Is liquid brewing sugar ok to use?

[Ryan D]

im new to all this, so far i have a blackrock lager with beer enhancer bottled, and a brewtec draught done with brewtec liquid brewing sugar bottled. this weekend im going to make the coopers lager with the liquid sugar (its all we have available at our supermarket without going to HB shop in another town to get something else). is the liquid brewing sugar just a sugar or does it have other stuff in it? Cheers

[Reviled]

Its normally just liquid glucose, itll be fine!

[Ryan D]

thanks, i have just read that using liquid sugar may lessen the alcohol content as you get a higher reading at the end of fermentation? also possbily you dont get as good head on the beer from the liquid sugar? anyone had any experiances?

[Reviled]

I wouldnt see why? Liquid glucose is just as fermentable as dextrose isnt it??

I only used it once, a long time ago, but it fermented out fine, and the beer had good head retention

[Ryan D]

im not sure, but the one thing that they do say in all the instructions ive read is that if you use liquid sugar expect the reading to be between 1008 to 1012 instead of 1005 - 1006 if using dextrose. both my brews i have made (one with liquid sugar and one with enhancer) finished off at 1010. Looks like they are going to be low alcohol because for some reason the OG reading was only 1030 on both.?

[vdog]

With your gravity readings just be careful of temperature - if your hydrometer is calibrated to 20C, and you take your reading when the wort is hotter than that, it'll read as a lower gravity. As I think Joking said a few months ago (and it's helped for me) every 4 degrees above the calibration temp is worth a point of gravity - so if your wort is at 32C and your reading is 1.030, the actual gravity will be 1.033.

[James P]

In the early days I did the brewtec lager with liquid sugar, and personally I would go with a pack of enhancer over the brewing sugar that way you get more flavour.

[Ryan D]

yeh i think next time im near a HB shop i will stock up a little on it, rather than having to use the liquid.

[Reviled]

If you got into All grain brewing youd be able to just order all your ingrediants online, so a homebrew shop is allways nearby ;o)

Its actually pretty cheap to get into as well, and easier than you might think, the results also speak for themself...

My 2 cents...

[Ryan D]

maybe eventually, ill see hows these kits go first. i might actually test one of my draughts tonight to see how its going. only been bottled 2 weeks but im keen to see what it tastes like haha

[Ryan D]

also James, the coopers lager that i will do this weekend - instructions say ferment between 21 to 27 degrees. i have heard to do it cooler even though it is an ale yeast. what are your thoughts on temp?

[James P]

Personally I like my lagers / pilsners dryer with little in the way of "fruity" esters so I would ferment with the kit yeast at the lower end of the scale, even 20C or swap out the yeast with S05 and keep it about 18C for a week ~ 10 days (or when you have three days of the same gravity reading). There are exceptions to the fruity esters, especially when making Emerson or Mac's clones!

Both the liquid sugar and enhancer will have "unfermentable" complex sugars in the mix, so do not be surprised if your FG is about 1010~1012.

[Ryan D]

thanks mate, yeh i was thinking of keeping it at 20C.