A sugar question

[simjojim]

Hi,

My first post, so hello everyone.

I watched this youtube video and I am keen to do this for my next batches.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWISaKyMDg4



I have one question, do I still need to add the kilo of sugar/dextrose to the mix?

I have googled for hours on this question, I can not find the correct answer.

Cheers,
Simon

[rotten]

Welcome to the forum.
I'm not into watching 20 mins of someone else brew online, what was the recipe?
Hopefully I can help after that.
Cheers

[speedie]

old craig tube is a little boring in his approach
no you dont have to add more sugar as he mentioned
only if you want to boost the alc%
best bet for you is to learn to use a hydrometer
good luck with your new hobby
speedie

[simjojim]

Thank you,

So my take is with 1.5kg of grain with a can brew it will give me 4% or about, is that correct?

Cheers
Simon

[rotten]

I put that into a program quickly called brewmate, it's free, no affiliation etc.
At 20 ltrs, using 1 can of extract and 1.5 kg of pale malt, you would get 4.3% abv. Original Gravity of 1044, Final Gravity 1011.
Need a hydrometer for that.
Do you plan on adding any hops?
Cheers

[simjojim]

No the can has hops, I was told, please remember I am a novice
So you are saying I can put this down without any additional sugars (except the priming sugar for the bottles)
and it will be circa 4.3%? No 1KG of dextrose required?

Cheers mate

[rotten]

Essentially yes. This would be called a partial mash as you will need to mash or steep your crushed grain at a specified temp, usually 66-68c, for around 60 min. Steeping is less. Do some reading on the forum to find out more in the partial section. Trough Lolly has a great guide which has helped many starting out, especially myself. Will post link if I can find it.
Cheers.

[simjojim]

Thank you,

You have been very helpful,

Cheers
Simon

[rotten]

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7720

Have a read of that if you have time.
Should help you out a bit.
Cheers

[simjojim]

The concern was that if I added 1kg of sugar to the mix it would then be too high of an alcohol percentage.

I like to enjoy beers,

Cheers
Simon

[simjojim]

Thanks ,

Yes I did look at that at first, I couldn't determine if I needed the 1kg of sugar to my mix.

Thanks

[Oliver]

Hi Simon,

With 1.5kg of grain (and pale malt at that) you would want to do a partial mash rather than steep. Otherwise you won't extract much sugar from the grain and the alcohol content of your beer will be lower than expected.

Partial mash instructions are in the thread linked to above and are what I used when I started doing partials.

Don't be daunted though. A partial mash is actually pretty easy to do with equipment that you've probably got in the kitchen, with the possible exception of a (preferably) digital thermometer. And the results will be far better than if you'd just used malt.

And as others have alluded to, avoid adding the sugar. All it'll do is boost the alcohol content and potentially add a cidery taste. Far better to put a bit of extra malt extract in your brew if you want to boost the alcohol content (which of course you don't )

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Oliver

[speedie]

simon if you are going to do any mashing i would call it that a full mash
basically that is what craig tube is doing with a can of goo added to it
as a start into your new hobby i would suggest that you try cans of premixed and add unhopped liquid malt to it
this way you will get a feel for what is going on with your beer rather than trying to fathom full mashing at this early stage
i used to buy 20 liter pails of coopers malt add what ever hop and yeast combination and learn from that
it is a giveme that you are going to need a good thermometer and hydrometer to get started
dont be put off by these items as they are essential
cheers speedie

[Oliver]

Possibly good advice from Speedie (if I understand him correctly ), that you try and understand the effect that different malt extracts, hops and yeast (and small amounts of steeped grain) have on the flavour of beer before starting to branch out into partial and full mashing. There are lots of things to think about and lots of variables when you start to mash so understanding some of the basics first may be useful.

But once you've got a good handle on things, get into partials and full mashing!

Cheers,

Oliver

[simjojim]

Thanks for your replies,

I am going to do a batch just like ol' craigtube in his video.

My brew will be 1 can Morgans Queenslanders Bitter
1kg Joe White traditional ale
1/2 kilo Joe White crystal malt

No additional sugar except the priming.

I will post the result here after I crack the first one,

Cheers.

[speedie]

i think that your amount of crystal is way over the top
as arule of thumb 20% of the main grain bill is more an sufficent
i would usual aim at around 5% for what i do
cheers speedie

[squirt in the turns]

I'd have to agree with speedie here - that quantity of crystal malt will probably make your beer cloyingly sweet and probably impart too much caramel or toffee flavour. Very little (if any) of the sugars you extract from it will be fermentable - the crystal just adds body, flavour, sweetness and colour.

You might be able to get away with that proportion of crystal if you were adding additional bittering hops to counteract the sweetness, but as you're relying on the can for bitterness, my advice would be to drop the crystal entirely and just go with 1.5 kg of pale malt.

[Oliver]

+1 to speedie's and squirt's comments about the 500g of crystal being OTT.

Depending on how bitter the Morgans Bitter is, you might be OK with a smaller quantity, like 100g. But, to squirt's point, even then you may end up with a beer that's a little too sweet. Depends on your taste though I suppose.

I'd be tempted to just go with the ale malt. If you think a bit of crystal would help it, you can always make it again. Better a beer be on the dry side than the sweet, methinks.

Cheers,

Oliver

[speedie]

old craig tube is leading someone down the garden path
hope that the advise fom t he forum helps you produce a beer that you are proud of

[simjojim]

Thanks for your replies,

I am going to do a batch just like ol' craigtube in his video.

My brew will be 1 can Morgans Queenslanders Bitter
1kg Joe White traditional ale
1/2 kilo Joe White crystal malt

No additional sugar except the priming.

I will post the result here after I crack the first one,

Cheers.

Well I lied to you all, I am posting the result after 15, not the first one as promised. (15 over a few days, not one session, just to clear that up)

That said, out of approx 6 or 7 kit brews I have made, this blows them off the park.
As for it being too sweet, it's just fine and as a matter of fact all my previous kit brews don't come close to this.
I'd love to know what one of you pro's think, I would be happy to post anyone a bottle for a taste review, I'm using 600ml plastic bottles so
you will be able to see if there is a bomb inside. LOL My email is simjojim@gmail.com if you care to send a postal address, PO Box etc.

This was the final recipe,
1 can Morgans Queenslanders Bitter
1kg Joe White traditional ale
1/2 kilo Joe White crystal malt
12g cascade hops
500g dextrose

Cheers


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