What’s the best practice for adding sugar to the boil? How long before flame out? Any tricks or precautions?
I usually add it in the last 30 minutes. I measure it out in a bowl and then dissolve it in some of the boiling wort in the reserved bowl, then add it back into the main wort. That keeps it from clumping on the bottom and burning.
I put it in at the start of the boil so I don’t forget! Also, it has an impact on hop utilization, and I figure my hopping based on the wort gravity with the sugar in there. I guess I just haven’t found a good reason not to add it at the beginning of the boil.
I wait until after the break since the boil seems to increase in violence a bit with an addition.
Yeah, me too. I do all additions of anything after the break.
Thanks fellas!
I’ve found that if I don’t do as Denny suggests the sugar ends up being left out 95% of the time. And I like to keep my utilization straight.
+1 Since I figure hop utilization from the beggining of the boil, I figure it’s best to add the sugar at the beginning.
I did what The Major suggested. It worked nicely! Now just need to see how low the gravity goes, since it was for a Saison.
I will set my additions out on a table with my timer and brew utensils.
Bittering hops in a bowl
Aroma hops in a Different bowl
Sugars one more bowl
Belgian spices if brewing that style…in another bowl…
final additions like whirlfloc and nutrients in another little shotglass
Then I just go down the line up and usually don’t forget anything
I also like to add after the break and another usedful trick was to put the sugar in a hop /fine mesh bag -the boil will dissolve it quickly with no lumps or worry about it sitting on the bottom-worked well with honey too on Saturday.
I do something similar, but I use zip lock bags with the time of the addition written on them.
The ziploc bag idea looks doable. I like to weigh the hops out in tupperware and line them up. I lay some whirfloc tabs on top of the 15-20 minute addition so they don’t get overlooked. You’d think sugar treated like this wouldn’t be forgotten. Somehow still happens. Look over after chilling wort- sugar still there. :-\
I tend to do the opposite here Denny and try to get more hop components into the unladen wert
before I laden the wert with additional sugar…
Well, it’s not like I’ve never finished chilling a batch, then looked over to my desk to see the finishing hops sitting there…
As long as that’s how you calculate your hop additions, no problems. I use Promash, which calcs things based on boil gravity, so I want the sugar in there. In either case, I don’t think it makes a huge difference.
…and I really hate when that happens. I’ve had it happen with hops before.