Sugar

[dashleyjackson]

Hi go easy I'm new here,

Got a silly question to ask that I can not find the answer to anywhere. I just bought my first brew kit and bought some brewing sugar, now the box states that 1kg of sugar equates to approx 4.5% alchol.

My first question is, if I add 2kg will it now be 9% and if I added 3Kg would it be 13.5% and so on?

My second question is If the answer is yes how much sugar can you put in, for exaple can I make a beer with 20% alchol?

 

[wambesi]

Hi go easy I'm new here,

Got a silly question to ask that I can not find the answer to anywhere. I just bought my first brew kit and bought some brewing sugar, now the box states that 1kg of sugar equates to approx 4.5% alchol.

My first question is, if I add 2kg will it now be 9% and if I added 3Kg would it be 13.5% and so on?

My second question is If the answer is yes how much sugar can you put in, for exaple can I make a beer with 20% alchol?

Hi Dash,

Not a silly question at all, only silly if you didn't ask it. You will find the 4.5% will also include the kit (malt extract) as well, so adding that extra kilo of sugar will not give you an extra 4.5%.
It also depends on your fermentation, if the little yeasties do their job the best they can or whether they pack it in and decide to drop short of the target - and this can happen due to many different things like temps etc.

The maximum percent of alc will depend on your yeast strain and what it is tolerant up to.
Most average yeasts will get you up to about 8% or so but won't normally go much higher as they can't withstand the alc.
Other strains can get you higher as can champaign yeast.

Also asking this question on here will get reponses such as ditch the sugar and use malt extract instead, but I'll leave that for another thread.... (or read up on the other threads and stickies)
Hurry up and get that brew on!!! and then the next and next and....

 

[Bribie G]

Yes, a kit and a kilo of sugar should produce a beer about the strength of Carlton Draught or Toohey's New. However using the sugar (sucrose) can give the beer a thin or 'cidery' flavour. The yeast needs to pre-digest the sugar before it can start converting it to alcohol and this can result in the off flavours.

For next brew, as a slight improvement, consider using a kilo of 'brew enhancer' instead of the sugar, for example Coopers brew enhancer 2.
It contains

• dextrose (glucose) that the yeast can utilize directly without giving any off flavours
• maltodextrin, gives a smoother flavour and gives better foaming and head retention
• light dried malt extract which gives more grain or malt flavour.

It's not an ideal mixture, just a bit of an improvement on your journey to making great beers
Having said that, if your desire is to make a beer similar to the beers you drink at the pub or get from the bottle shop, the use of a kit and brew enhancer will certainly get you closer than just using a kilo of sugar.

 

[sinkas]

My rule of thumb is 1 kg sugar per litre water,
"its harsh on the drawback but has a kick like an old mule"

 

[flattop]

Sinkas???
What do you mean? 1kilo of sugar for a liter of water is 23kilos of sugar!

 

[razE]

My rule of thumb is 1 kg sugar per litre water,
"its harsh on the drawback but has a kick like an old mule"

Lol!

+1 BribeyG. Ditch the sugar and use maltodextring and dried malt extract

 

[The Big Burper]

My rule of thumb is 1 kg sugar per litre water,
"its harsh on the drawback but has a kick like an old mule"

Tastes like an old mule too!

 

[Bribie G]

Tastes like an old mule too!

:icon_offtopic: Ate many an old mule in UK Indian Restaurants:

• Chicken Vindaloo
• Pork Vindaloo
• Lamb Vindaloo
• Beef Vindaloo
• Meat Vindaloo

Meat? yup you guessed it. That's what happened to the Irish thorougbreds that didn't run quick enough

PS I'll be in the Valley Sat. and will get you a jar of the good stuff from Geeta Traders. Running out myself.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Ummm...errr

Adding more sugar will "give you more ALc % " to a point

Its the common Kit thing " I will just add another kilo of sugar to make a kick ass beer"

Which translates to " I will just add another kilo of suagar to make an undrinkable beer"

 

[mouapp12]

pretty much everyone ive talked to asks this question first off, however bad it will look maybe there should be a sticky or something about it in k&k


this will give you a rough ida of what your alcohol content will be link


but really if your just starting off you might be better off sticking with the one kilo, then playing around ive only done 10 batches now and all three of my "interesting ida" batches got poured in the garden, also you'd be surprised how fast you can drink beer when its like a dollar a liter

 

[quantocks]

I just made a toucan of Coopers Lager/Coopers Canadian Blonde as a bit of experiment and wanting to get rid of the crap I had here, I threw in a bag of 1KG Dextrose for good measure.

It came out at roughly 8.9%, still not game to try one but I will this weekend.

 

[Bribie G]

I just made a toucan of Coopers Lager/Coopers Canadian Blonde as a bit of experiment and wanting to get rid of the crap I had here, I threw in a bag of 1KG Dextrose for good measure.

It came out at roughly 8.9%, still not game to try one but I will this weekend.

Yo bro
Make sure you drink it out of a forty ounce bottle then do hi fives with yo homies

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=BIRlj9DFYRk&...feature=related

 

[Nick JD]

this will give you a rough ida of what your alcohol content will be link

That brewing calculator is great. It really shows just how thorough the conversion of dextrose is compared to malt. 500g of dextrose adds 1.0% alcohol with 23L, whereas 500g dried malt only adds 0.8%, and 500g liquid malt adds 0.7%.

Once I've got enough body in the beer, dextrose is fantastic for bumping it up to 5%ish. I find the alcohol is a very neglected chunk of the flavour profile!

For a trial I used it for the OP's original question. A normal 1.7kg K&K with 1kg dextrose is 5.3% @ a watery 1.007. Sounds a tad high.

2kg dextrose = 7.7%
3kg dextrose = 10.1% ... sweet-tasting and your yeast will probably be dead and your beer might not get fizzy during secondary.