by Bizier » Wednesday Mar 11, 2009 7:52 am
OK, maybe 4kg is a bit much,
But in a 23L batch another kilo of LDME + 500g of plain cane sugar will get you to about 1.056, and roughly 5.4%abv.
I think you should be fine to add it late if you boil it up with enough water to make a pasterurised syrup and chill that with the lid on. Depending on your method, the low starting gravity might have actually had a positive effect on your yeast.
If you have no sweetness before fermentation, imagine what it is going to taste like when it ferments out...
When my mate did his, he gave me a bunch of bottles and I couldn't drink them alone. We poured them into a jug with honey, lemon, mint and ice, and drank that. He did 100% cane sugar and ginger... I'd say it even finished below 1.000 and was dry and hot.
ED: You will only bring the finishing gravity "down" by using cane sugar, because it basically makes ethanol, which is lighter than water. If you are using LDME or other malts, you are bringing the finishing gravity "up" because there is unfermentable components that are heavier then water. So more malt should equal a sweeter finish.