An idea but will it work.

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ericmark

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So I want to do an experiment with sugar, when I made prohibition kits, the method was loads of sugar, let it ferment, add charcoal to remove off taste, then add flavour, so what will happen if with a kit beer, the sugar is brewed independent of the wort and given charcoal treatment and then added to wort at the end? I was all set to give it a go, went to local brew shop to get bits, and it has closed.

I have noted adding extra sugar does not only increase alcohol level it also makes the beer taste more bitter, however selecting the kit can help, Scottish heavy will stand extra sugar, Yorkshire will not.

Sugar can be brewed to around 20% ABV so one fermenter full would give enough to add to around 10 kits brewed without sugar, but question is how much water to put into the kit? and when to add the brewed sugar or alcohol at end of wort brew or start of wort brew?
 
Why are you wanting to complicate things?

I would never use all sugar in a one can kit as it thins the beer out. I would use LME, DME, enhancer or a mix of malt extract and sugar. Top it up to 20 litres and there you go. No need to calculate how much of this sugar solution to add or when to add it.
 
I don't use sugar like that. I would never use charcoal..? Seems like a lot of unnecessary pi$$!ng about and unnecessary expense. :doh:
...and a terrible thing to do to a beer (or wine). For me, 5 - 6% ABV is enough. If I wanted more, I'd probably chuck cheap vodka in it. :drink:

But I am curious. If you do feel the urge to do it, tell us how you get on. :nah:

...good luck...!?
 
I understand the logic - do 10 brews worth of sugar in one go, then do 5 double brews, and finish up with 10 kits worth of beer in only 6 fermentations. However, unlike wort, sugar wash is completely devoid of yeast nutrients so these have to be added in and the yeast produce off flavours that need to be removed with the charcoal; sugar in kits is bad enough as it is without this. You could, instead, make a strong unhopped beer with only malt extract and do away with the charcoal treatment altogether. Even then, it still seems like a lot of faff and unnecessary process, making, transferring and storing a sugar wash, just to add it to beer later. Instead, why don't you just buy a bigger fv and do double kit brews, or do concentrated brews then dilute down prior to bottling?
 
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