Acceptable fix?

[GDubs]

I am new to homebrewing and prior to yesterday I had only ever made prepackaged 5 gallon kits. I wanted to make some thing much lighter than I had been making for my wife and friends who don’t drink stronger beers. Using the recipe calculator, I put together a simple cream ale with an ABV of 4.9% that called for 6lbs of LME. I got a little overzealous topping off my wort and added too much water, resulting in a gravity .012 below (1.037) my target gravity (1.049)…. Unfortunately, that was my second mistake. My first mistake was pouring the “extra” half pound of LME down the drain while cleaning up during the boil. Having only worked from kits in the past, I did not have any DME or LME on hand. In a panic I googled cane sugar, quickly did the math, melted just under 3 cups of white sugar in just enough water to keep it from caramelizing and added it to my wort. That got me to 1.047… close enough.
So, what did I do to my beer??? What will the effects of cane sugar be on the finished product? The beer does not have a lot of backbone to begin with, I am worried that I will have made an already light beer too light.
Is there anything I could’ve done differently, other than having reserved the extra LME and been more careful with the additional water?
Thank you for any insight..

 

[Bulin's Milker Bucket Brews]

Might be a bit dryer with the cane sugar, but it will also be a bit lighter. Depending on your perspective and what you are shooting for, your "mistake" may have made a bit "lighter" beer. Your wife may actually like it better that way.

 

[Minbari]

Flavor won't really change from the 1.037 version, it will just have more alcohol. (Or rather or will have the abv you intended)

 

[Craigerrr]

Never discard your "extra" LME, or DME, it can come in handy when you miss your target gravity!

 

[Donoroto]

I am new to homebrewing and prior to yesterday I had only ever made prepackaged 5 gallon kits. I wanted to make some thing much lighter than I had been making for my wife and friends who don’t drink stronger beers. Using the recipe calculator, I put together a simple cream ale with an ABV of 4.9% that called for 6lbs of LME. I got a little overzealous topping off my wort and added too much water, resulting in a gravity .012 below (1.037) my target gravity (1.049)…. Unfortunately, that was my second mistake. My first mistake was pouring the “extra” half pound of LME down the drain while cleaning up during the boil. Having only worked from kits in the past, I did not have any DME or LME on hand. In a panic I googled cane sugar, quickly did the math, melted just under 3 cups of white sugar in just enough water to keep it from caramelizing and added it to my wort. That got me to 1.047… close enough.
So, what did I do to my beer??? What will the effects of cane sugar be on the finished product? The beer does not have a lot of backbone to begin with, I am worried that I will have made an already light beer too light.
Is there anything I could’ve done differently, other than having reserved the extra LME and been more careful with the additional water?
Thank you for any insight..

Differently? No. Adding sugar is a reasonable response, although honey, corn syrup, molasses, and the like would be fine too. You could have boiled off some of the water perhaps - (lengthy) boiling not typical for an extract brew - but it is what it is.

LME can last a while in the fridge.

As noted, cane sugar gives beer a 'lighter' body and reduces malt flavor and sweetness, while increasing alcohol. If they prefer lighter beers, this could be a winner.

Happy Mistake?

Let us know how it turns out!

 

[Sandy Feet]

It depends on how much sugar you added vs the rest of the ingredients. Sugar will make it drier but can make a distinct alcohol flavor if too much is used. The beer may not be as flavorful either. When I did extracts, I liked to use some steeping grains in them. It was my way of learning a little something about going all grain. Regardless if it turns out good or bad, you will learn something if you remember to take some notes.

 

[GDubs]

Thank you all for the encouragement. In the pursuit of knowledge I tried to reverse engineer my low starting gravity and discovered yet another sugar deficit.
I had seen flaked corn was used in a lot of Cream Ale recipes and until today I didnt fully understand, at least at a conscious level, that corn could not simple be steeped along with specialty malts..... Well, I mean, it physically can (as I did) but it adds nothing in the way of usable sugars based on my research. Next time I want to use corn I will do a partial mash with a 2 row malt.
I do hope my "recipe" holds up despite my mistakes. Good or bad, I will check back in a couple weeks and let you know....

In case anyone was interested

6lb Pilsen LME
1lb Crystal 10L steeped for 25min
1lb Flaked Corn steeped for 25min
.5oz Saaz (4.9AA) @60
.5oz Saaz (4.9AA) @20
****** 1.4lb Cane sugar added to the fermenter
PurePitch WLP080

 

[Sandy Feet]

Thank you all for the encouragement. In the pursuit of knowledge I tried to reverse engineer my low starting gravity and discovered yet another sugar deficit.
I had seen flaked corn was used in a lot of Cream Ale recipes and until today I didnt fully understand, at least at a conscious level, that corn could not simple be steeped along with specialty malts..... Well, I mean, it physically can (as I did) but it adds nothing in the way of usable sugars based on my research. Next time I want to use corn I will do a partial mash with a 2 row malt.
I do hope my "recipe" holds up despite my mistakes. Good or bad, I will check back in a couple weeks and let you know....

In case anyone was interested

6lb Pilsen LME
1lb Crystal 10L steeped for 25min
1lb Flaked Corn steeped for 25min
.5oz Saaz (4.9AA) @60
.5oz Saaz (4.9AA) @20
****** 1.4lb Cane sugar added to the fermenter
PurePitch WLP080

Flaked adjuncts don't add much to alcohol with BIAB either. Flavor and mouthfeel, yes, alcohol, no. I learned that the hard way too.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Thank you all for the encouragement. In the pursuit of knowledge I tried to reverse engineer my low starting gravity and discovered yet another sugar deficit.
I had seen flaked corn was used in a lot of Cream Ale recipes and until today I didnt fully understand, at least at a conscious level, that corn could not simple be steeped along with specialty malts..... Well, I mean, it physically can (as I did) but it adds nothing in the way of usable sugars based on my research. Next time I want to use corn I will do a partial mash with a 2 row malt.
I do hope my "recipe" holds up despite my mistakes. Good or bad, I will check back in a couple weeks and let you know....

In case anyone was interested

6lb Pilsen LME
1lb Crystal 10L steeped for 25min
1lb Flaked Corn steeped for 25min
.5oz Saaz (4.9AA) @60
.5oz Saaz (4.9AA) @20
****** 1.4lb Cane sugar added to the fermenter
PurePitch WLP080

I don't buy that add anything flaked and it should convert if you have an high enough Diastic power in the mash.

Maybe you didn't finish conversion.

Yes if the corn is whole you'll get nothing but most malted corn that I've been looking at has been pre geletanised so it can be ground and thrown in the mash with the rest of the grain.

 

[Ward Chillington]

Well, I mean, it physically can (as I did) but it adds nothing in the way of usable sugars based on my research

I would encourage you to do more research. There's fermentable sugars in the flaked corn as there is in rice or wheat.

 

[Craigerrr]

I would encourage you to do more research. There's fermentable sugars in the flaked corn as there is in rice or wheat.

Not much reason to use it otherwise, it is a cheap way to boost ABV

 

[GDubs]

I would encourage you to do more research. There's fermentable sugars in the flaked corn as there is in rice or wheat.

Ward, I understand that flaked corn contributes sugars in all grain recipes where there is a proper mash with base malts. I apologize for not having a citation, and I am certainly no expert, but my earlier research indicated that there was an enzyme in a mash that helped break down complex sugars and that enzyme either doesnt exist or has insufficient time to complete the process during a simple steep as one would do in an extract recipe. In fact, what started me thinking the corn may have been the key to my low gravity was the fact that when i went back and reviewed my recipe on the Brewers Friend calculator, i saw that corn wasnt listed as an option in the steeping grains. I had previously added it to the recipe under “Fermentables” and by deleting it, the projected starting gravity was much more in line witH what I saw on brew day…
Im here to learn, i will indeed continue down that rabbit hole tomorrow.
Thanks for your comments

 

[GDubs]

From a large internet homebrew supplier’s website

 

[GFHomebrew]

Ward, I understand that flaked corn contributes sugars in all grain recipes where there is a proper mash with base malts. I apologize for not having a citation, and I am certainly no expert, but my earlier research indicated that there was an enzyme in a mash that helped break down complex sugars and that enzyme either doesnt exist or has insufficient time to complete the process during a simple steep as one would do in an extract recipe. In fact, what started me thinking the corn may have been the key to my low gravity was the fact that when i went back and reviewed my recipe on the Brewers Friend calculator, i saw that corn wasnt listed as an option in the steeping grains. I had previously added it to the recipe under “Fermentables” and by deleting it, the projected starting gravity was much more in line witH what I saw on brew day…
Im here to learn, i will indeed continue down that rabbit hole tomorrow.
Thanks for your comments

Ah yes research "Diastatic power".

Simply put base grains such as barley and wheat have enough enzymatic power to convert themselves and other grains up to a certain percentage of the grist.

Corn alone as I have found through my GF brewing has piss poor diastic power meaning yes it does have some Enzyme beta Amylase I believe but not alot.

So it has to be mashed with another "hot" grain like your Standard 2 row barley.

Steeping grains need to be either crystal malts which has already been converted in the malting/killing process or have enough Diastatic power to convert themselves which most brewing grains do bar the more highly roasted grains who's enzymes have been denatured by the high kilning temperatures.

That's my take on it anyhow

 

[Sandy Feet]

I was on another thread having the same discussion. Some thought I made sense, others thought I was nuts. With my BIAB set-up, I don't convert as well as some others. I have flaked adjuncts set to non-fermentable in my software when I create recipes. It makes things predictable, and it works for me.
GDubs, you are not nuts and figured something out that took me two or three batches. Things work differently with different set-ups and different brewing styles. If you find something that works, remember it.

 

[Minbari]

From a large internet homebrew supplier’s website

View attachment 24422

There is very limited fermentable sugars even if you do extract them. When i add flaked grains, i don't add pts to the wort

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

1lb Flaked Corn steeped for 25min

Replace this with the flake corn with dextrose or rice solids. The corn could also be replaced with table sugar, the only sugar available that could give you anything outside of alcohol and cO2 is rice solids. Both dextrose (corn sugar) and table sugar will ferment nearly completely and the yeast will produce mostly alcohol and cO2. The extra alcohol will dry the beer out and lighten it's body. Not 100% sure about rice solids, but I believe they have more complex sugars. Maybe someone who knows more about this can chime in.

Flaked corn, rice, wheat need to be mashed as others have stated. The difference between adding the sugar directly into the boil and mashing it is the sugar type that ends up in the beer. Adjuncts added to the mash will produce mostly maltose sugar. This is often misunderstood by brewers, believing that adding adjuncts will produce simpler sugars than barley malt. The mashing process will produce maltose from gelatinized starch regardless of it's source because of the amylase enzyme . Some simpler sugars are produced, but it's not nearly as fermentable as dextrose or table sugar.

Bottom line is that adding sugars directly to the boil is the closest thing you can get to mashing adjuncts, but the mashed adjuncts will not attenuate as much as dextrose and table sugar.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

There is very limited fermentable sugars even if you do extract them. When i add flaked grains, i don't add pts to the wort

With all things being equal, the rice will sometimes produce more gravity (sugars) than barley malt. If your mash is working correctly, then you will see an increase in fermentable sugars from adjuncts provided they are able to be mashed (the starches need to be gelatinized).

Below is a short list of generic extraction rates for various grains. The ratings are in points per gallon (PPG). One pound of grain in one gallon of water is the basis of measurement. This is assuming 100% extraction. Typical mashes will be between 75-90% extraction. So one pound of flaked rice can produce 1.038 gravity in one gallon of wort at 100% extraction. This measurement is used to calculate mash efficiency or extraction rate.

flaked rice 38 PPG
2 Row malt 37 PPG
2 row pale ale 38 PPG
flake wheat 36 PPG
table sugar 46 PPG

Here's a complete list:

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-2/what-is-malted-grain/table-of-typical-malt-yields

 

[The Brew Mentor]

@GDubs
There's a lot of information above that you can wade through, but to simplify thing, non diastatic adjuncts will need to be mashed with something that has the ability to convert the available starches into sugar.
The recipe builder will list the DP as a total when you're building a recipe if you have the correct brewing type selected and will let you know if you're too low.
My Cream Ale has 26% adjuncts and fully converts in a standard mash. I actually get more PPG than the above listed, taken from How to Brew.
I'm glad you're interested and asking questions, hopefully we can help.
Cheer,
Brian

 

[Zambi]

It's amazing how much diastatic power (some of the) base malts have.
I made a cheapskate wheat beer with 2/3 wheat flour and 1/3 pilsner malt and it worked out absolutely fine.
(Disclaimer: that's biab. I think this might give issues with other methods)