Sugar and Brewing

In order to make alcohol, yeast needs sugar to transform it. In wine, cider, and some other spirits, this sugar is easily obtained from natural fruits, but beer brewing poses additional obstacles because the brewer needs to extract the starch from the grain by converting the starch that is naturally present in the grain. Sugar needed for fermentation. However, the sugar extracted from malt is not the only sugar that we can use as a brewer. There are actually many different forms and all of them have different uses.

Some home brewers seem to be a little wary of using sugar in their beer, which may be a return to the era of inferior suit beer that requires a kilogram of sugar (hence the name "suit and kilo"). A long time ago, the preservation of malt extract during the entire manufacturing process was not as good as it is now, and the shelf date may not be so strict, whether it is placed in a warehouse or a kit that has been in the best condition on the store shelf. Certain styles of yeast strains are not common in some kits, and even with universal baker's yeast (in the early days of the kit), customers often complain that their yeast has expired, which can have a huge negative impact on fermentation. Dry hop sachets are also a new member of the history of set beer, so all these sets have a very bad reputation and often lead people to drink low-quality beer. Somehow, considering all the other issues with these early kits, it seems that Sugar has taken the blame. You will often see people warn new brewers not to add sucrose to their beer because it can cause cider flavor.

However, don't be afraid to use sugar during the brewing process. Many commercial beer styles use a lot of sugar—especially a lot of Belgian and English beer, but as with any ingredient, you should understand how to use it and what it will add to your beer. Listed below are some sugars available to brewers and their contribution to beer.

Corn sugar (also known as glucose or brewed sugar)

Glucose is a simple, highly refined sugar that can be completely fermented, so it does not bring any flavor to beer. It is popular among beer manufacturers because it provides predictable results.

Gandhi sugar (rock)

Essentially refined sugar, this form of Gandhi does not add any flavor, and its effect is roughly the same as glucose or sucrose. You can get a darker version, which may start to add some flavor to the beer, but it takes a large amount to really make any contribution.

Sugar (sucrose)

Sucrose comes from sugar cane or beets, and will not add flavor or aroma to your beer, but will add alcohol or dilute the beer body according to your use. Similar to other sugars, use sugar as an additional addition (on your grain list) to increase bulk or replace a certain percentage of base malt with sugar to reduce the body or make a drier beer.

Gandhi Syrup

If you want to make Belgian-style beer, this is almost an indispensable supplement. As the name suggests, this is a syrup that comes in various colors from light to dark. For best results, please add it after boiling as much as possible to ensure that the syrup is completely dissolved and retains as much flavor and aroma as possible. Dark syrup adds more flavor, including rum and dark fruits.

Honey

There are many types of honey, and you can get many flavors and aromas from it, but most honey fragrances are very difficult. If you want to add honey properties to beer, then adding it at any stage of boiling is almost meaningless, because most volatile compounds will be boiled without leaving any honey properties. It is best to add honey in the later stages of fermentation, although some darker and stronger honey may have some effects if added at the end of boiling.

Copper beer brewing equipment

Maple sugar

Maple syrup is a delicious sweet syrup that can add some subtle woody features to your beer. If you decide to use maple syrup, try looking for authentic maple syrup instead of the highly processed maple syrup sold in most supermarkets. Darker maple syrup will impart more flavor/aroma.

Syrup (or molasses)

Syrup is a dark, almost tar-like syrup with a strong flavor that can be emitted in beer. It is actually produced as a by-product of refined cane sugar or beet sugar. When using syrup, moderation is the key, because it is very distinctive.

Moscow Vado

A dark brown sugar that can add rum to your beer.

Lactose

A non-fermentable milk sugar that can add a mellow and sweet taste to your beer.

Maltodextrin

Adds mellowness to your beer without adding sweetness, so it is very useful for adding mellowness to thin beer-especially because it can be added before packaging. Maltodextrin can also help maintain the head.

Brewers can use many other types of sugar throughout the process, but these are some of the most common and give a good illustration of how to use sugar-can be used in combination or in place of simple sugars (accounting for) grain bills to increase ABV or make the body Be thinner. Or more aromatic and delicious sugars that can be used at the end of fermentation or boiling to add flavor and aroma to the beer, and then non-fermentable sugars can add body to your beer. Sugar is a very useful tool for brewers and can be used in many ways to create a variety of results.

Which sugars do you use in beer and what contribution do they make? Tell us to send an email to kate@degonget.com.