it'. Its your beer so do what you like with it. If it doesn't taste the way you want just chuck it out and chalk it up to a lesson learned.
gary
RobboMC
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People should remember when they first started. When I went to buy my first kit I chose a Coopers Pale Ale. My charming wife saw on the shelves that there were TWO different Brew Enhancers and pointed out I should read the can to find out which one to get. My knees started shaking, Sh*t, I didn't know this brewing game was going to be so difficult!
Some of my ideas - Yes it does matter which brand of kit you buy. Coopers are well liked. Morgans are pretty good too. One UK company advertises on their can that they contain NO BARLEY SUGAR, ie made from 100% malt and hops. The brand is Muntons, and in my opinion the extra money is worth it. They are not cheap, but make great beer.
I guess you've got the message about sucrose, but I spent a week this summer drinking a friends bitter, made with just a Coopers bitter kit and a kg one sucrose. On a hot day it went down just fine, but's it's not GREAT beer, just beer.
My latest batch is kit and FOUR kg, a kg of DME, a KG of light liquid extract, a KG of flavoured extract and a KG of steeped crystal grain. This sort of thing ferments out with the kit yeast no worries, to about 6.5% alcohol. Thta's probably a good limit for starters, but you need lots of hops to balance the sweet malt.
For starters stick to about one KG of malt extract with a kit as a maximum. More than that and you need up to 50g of hops for extra hop bitterness, which isn't difficult, just a 30-40 minute boil with SOME of the malt extract. One of my favourite early brews is a can of pale ale, one kg of dry malt and 3/4 kg of brew enhancer. The brew enhancers are mostly dextrose, with some maltodextrin and malt added. Use the left over enhancer for priming. Makes a nice beer, and is about the limit before you need to start boiling in more hop bitterness. Dry malt often needs to be dissloved in boiling water.
Some of my ideas - Yes it does matter which brand of kit you buy. Coopers are well liked. Morgans are pretty good too. One UK company advertises on their can that they contain NO BARLEY SUGAR, ie made from 100% malt and hops. The brand is Muntons, and in my opinion the extra money is worth it. They are not cheap, but make great beer.
I guess you've got the message about sucrose, but I spent a week this summer drinking a friends bitter, made with just a Coopers bitter kit and a kg one sucrose. On a hot day it went down just fine, but's it's not GREAT beer, just beer.
My latest batch is kit and FOUR kg, a kg of DME, a KG of light liquid extract, a KG of flavoured extract and a KG of steeped crystal grain. This sort of thing ferments out with the kit yeast no worries, to about 6.5% alcohol. Thta's probably a good limit for starters, but you need lots of hops to balance the sweet malt.
For starters stick to about one KG of malt extract with a kit as a maximum. More than that and you need up to 50g of hops for extra hop bitterness, which isn't difficult, just a 30-40 minute boil with SOME of the malt extract. One of my favourite early brews is a can of pale ale, one kg of dry malt and 3/4 kg of brew enhancer. The brew enhancers are mostly dextrose, with some maltodextrin and malt added. Use the left over enhancer for priming. Makes a nice beer, and is about the limit before you need to start boiling in more hop bitterness. Dry malt often needs to be dissloved in boiling water.
