Sugars For Brewing

 TABLE SUGAR: Many older beer recipes and instruction sheets for home brew kits call for the use of table sugar. These instructions and recipes usually originate in the United Kingdom, where corn sugar is not commercially available. Table sugar is mainly glucose. Because yeast acts differently on different types of sugar, and some sugars are readily fermentable than others, the yeast must first break down and "invert" the glucose molecules before fermentation can begin. This means two things. First, the fermentation process is more complicated than if you used a simpler form of sugar, like dextrose. Second, because some sugars are less fermentable than others, residual unfermented sugar could be left in your beer, giving it that cidery taste once common to homemade beer. For these reasons, table sugar is not recommended for home brewing.

 CORN SUGAR: Corn sugar, or dextrose, is the most common form of sugar used in beer making. Because it is a simple form of sugar (a monosaccharide), yeast transforms it quickly into alcohol. Corn sugar is almost completely fermentable, leaving virtually no residual sweetness in the beer. Corn sugar does impart some flavor to the beer. While the taste is very light, beer judges and experienced brewers can always recognize a beer brewed with corn sugar. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as corn sugar is an effective and inexpensive brewing adjunct. It is much more suitable to lagers and light beers as it does not add any color or body to the beer. It’s less suited to darker, full bodied beers, such as amber ales, bitters, stouts, etc.

 HIGH-MALTOSE GLUCOSE: High-maltose glucose is becoming more popular as home brewers experiment with adjuncts other than corm sugar. High-maltose glucose is a blend of dextrose, maltose, glucose and higher saccharides. The goal is to increase fermentabilty through the malt, while adding a degree of body and residual sweetness through the glucose, which is less fermentable. High-maltose glucose is also ideal for beer that requires a medium to full body, but need to keep the color light, like cream ale. It should not be used for beer that requires a dry finish, such as a dry lager, pilsner, pale ale, etc. If you use this sugar with a canned beer kit, expect the finishing gravity to be higher than the instructions call for.

 DRIED MALT EXTRACT: Dried malt extract or DME, is the extract of malted barley in powdered form. Brewing kits contain liquid malt extract to which hops have been added. DME is the same thing, only without the hops and in a dried form. DME is usually available in three types—light, amber and dark.—-used for specific types of beer. Light DME is commonly used in lagers, pilsners, etc. Amber is for pale ales, bitters, etc. Brewers often mix different amounts of each type to achieve their ideal color. Many recipes call for DME to be used with others forms of sugar, such as corn sugar, to get a specific result. Many brewers, however, use only DME to make full-bodied, full-flavored, all-malt beers. DME definitely adds color to your beer, in addition to a full, malty flavor.

OTHER SUGARS: Many specific recipes call for others sugars, such as brown sugar for brown ales, demerara sugar, lactose, etc. These sugars are used because they add pronounced flavor, or, as is case with lactose, because they are unfermentable and add high sweetness. These sugars should not be used for regular beers as the results, although they can be interesting, will not be consistent with type of kit.

Experimenting with different ingredients is part of the fun of home brewing. Understanding the implications of each ingredient will help you tailor your beer to your taste.