[stlaleman]

I made a Saison yesterday, 10 gallon batch, 1042 going into the fermenter. I ended up mashing a little high (155) due to a couple miss calculations (temp of grain, mash tun temp, still on winter brew mind set, that and brewing in the upper 90's). So this is going to finish a little thicker than I want. So the question is, will adding a sugar syrup to the fermenter lighten the resulting body? If so, how much sugar do I need to add?
Thanks

[bluesman]

Adding sugar in exchange for some of the base malt will help lower the finishing gravity which will dry out the beer somewhat. Sucrose is 100% fermentable and will add 46ppg. So by adding 1 pound of sugar you'll increase your gravity by 6.9 gravity points which will be 100% fermentable. You'll also finish with a higher AA% by adding the sugar.

[Will's Swill]

I would think that adding sugar at this point would only add alcohol (does that in itself lighten body?), but adding sugar and water so that you maintain the same OG would lighten the body and lower your FG.

[denny]

I would think that adding sugar at this point would only add alcohol (does that in itself lighten body?), but adding sugar and water so that you maintain the same OG would lighten the body and lower your FG.

Adding sugar at this point will lighten the body a bit, but to truly do that you;d need to replace other fermentables with it, not just add sugar to what's already there.

[Will's Swill]

Since it's already made, wouldn't adding water with the sugar do effectively the same thing?  That's assuming the OP can accomodate the extra volume, of course.

[bluesman]

Since it's already made, wouldn't adding water with the sugar do effectively the same thing?  That's assuming the OP can accomodate the extra volume, of course.

Yes it will reduce the body but it will also reduce the ABV as well, which I don't know if the OP would be willing to compromise the alcohol content. He's already below lower limit of a Saison.

[Will's Swill]

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that the OP should add that much water.  I meant that water should be added with the sugar to maintain the OG.  The OP should even get a bump in abv since the added sugar would be highly fermentable.

[tubercle]

No need to add any water, just sugar if desirable.
 
 The lower FG comes from the added alch because alch SG is less than 1. That is how full fermented wine reads less than 1.

[Will's Swill]

Right, but if the OP just adds sugar, will it lighten the body of the beer?  I wouldn't think you'd get much effect there, but I haven't tried this.

[bonjour]

Adding sugar will only increase alcohol, it will NOT reduce the FG.

Adding sugar to a recipe NEVER (OK, slightly because pure alcohol has a lower SG than water, see below) reduces the FG.
Reducing the amount of grain/malt to accommodate the sugar does.

But . . .   It will make the body appear lighter to the taste.

a pound of sugar in 5 gallons WILL reduce the FG by 0.00207

[tubercle]

Adding sugar will only increase alcohol, it will NOT reduce the FG.

 True, but it will give a lower reading on a hyrometer due to the increased alcohol content.

[bonjour]

Adding sugar will only increase alcohol, it will NOT reduce the FG.

 True, but it will give a lower reading on a hyrometer due to the increased alcohol content.

You missed

a pound of sugar in 5 gallons WILL reduce the FG by 0.00207

[bonjour]

Adding sugar will only increase alcohol, it will NOT reduce the FG.

 True, but it will give a lower reading on a hyrometer due to the increased alcohol content.

You missed

a pound of sugar in 5 gallons WILL reduce the FG by 0.00207

FYI BeerSmith2 accounts for this reduction.

[euge]

I've found mashing lower, say 146F to yield better results than added cane sugar. I'd have thrown some ice in the mashtun to drop that 155 temp down in the first couple of minutes. This works really well BTW. Water under the bridge...

As stated above it won't really decrease the body that much, and may result in an unbalance towards alcoholic bite. That's my opinion. I really don't like trying to "fix" beer once it's in the fermenter.


What you've made is a table saison. Let it ride and enjoy or maybe you could try blending.

[tubercle]

Adding sugar will only increase alcohol, it will NOT reduce the FG.

 True, but it will give a lower reading on a hyrometer due to the increased alcohol content.

You missed

a pound of sugar in 5 gallons WILL reduce the FG by 0.00207

 I did miss

My tiny mind can only comprehend so many sentences at a time.