Sugars For Kits?

[shaunbrew]

gday fellas, just curios i brought a coopers draught kit , it says on instructions to add a kilo of sugar, does it make a diference using difrent sugar? like dextrose or normal sugar........ cheers shaun :icon_drool2:

 

[bretto-1]

ive always used dextrose

 

[googe]

I did a coopers draught about a month ago with 50/50 light malt extract/dextros and its very yummy.

Cheers Greg

 

[shaunbrew]

I did a coopers draught about a month ago with 50/50 light malt extract/dextros and its very yummy.

Cheers Greg

hey greg by 50/50 u mean half light malt and half dextrose. sounds like a good combo for me first brew i also brought some finings, any idea if it works?? cheers shaun

 

[Milky11111]

Most kits instruct not to use white sugar as it leaves a "cidery" taste, but to use raw sugar, dextrose, malt(ose) and so on because it ferments completely (if not very near completely.) Depending on the sugars you use you will get different flavours, some recipes calls for blends of sugars. Experiment with different blends, see what you like.

Goodluck with your brew. :icon_cheers:

Edit: As for your finings, I use them personally, just add it when your at or very close to your FG. If it doesn't get your beer as clear as you would like you can try extending your settling period.

 

[shaunbrew]

Most kits instruct not to use white sugar as it leaves a "cidery" taste, but to use raw sugar, dextrose, malt(ose) and so on because it ferments completely (if not very near completely.) Depending on the sugars you use you will get different flavours, some recipes calls for blends of sugars. Experiment with different blends, see what you like.

Goodluck with your brew. :icon_cheers:

Edit: As for your finings, I use them personally, just add it when your at or very close to your FG. If it doesn't get your beer as clear as you would like you can try extending your settling period.

thanks milky :icon_cheers: good advice is there any way that i can achive a greater alcohol content??? like an 8 or 9% ?? thanks again
shaun

 

[Punkal]

Yeast convert sugar into alcohol and CO2 so adding more sugar will give you more alcohol but if you go overboard it will not be nice to drink.... If you want a strong brew and your using a kit add 2kg of LDME (light dry mult extract) just boil it in around 3 or so L of water for 10-20 mins or so, also when you are doing that you could add a few grams of hops into the mix this is probably needed because the extra sugars will make the beer sweet and the bitterness added will balance the beet better.

 

[mjp]

Yeast convert sugar into alcohol and CO2 so adding more sugar will give you more alcohol but if you go overboard it will not be nice to drink.... If you want a strong brew and your using a kit add 2kg of LDME (light dry mult extract) just boil it in around 3 or so L of water for 10-20 mins or so, also when you are doing that you could add a few grams of hops into the mix this is probably needed because the extra sugars will make the beer sweet and the bitterness added will balance the beet better.

A kit yeast probably wont handle the gravity of something like this, so give some thought to a yeast that can handle that much ABV.

 

[yum beer]

throw a box of brew enhancer 2 in extra for more alcohol, and I would use an extra pack of finnings at the end to clear any unused sugar from the kit yeast...unless you throw an extra yeast in at the start...then wait at least six weeks to drink.

 

[Armstrong]

is there any way that i can achive a greater alcohol content??? like an 8 or 9% ??

Firstly, I would ask, why??

Are you drinking because you like the taste of beer, or just want to get smashed?

 

[Punkal]

mjp, thanks i forgot to mention thats...

Armstrong, some people come to home brew for that very reason or very similar reasons but for whatever reason people come to home brew they usually start down the road of making more traditional home brew and striving to improving there beers, until that time let them make extra strong mega swill.

 

[Jake.v]

as my brother said who is a uni student "we dont really care how it tastes but we want it cheap and we want it VERY strong"

 

[Nick JD]

thanks milky :icon_cheers: good advice is there any way that i can achive a greater alcohol content??? like an 8 or 9% ?? thanks again
shaun

Add 3kg of plain sugar.

It'll taste like shit, but by asking this question you've shown that taste isn't your objective.

Enjoy the hangover. :icon_vomit:

 

[Bribie G]

To get a bit testicle technical, beer yeast love to ferment beer wort. An all - malt wort contains mostly Maltose with some dextrose and other smaller quantities such as maltotriose etc. The problem with cane sugar is that it is Sucrose and is a pair of molecules that the yeast 'crack' to produce a molecule of dextrose and a molecule of fructose. Maltose on the other hand consists of two molecules of dextrose.
The fructose really isn't a natural thing for the beer yeast but it can ferment it as most yeasts in nature are actually found on or in fruit, so it does have that ability. So personally I'd go for the dextrose (also known as glucose).

However if you spoon feed the yeast too much dextrose they will get lazy and leave the maltose till last, and the fermentation ends up a bit different to using all-malt, and this is AFAIK where many of the off flavours and twangs come from if you are doing total ridiculous overkill with one or two or more kilos of sugaz in the brew.

Basically nothing too wrong with putting a percentage of sugar or dex in a brew - I often put 300g into a full-mash brew if it's to style - such as an Aussie Lager or historical UK bitter. However less is usually best. For a kit I'd certainly recommend something like Brew Enhancer 2 or the LHBs mix - dextrose, light dried malt extract and maltodextrin.

Edit: maltose is produced commercially in the form of a syrup and if you are anywhere near a Chinatown you can get 500ml of this stuff for about $2 - in a light lager or ale the yeast love it and it gives a nice light finish without twang.
For a kit I'd use one of these, 500 of LDME and forget the maltodextrin.

 

[QldKev]

Firstly, I would ask, why??

Are you drinking because you like the taste of beer, or just want to get smashed?

As Armstrong has asked. What do you want from the beer?

Just to get smashed, then just throw into your kit heaps (2 or 3kg) of white sugar and you will get high alcohol. Might as well as ferment at 30c while you are at it; it will taste like sh!t, but will be high alcohol.

If it is because you like the taste of beer, you will not easily make a 8% beer from a kit that wil taste nice. If you target 5% then use some decent sugar/malt additives and you will get a good beer. Have a look at BE1 (brew enhancer 1) and BE2. Also mixes of Dried Malt Extract. If you add a lot of Malt, you need to balance that sweetness with hops (bitterness). Homebrew shops also have brew booster pack, which have a mix of dextrose, maltose, sucrose, other things ending in ose, hops, and malt to suit a given style of beer; often these are a good way to start making decent beer.

If you want a higher alcohol kit that is ok for taste, try something like 2 kits, and 1kilo dextrose. Have a search on here for '2can' and 'toucan'. Of the top of my head try something like a:
2 x Coopers Draught
1 kg LDME
12g Cascade finishing hops
US-05 yeast
Ferment at 18c

QldKev

 

[J Grimmer]

+1 one to what Qld Kev said, i would suggest that maybe look at brewing a beer that is too your tastes as opposed to high alc due to the fact if it tastes like shit are you going to drink it? plus the hangovers on it are a killer. I have found that i regularly do a pale ale based 2 cans of coopers pale ale plus some bits and it tastes good and is about 5.5%.

If you are going to high alc beer just watch out for the escaping krausen its biatch to clean!

Cheers Jan

 

[shaunbrew]

gday all thanks to those that ave positive feedback :icon_cheers:
i have left my brew as normal and is fermenting as we speak
i was asking because my favourite drink at the moment is a tooheys extra dry platinum, which is 8 % i think and would love to brew something similar, any ideas???? regards
shaun

:icon_cheers:

 

[woodwormm]

View attachment 44685

interesting...

i buy my malted milk drink powder (horlicks) at the asian grocer cos it's a couple bucks cheaper than the supermarket.. since seeing a liquid malt at woolies i thought i'd look at the asian grocer for this too... you've answered my question.

can i be dodgy and use 3 of these as the my liquid malt to add to my can of goo?

 

[Nick JD]

can i be dodgy and use 3 of these as the my liquid malt to add to my can of goo?

That's a good idea. Tell us how it went.

I'm going to make a full extract batch using 5 of these ($10, 2.5kg) and 500g of dextrose, and bucketloads of yankie hops to about 35IBUs just to see what it tastes like.

The ingredients on the pack say, "Rice, Water, Malt" so either that's some Chinglish or there's actually some barley-derived malt in there? Dunno, but I reckon an all rice malt beer would be nice with lots of citrusy hops.

If you can throw away one of those containers without tasting the goop you're a better man than I. It's freakin delicious stuff. Probably all that Melamine.

 

[rcfancystep]

I did a coopers draught about a month ago with 50/50 light malt extract/dextros and its very yummy.

Cheers Greg

Hey Greg try 500g dried malt extract, 250g dried wheat malt, 250g dextrose add malt in cold water then boil gently until a scum forms scoop the scum off should be clear underneath add to fermenter with your kit and dextrose. Using the two malts and dextrose will put a head on your beer you will not believe