Sugar in beer

[Smh77]

I know that Belgians use alot of sugar in their beers, to help get their gravities up I believe. Is there a certain type of sugar that needs to be used or can anything do. I'm thinking of throwing some brown sugar into my next batch or would that be stupid because it would screw everything up?

[Botoole560]

A couple of suggestions my friend: (Disclaimer, I've only been brewing for about 3-4 years, so I guarantee you that someone will have a better idea.) Anyhow, if you're looking for higher gravity, rack your beer into a secondary fermentation on top of fruit puree (will also impart STRONG fruit flavors, thus ending up with a "girly" beer.) or honey (store bought will work, but you'll get better bulk prices from your Local Home Brewery Store {LHBS}.) and add more yeast. And you can look around on this forum or experiment on your own for an exact formula, but for these items, you typically want to add 2-4 lbs. per gallon. (5 gallons of beer secondary'd onto 10-20 lbs. of fruit puree/honey.) By the way, if you buy the fruit puree canned, do your homework, because a grocery store may have a better value on smaller cans, and the LHBS may cost quite a bit more, but you'll get better quality, and typically a more thorough puree from the LHBS's product. Usually the LHBS only sells fruit puree in larger cans, around3.3 lbs size (the same as your can of Munton's for extract brewers to use for reference.) Anyway, for high gravity brews, you'll want to learn how to use your hydrometer and get real intimate with your beer's progress. Any questions, you're in the right place!! (Private message me if you'd like.)

Thank you

[markaberrant]

Different sugars work really well in certain beers, and are detrimental in others. If you are planning to add brown sugar to your next batch, what is the rest of the recipe?

[Smh77]

its a brown ale extract.

[Botoole560]

its a brown ale extract.


In that case, stay away from a lot of fruit, the flavors just won't work together.

Thank you

[BrewDog]

Brown sugar will work just fine in a brown ale, but what exactly, other than increasing alcohol, are you trying to accomplish?

IIPA benefits from a simple sugar addition because the sugar will increase alcohol without adding viscosity. A brown ale doesn't suffer from being too thick. You should probably add more malt instead of sugar if you are simply going after a bigger beer.

Now, if you were wanting to cut back on the viscosity of a 1.080 Imperial Brown Ale, then I'd say cut back on the malt and add som sugar. Make sense?


(edit: also, cherries or raspberries go nicely in a brown ale, porter or stout)

[campfirebrew]

How much are you planning on adding? Too much can cause off flavors. I believe no more than 10% of the fermentables should be those types of sugars, otherwise you can get a cider flavor. I agree with BrewDog that more malt would be better than adding sugar.

[Smh77]

Brown sugar will work just fine in a brown ale, but what exactly, other than increasing alcohol, are you trying to accomplish?

Nothing! just kinda thought about experimenting with sugar. Wanted to see what it might do to the final product.

I was surprised when i read something about all the trappist ales using sugar in their beer so i thought i'd check it out.

[beerking]

The Belgians usually add sugar to beers that are already strong. When you have a beer that is already at 1.070+ starting gravity, adding more malt can really thicken up the end product. For the most part, Belgian brewers, esp. the Trappists, add sugar to keep the attenuation up. They want a beer that finishes thinner than it would otherwise. They say what they want is a beer that is easily "digestable."
Adding sugar to a low gravity beer is much more likely to add off flavors. You are good using sugar for up to 25% of the fermentables, but the type of sugar matters as well.
Any sugar will work, but some add other flavors. Brown sugar that you buy in the store is basically white sugar with molasses added. It will add some molasses flavor to your beer, which can be fine in a brown ale. Some British brewers add molasses to their brown ales.
Most Belgians that use sugars use "Belgian Candi Sugar" NOT "Candy Sugar." You can get this from any of the better HBS out there. It is good for such beers and will add minimal other flavors. Use the clear (I like the liquid best, but it also comes granulated) for Tripel and Strong Golden, and use the dark for Dubbels and Belgian Dark Strong.

[Botoole560]

Nothing! just kinda thought about experimenting with sugar. Wanted to see what it might do to the final product.

I was surprised when i read something about all the trappist ales using sugar in their beer so i thought i'd check it out.

At this point in your beer-making career, I say knock yourself out. The worst that can happen is that you'll have a beer that's not the best one you've ever tasted. But you learn by doing. (Anyone back me up here, anyone??. . . Bueller . . . . . Bueller??) I say gather some advice here, and go for it. After experimenting with different things you'll learn what works, and what doesn't, and you'll gather ideas on how you should brew your next batch. Once you've gotten past the "vinegar beer" stage where you're still learning the importance of sanitization, you'll typically come up with a brew that's at least drinkable. Just use basic brewing guidelines, help from our friends on Real beer, and most importantly, your imagination, and the sky's the limit. I hope this helps!!

Thank you

[corkybstewart]

Any sugar will work, but some add other flavors. Brown sugar that you buy in the store is basically white sugar with molasses added. It will add some molasses flavor to your beer, which can be fine in a brown ale. Some British brewers add molasses to their brown ales.
Most Belgians that use sugars use "Belgian Candi Sugar" NOT "Candy Sugar." You can get this from any of the better HBS out there. It is good for such beers and will add minimal other flavors. Use the clear (I like the liquid best, but it also comes granulated) for Tripel and Strong Golden, and use the dark for Dubbels and Belgian Dark Strong.
Candi sugar is just beet sugar and it's a lot more expensive than just plain old table sugar. I fell for the candi sugar when I started brewing Belgians but for the last 3 or 4 years I've just used table sugar and I don't taste any difference at all.
Go easy on the darker sugars and syrups, a little can go a long way. I screwed up a batch experimenting with Belgian dark brewing sugar, a pound of it in a Belgian style stout was waaaaay too much, but the pound of dark candi syrup was great.

[seafra]

Instead of brown sugar, try Demerara or Turbinado sugar: these are RAW cane sugars. This is NOT refined white table sugar derived from cane, which is sucrose: a disaccharide of fructose and glucose. Raw cane sugar is first step of the refining process where the simple sugar, glucose, has not been seperate from the molasses. The simple monosaccaride, glucose, is MUCH easier for yeast to use and results in cleaner fermentaion and fewer off flavors.

Brown sugar is actually fully refined white sugar that has had molasses added back into it. The complex molecular structure of the sucrose has to be broken down by the yeast before they can consume the constituent simple sugars. This is where some of those undesirable flavors come from---the process of reducing complex sugars to simple sugars. Depending and the style of beer and recipe, brown sugar may work just fine, but raw cane sugar will always ferment cleaner, faster and less influential.
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Among the cleanest fementing sugars is corn sugar, or Dextrose. A simple monosaccharide that is nearly all fermentable. Buy it from a brewing supplier, though: some grocery stores will have preservatives that will kill your yeast and flavorings in corn sugar. Also, be aware that this highly fermentable sugar can add a lot of alcoholic heat to a beer and can dry it out in if over used---true for most sugars.

When I was extract brewing, I experimented a good deal with sugars. I found it a good rule of thumb to keep the sugars, by weight, to between 1/4 and 1/3 of the total weight of LME: usually only around 1/4, but bigger and darker beers can mask more sugar. Now that I am all grain, I seldom use sugars, unless the style calls for it. If I want a bigger beer I just step up the grain bill.
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[corkybstewart]

I used the Demerara in a brown ale a couple of years ago and it was excellent with no real molasses flavor. I sometimes will use molasses in my Imperial stout, but I use a lot less than I did just a few years ago.

[seafra]

I used the Demerara in a brown ale a couple of years ago and it was excellent with no real molasses flavor. I sometimes will use molasses in my Imperial stout, but I use a lot less than I did just a few years ago.


I have also been impressed by the lack off molasses taste of Demerara sugar. Flavorwise, I actually find it similar to mashing another pound or so of Caramel 40, without adding the body of the grain. I found it very useful in gold and amber ales that I wanted a bit lighter bodied but still having the flavor and kick of a fuller ale.
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[seafra]

P.S. When using sugar, add it only in the last few minutes of the boil. All you want to do is sanitize it and get it in solution. Adding sugar earlier in the boil can negatively effect your hops utilization. Adding the sugar late also reduces the chance of scortching throughout the boil.
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[Smh77]

Thanks everybody!!

[cul8rv8]

At this point in your beer-making career, I say knock yourself out. The worst that can happen is that you'll have a beer that's not the best one you've ever tasted. But you learn by doing. (Anyone back me up here, anyone??. . . Bueller . . . . . Bueller??)

I would agree. :)

A good read is Brew Like a Monk by Stan Hieronymus. It's actually a fast read (I think I finished it in like 2 or 3 days). I read it a while ago, but I seem to remember he talks about the different sugars, max amounts to use, what they do, etc.

But as I said, there's no better tool to learning, IMO, than trial and error. :)

[corkybstewart]

I would agree. :)
But as I said, there's no better tool to learning, IMO, than trial and error. :)
Given the cost of homebrewing today I'd recommend a little more research and a lot less error.:D

[cul8rv8]

nah. :) I have yet to make a beer that wasn't drinkable. Maybe have to mix it with another beer, but never thrown one out. Maybe I'm lucky.

[msk]

I have also been impressed by the lack off molasses taste of Demerara sugar. Flavorwise, I actually find it similar to mashing another pound or so of Caramel 40, without adding the body of the grain. I found it very useful in gold and amber ales that I wanted a bit lighter bodied but still having the flavor and kick of a fuller ale.

Would you mind sharing how much you added that was similar to adding a pound of 40L ? In what gravity and volume was the wort that you added this amount?

So far my experience with sugar was with the kit-in-a-can stuff. I got an IPA and a nut brown, added a pound of corn sugar to each. The brown is still in my tub [in the bucket in the tub with the blowoff tube in a jar of water] and the IPA spoiled. The brown still taste like cider [my constant fiddling with the IPA led to it getting spoiled], it will not correct itself. I wonder if I should waste a packet of yeast on it for yeast-poo-cleaning.

[seafra]

[QUOTE=msk]Would you mind sharing how much you added that was similar to adding a pound of 40L ? In what gravity and volume was the wort that you added this amount?

1.5# Demerara in 5 gal. OG 1.070
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