Forgot the sugar!

Delmol · Jul 17, 2016

Decided to start my Coopers Real Ale kit this evening.

Got everything setup and proceeded to add the extract tin, water and pitched the yeast. :thumb:

Now, silly me thought that I didn't need to add any sugar and that it was all in the tin! :doh:

I've just realized this little mistake and I'm wondering, will it be fine to quickly pop out and add the sugar in the morning or have I royally messed up the batch? :pray:

Dutto · Jul 17, 2016

If you leave it as it is then you will finish up with a very low alcohol beer. This may be just right for the hot summer days that are due to arrive but it won't keep very long at all.

If you open up the FV, add the one kilo of sugar recommended by Coopers and just stir it in then you expose the brew to infection by wild yeasts and may finish up with 23 litres of vinegar. I would recommend taking the risk if it was the middle of winter but unfortunately it isn't and wild yeasts and pollen abound at this time of the year.

A better solution would be to make a syrup with the sugar and as little water as you can get away with. After dissolving the sugar, cover the pan and let the syrup cool to 20 degrees before pouring it into the FV as quickly as possible. The brew won't be very much "thinner" due to the extra water and it will have the required alcohol content in the finished beer.

Finally, a very drastic solution is to move the wort over to a boiler, bring it to the boil as you add the sugar and then cool everything down to 20 degrees and pitch another sachet of yeast.

Personally, I'd go for the thick syrup option. It gets the alcohol content up there as designed and it minimises the risk of getting a wild yeast infection.

Hope this helps. :thumb:

PS We've all been there! :whistle: :whistle:

Delmol · Jul 17, 2016

Dutto said:
If you leave it as it is then you will finish up with a very low alcohol beer. This may be just right for the hot summer days that are due to arrive but it won't keep very long at all.

If you open up the FV, add the one kilo of sugar recommended by Coopers and just stir it in then you expose the brew to infection by wild yeasts and may finish up with 23 litres of vinegar. I would recommend taking the risk if it was the middle of winter but unfortunately it isn't and wild yeasts and pollen abound at this time of the year.

A better solution would be to make a syrup with the sugar and as little water as you can get away with. After dissolving the sugar, cover the pan and let the syrup cool to 20 degrees before pouring it into the FV as quickly as possible. The brew won't be very much "thinner" due to the extra water and it will have the required alcohol content in the finished beer.

Finally, a very drastic solution is to move the wort over to a boiler, bring it to the boil as you add the sugar and then cool everything down to 20 degrees and pitch another sachet of yeast.

Personally, I'd go for the thick syrup option. It gets the alcohol content up there as designed and it minimises the risk of getting a wild yeast infection.

Hope this helps. :thumb:

PS We've all been there! :whistle: :whistle:

Thanks for the advice, at least it's good to know that the batch isn't wasted (yet :-?)

Decided to take your advice by boiling up a thick syrup and quickly adding to the wort, being careful to keep exposure to air to an absolute minimum.

It seems to be bubbling away nicely so all we can do is wait and see :pray:

DarrenSL · Jul 17, 2016

You will be fine, it's only just started fermenting. You did right to boil it up into a syrup first. That should limit any risk of infection. :thumb:

Slid · Jul 17, 2016

I would have just chucked in the 1kg of Brew Enhancer or sugar. I mean, come on, you don't have to mow the grass to feed it to ruminants.

Bacteria don't like a 1kg sealed bag of sugar, because there is no moisture. If there were any, the sugar would absorb it and the environment would be very hostile to bacteria.

Anyway, I remember doing a Coopers Real Ale kit about 10 weeks into my latest HB experiences. I wrote it up on my brewing log:

Very clear & crisp tasting - excellent.