OKAY! I made a major blunder yesterday brewing my WCIPA and forgot to add 4lbs of sugar. Sad part is I didn’t realize until now. Fermentation is well under way and to say I am pissed would be an understatement. OG went from 1.065 designed to 1.055 actual.
What are my options for adding the sugar today?
Or should I just leave it out all together?
I’d put the sugar in a clean 10 qt pot and add an equal amount of water. Bring it to a simmer then put the lid on, turn off the heat, and let it sit covered on the burner till it’s room temperature/cool to the touch. Then add to the fermenter. This is exactly how I add sugars for specialty beers and my tripel.
BTW Bonehead IPA = a great beer name!
Bummer! You could try boiling the sugar in some water, cooling, and then adding to the fermenter…you’re early into fermentation, so I don’t think it would really hurt, and today (or tomorrow) is the day to make a move. You’d want to make sure the solution was thin enough so you don’t end up with syrup sticking to the side of your fermenter. That would be my suggestion, at least. You might dilute things a little bit than intended, but if the intended effect is to dry out your IPA and bump up ABV a touch, it can’t hurt. It would take a decent bit of water to dissolve 4 lb of sugar…maybe a gallon? Half gallon? You’ll have to see what feels right. A gentle stir with a sanitized spoon is also a good idea for an extra precaution (although I also think the effects of active fermentation would mix up things).
On the other hand, a 1.055 IPA isn’t the end of the world, too. It will probably be a little less crisp on the finish, but still very serviceable. Good luck in whatever you decide!
Just like adding sugar as priming agent…boil to make sure no contaminants remain. But just dumping it in will likely be ok, too.
Go ahead and add ASAP. Boil it with as little water as it takes to get it to dissolve.
You don’t need to sanitize sugar. Pour it in.
Your yeast has been given a head start with a lower gravity to start.
It can be added as others suggest. With a 10 pt difference between expected and measured OG, is 4lbs the right amount? 1 lb adds about 9pts in 5 gallons. Four lbs of sugar would be close to 10 pts in a 20 gallon batch.
Correct, this is a 18 gallon batch.
Ok, after some thought and taking into consideration the response from members. I decided to bring 4 lbs (1/2 gallon) of un-chlorinated water and 4 lbs of sugar to a boil, simmer for ten minutes, cover and let cool to 68*F. Basically making a simple syrup. I should have enough head space in the fermenter so as not to create too much of a mess during fermentation blowoff. Blowoff tube going into a gallon jug of sanitizer so should be good.
Definitely going to name this recipe Bonehead IPA!!
Thanks for the replies people!!
Just throw the sugar in. I do it all the time.
It’ll work out fine. If we all named our beers for supposed missteps, half the home brewed beers might be called “Bonehead”.
I have heard that some breweries won’t add their dextrose addition until after the malt sugar is fermented out. It seems like a major pain in the :-X but the yeast will have an easier time fermenting the malt sugars before the dextrose. Typically, yeast will ferment the simpler sugars first.
I have to imagine a brewer who discovered this technique made the same mistake!
I always add sugar directly to the kettle. No problem.