Too much Corn sugar

[Stoneciphes]

Ok so here is the story. I bought Brewers Best Belgian Golden Ale. I decided to let a buddy of mine help me so he could get interested in brewing too. After cleaning and bringing the pot to a boil it was time for the DME. I put in 3 lbs of DME and asked if he would add the second 3lb bag of DME while I grabbed the hops and timer. He asks "What’s DME?". (Dry Malted Extract) It is in the plastic bag full of powder like the one I just dumped in. I should have been watching because he grabbed my 4lb bag of corn sugar and in it all went. (I didn't know this at the time). I added hops and when it got time to add in the second bag of hops and candy sugar I noticed the bag of DME was still in the box. I added in the DME. After figuring out that he added in my corn sugar I held out the 2 lbs of Belgian candi sugar and the 1 lb of candi sugar that was in the kit. Hops were added at the following times, 5 oz. Brewer’s Gold hops 60 min, 1 oz. GR Hallertau hops 30 min, 1 oz. GR Hallertau hops at 10 min then flame out and ice bath.

So for fermentables there is 6lbs of DME, 4lbs Corn Sugar, and the 5 gallon OG was 1.110!. I diluted with 1 gallon of water bringing it up to 6 gal to get it down to OG 1.070. I then siphoned off 1 gallon after mixing (into another sterile bucket) so I now have a solution (wort) that is 5 gal in my 6.5 gal fermenter at 1.070 OG.

I gave this a 2 liter yeast starter and it is bubbling away today

My question is did I save this brew or have I ruined it forever? Is there anything else I can do to try and save it? What is it likely to taste like? Should I dump it? $50 is alot for me to just dump

 

[TopherM]

Definitely don't dump it. You are going to make beer, it just won't end up exactly to the recipe.

The net result is you added 4 lbs of corn sugar, but you also added 1 gallon of extra water. The beer's going to be slightly drier due to the corn sugar, and have less malt character and hop character due to the extra water dilluting the malt presense.

In the end, it is going to be a less malty version of the beer you were intending. You've done most of the work. I'd NEVER dump anything without finishing out the process and seeing how the beer turns out. Don't assume it's going to turn out bad, make for sure

After you finish it out, even if it is close to drinkable, report back with the issues and there is usually a fix. Beer is resiliant!

Good luck!

 

[m3n00b]

Sounds interesting! Might be a little cidery.

 

[solbes]

Agree on not dumping it. With 4 lbs of corn sugar this is going to be pretty dry. You could add in some malto dextrin powder (4-6 oz) to give it more mouthfeel if desired. Add this to the priming sugar that you boil prior to adding to bottling bucket. But it might not be mecessary.

 

[Cap'n Jewbeard]

Adding to the "keep it and taste it" vote. Without the kit's candi-sugar, it will maybe have some color differences, but at the end of the day I think you'll have a beer that is, compared to what you were going for, lighter in color, lighter in body, about the same in ABV, and still pretty interesting.

 

[billl]

6lbs dme = 44x6 = 264
4lbs sugar = 46x4=184

gravity = (264+184)/5 = 90, so your actual gravity was 1.090 at 5 gallons. Your gravity at 6 gallons should be 90*6/5 = 75 (minus whatever you lost to hops and transfers)


Anyway, none of that really matters. The brew is bubbling away, so the only thing left to do is wait. The only thing I would do is keep the temp on the low end of how you would normally ferment at to limit the harsh alcohol notes. It also might need to be aged a bit.

If it doesn't finish how you hoped, you could add some flavors to a secondary to try to salvage it. eg citrus zest, fresh ginger, corriander. Those obviously won't save a horrible brew, but they could take something marginal and turn it into drinkable.

 

[Stoneciphes]

Cheers. Thanks all. Was I right to withhold the candi sugar? I will keep an update going. This was to be one of my last extract kits. I got 2 more shelved then it is all grain for me. Turning a $50 beer into something cheaper sounds like a fun idea. Has anyone else noticed that NB sells their ingredients lower than the cost of thier kits? Well I guess ill just sit back and relax for the next 3 weeks ipe:

 

[Stoneciphes]

I have a 52 quart pot so I did a 4 gallon boil instead of a 2.5 gallon boil to better use the hops if that helps anyone know what I might get from this batch. Also that 1 gallon I took out is in a clean 2 gallon fermenter. So if there are any ideas on things to try I do have that test pot.

 

[billl]

"Was I right to withhold the candi sugar?"

Yes.

"Turning a $50 beer into something cheaper sounds like a fun idea."

Best of luck. Somehow, there always seems to be some new brewing toy to buy. It takes a bit of discipline to keep the costs down.

 

[solbes]

Yes, it is usually a few dollars cheaper to buy ingredients ala carte vs kit. Not just NB, but also with Midwest.

When you go all grain, you can save a lot of money by buying 50lb sacks of base malt (2 row, Maris Otter, Pilsner). But then you are a long ways from kits and will need to order all the other ingredients by themselves. And naturally you will start tweak or come up with your own recipes.

 

[PseudoChef]

Meh, watch those fermentations temps and you'll be good to go. You basically just added an extra pound of sugar from what the recipe called for (4 lbs corn sugar vs. 3 lbs candi sugar) - but then watered it down back into the gravity you're looking for - you'll be fine.

Concerning a lighter colored Belgian like you're working with, corn sugar and candi sugar are practically interchangable.

You want this beer to be dry. Getting your FG under 1.010 is the key.

I brewed a BGSA a while back that simply had Pilsner malt and 3 lbs of table sugar.

Sounds interesting! Might be a little cidery.

 

[Stoneciphes]

Sweet, I just bought this kit because it was the freshest one they had at my LHBS. I have no idea what this is supposed to taste like as I am still trying to find "my beer". I am on my quest to brew something I can keep on tap!


Any ideas on what I can do with my 1 gallon batch of beer? I would love to try a fun extract. Anyone have a good idea?

 

[PseudoChef]

Haha, having an 8.5% beer on tap isn't the best idea! I just carbed mine up and it's on now - hoping to get around to bottle it eventually, but it's so easy to pull a sip here and there. My gf loves it, too - but really dangerous for both of us!

I did a Belgian Blonde recently that basically is the same thing: some Pils and sugar with the same yeast, just a much lower abv. We'll see in a bit if it compares.

 

[Stoneciphes]

an update... The beer is off and running. It fermented for a solid 14 days of bubbling the air lock and now the yeast are starting to fall back in. after a few days I plan of taking this to a secondary. The smell of ripe bananas is overwhelming! So far looks like the beer gods have smiled on this one.

 

[Stoneciphes]

Out of the secondary into the keg. Banana smell is gone. Smells like beer. Looks like beer, but taste is a bit light. We shall see how it does in a few days sitting in the keg. Not much of a mouth feel.