How to add sugar to the boil

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Doreblade
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How to add sugar to the boil

Post by Doreblade » Tue Mar 16, 2021 9:33 pm

Evening all! Preparing for just my 5th AG brew and recipe calls for 200g sugar. Realise this doesn't go in the mash but in the boil so what's the best way to add this sugar to the wort during the boil?

I'm using a GF30 with a bruzilla false bottom and that might complicate things so advice would be great.

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Eric
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Re: How to add sugar to the boil

Post by Eric » Tue Mar 16, 2021 10:49 pm

As this is your first brew with sugar, just add it when convenient in the later part of the boil, maybe 15 minutes or a little more before the end. If you can, take some of the boiling wort in which to dissolve the sugar to quickly return to the boil. 200g of sugar will quickly dissolve in 200ml of hot wort.

Afterwards, read up on brewing with sugars; cane, beet, sucrose, invert, glucose, dextrose, fructose maltose, lactose, dextrins and any others your leads might take you. Sugars were once an important ingredient in beer, not so much now as good brewing malt is cheaper than good brewing sugar.
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How to add sugar to the boil

Post by f00b4r » Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:24 am

Follow Eric’s advise on dissolving it with some wort near the end of the boil and then adding it in, the Grainfather has a concealed element and is not low density so will likely burn the sugar otherwise. You might get away with just chucking it in with some other systems but it is not the best approach, especially for your particular system.

Doreblade
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Re: How to add sugar to the boil

Post by Doreblade » Wed Mar 17, 2021 10:22 am

Thank you both - just what I was looking for. I was concerned about it being difficult to stir in with the false bottom and now I have a way to introduce it more easily .

I'll read more into sugars too. So many little details that can help to make a goood beer great in this brewing lark - suits me down to the ground!

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Binkie Huckaback
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Re: How to add sugar to the boil

Post by Binkie Huckaback » Wed Mar 17, 2021 1:56 pm

I'd forgotten about disolving sugars first. It's rare I add anything, but very occasionally sugar or cocoa powder. IIRC, the late Graham Wheeler said to add sugars etc halfway through the boil and on the opposite side to the filter (that last bit may be a note of my own).

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Re: How to add sugar to the boil

Post by MashBag » Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:30 am

Might be easier & safer to stir it into the fermenter.
When you done air in.

Easy test to make sure it is dissolved. Whirpool the wort, once it calms, tap the center of the vessel with your paddle/spoon. If it feels gritty, not quite fully dissolved.
Last edited by MashBag on Tue Jul 06, 2021 6:32 am, edited 2 times in total.

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orlando
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Re: How to add sugar to the boil

Post by orlando » Wed Mar 24, 2021 1:51 pm

MashBag wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:30 am
Might be easier & safer to stir it into the fermenter. When you done air in.

Easy test to make sure it is dissolved. Whirpool the wort, once it calms, tap the center of the vessel with your paddle/spoon. If it feels gritty, not quite fully dissolved.

Did you mean fermenter? The sugar won't be sterile. Much better to introduce into the boil using the suggestions about dissolving first.
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Re: How to add sugar to the boil

Post by Fuggled Mind » Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:58 am

I brewed a mild last week and used 10% sugar (homemade invert no 3).

I've always added sugar halfway through the boil but this time, simply because I forgot, I ended up adding it 10 minutes before the end. Like others said, I always add boiling wort to dissolve it first.

I can't remember where I saw it but I read that adding sugar to the boil earlier can reduce bitterness (or hop isomerisation). Not sure if that's true but I'll see if this mild turns out more bitter than the last (yes, I seem to be on a mild kick at the moment).

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MashBag
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Re: How to add sugar to the boil

Post by MashBag » Thu Mar 25, 2021 7:48 am

orlando wrote:
Wed Mar 24, 2021 1:51 pm
MashBag wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:30 am
Might be easier & safer to stir it into the fermenter. When you done air in.

Easy test to make sure it is dissolved. Whirpool the wort, once it calms, tap the center of the vessel with your paddle/spoon. If it feels gritty, not quite fully dissolved.

Did you mean fermenter? The sugar won't be sterile. Much better to introduce into the boil using the suggestions about dissolving first.
It does not need sterilising. Cakes manage just fine as do country wine recipes.

Tbh it does not matter as long as it gets in there, before primary fermentation ends.

If you forget it and the yeast has already started you can add it there too.

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Re: How to add sugar to the boil

Post by Binkie Huckaback » Mon Jul 05, 2021 10:15 pm

MashBag wrote:
Thu Mar 25, 2021 7:48 am
orlando wrote:
Wed Mar 24, 2021 1:51 pm
MashBag wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:30 am
Might be easier & safer to stir it into the fermenter. When you done air in.

Easy test to make sure it is dissolved. Whirpool the wort, once it calms, tap the center of the vessel with your paddle/spoon. If it feels gritty, not quite fully dissolved.

Did you mean fermenter? The sugar won't be sterile. Much better to introduce into the boil using the suggestions about dissolving first.
It does not need sterilising. Cakes manage just fine as do country wine recipes.

Tbh it does not matter as long as it gets in there, before primary fermentation ends.

If you forget it and the yeast has already started you can add it there too.
Surely nothing in a cake is even sanitised, much less sterile and is it not such an issue in wine as in beer due to wine having a higher alcohol content and thus being able to fight off infections more effectively?

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MashBag
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Re: How to add sugar to the boil

Post by MashBag » Tue Jul 06, 2021 6:39 am

Not really, let's try this.

Hops preserve beer along with the lack of oxygen in the storage vessel.

Boiling is part of the making process and plays only a minor part (if that) in the preservation of the finished product. Modern beer is made from food grade ingredients with perfectly safe and drinkable water.

Yeast also have a significant cleaning part that many people overlook.

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