low alc beer

[bigbear2206]

hey has anyone ever tried making a light from just the wort (coopers can) and no sugar to get a low (or) no alcohol beer?........low alc beer?!!!! .......is bear mad ?!!!, I here you say? Maybe, but I make a low alcohol beer for when anyone drops round and says "NO Thanks, gotta drive!". Low alc beers I have made before have had only 250mg sugar but I am wondering if no sugar would work as well. I've jumped the gun and have already put my idea to practice and from looking at it, it is bubbling. Is there enough sugar in the wort to get a brew out of it?

[Pale_Ale]

Use the brewcraft calculator to get your desired percent level...ideally you want to put in as much malt as you are happy to have converted into alcohol.

Using just the tin would probably be a bit short on body and flavour (well, it is light beer). Maybe reduce the volume a bit. The calculator will tell all.

[rwh]

Including the sugar for priming (0.2% abv) just the kit comes out to 3.1%. If I was you I'd steep some specialty grains like crystal and/or carapils to add to the body, as this will add negligible additional alcohol. Something like this would be pretty good, I reckon:

1 Coopers Pale Ale can
300g Light (60L) Crystal Malt, cracked, steeped.
150g Carapils, cracked, steeped.

15g Goldings @ 10 minutes.
10g Goldings @ flameout.

The 450g of grain in that recipe adds 0.2% abv.

See: http://www.brewcraft.com.au/wa.asp?idWe ... etails=172

[KEG]

in theory, using a kit can by itself instead of a kit can and kilo of dextrose should taste the same minus some alcohol anyway.. not that a kit and kilo of dex tastes that great though hehe.

[timmy]

Yes, but the problem is that the alcyhol adds mouthfeel too. That's something that commercial brewers have to contend with when they make their lights. I think there was something about that on Sander's show a while back.

[nanna Gail]

Hello again, like bigbear I am hoping to make a taste/feel good low (no) alcohol beer. My thoughts are Coopers Draught kit and no dex but adding 250gram of light malt powder. Any thoughts on what I will end up with

[blandy]

Hi all,

yep, light beers have their merits, namely that you can drink more of them, or you don't have to get as drunk.

I figure if there's a kit you're happy brewing as just kit + kilo of dextrose, then that's the one to use. RWH's idea of steeping some specialty grains sounds great for improving taste/mouthfeel without adding alcohol. IMHO dextrose is a waste of money for homebrew beer. It's either malt or nothing.

[Trough Lolly]

Hello again, like bigbear I am hoping to make a taste/feel good low (no) alcohol beer. My thoughts are Coopers Draught kit and no dex but adding 250gram of light malt powder. Any thoughts on what I will end up with

G'day nanna,
250g of Light DME will add slightly more fermentable sugars to the brew, per gram, compared to carapils and crystal malt. But the DME will add less sugars, per gram, to the brew compared to highly refined dextrose - which is why dextrose is often used to carbonate beers - it's highly fermentable and leaves very little behind in the beer. The other benefit of choosing DME over dextrose is the malty flavour contribution it makes, compared to dextrose. Approximate yields (assuming 85% extraction efficiency in gravity points per pound per gallon) are as follows:

//beer geek mode starts!!//
Light Dry Malt Extract: 40
Light Liquid Malt Extract: 36
Carapils: 40 (but note that most of it is dextrinous and won't ferment out - just like maltodextrin which is the same stuff only in a powder)
Light Crystal: 30
(Source: John Palmer's How to Brew)
For example, 5 pounds of Light DME added to 5 gallons of water will result in a wort with a gravity of 1.040. 5 pounds of Light LME to 5 gallons of water will yield a 1.036 wort and so on...
To convert to metric, multiply the yield by 8.3454. So DME yields 333.81 points per kilo per litre.
And therefore, 3 kilos of DME in 23L of water will make wort with an OG of (333.81*3)/23 = 1.044.
3 kilos of LME in 23L of water will make wort with an OG of (300.43*3)/23 = 1.039 (It's less efficient per kilo, compared to DME due to its water content).
And, in your case, adding 250g of light DME to a 23L batch will contribute (333.81/4)/23 = 1.0036 to the wort whereas 250g of light Crystal added to a 23L batch will add (250.4/4)/23 = 1.0027 to the wort! Not a huge difference in that regard, but each will contribute differently to the flavour profile of the finished product.
//beer geek mode ends!!//

Rwh's recipe is a good compromise - low in alcohol but the crystal adds some malty sweetness without excessively upping the alcohol contribution as well as giving body to the beer and the carapils is a dextrinous malt that will add further to the beer's body and aid head formation and retention.
Cheers,
TL

[nanna Gail]

Wow, Trough Lolly, what can I say. You have suceeded in turning an easy question into rocket science. LOL I will put this on the back burner for today, read a little more, then probably do what I almost always do - 1 x Coopers Draught Kit add 1 kg dex and 250gr light malt powder and then not let the man drive after drinking.

[Trough Lolly]

No probs!

Cheers,
TL