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Beer Adjuncts
Syrups and Sugars
The British are known for their use of syrups and sugars, which are mainly used as nitrogen dilutents. The reduction in proteins leads to shorter fermentation periods, cleaner yeast, and sharper filtration (allowing more beer to be processed with the same amount, or less, of filter aid). Another advantage in using syrups and sugars is that the carbohydrate component can be controlled and custom manufactured to the needs of the brewer. Syrups and sugars also allow for shorter boiling times and high-gravity brewing, and they can be used to expand brew house capacity. Finally, syrups and sugars are handled easily in bulk form. Cereal adjuncts need handling systems such as conveyors, dust collectors, and milling operations. Brewing syrups and sugars, having already undergone gelatinization and saccharification, can be added directly to the kettle or can be used in priming, thereby bypassing the mashing operation.
Syrup and Sugar Use in Brewing
Syrups and sugars can be added to the wort either at the boiling stage or as primings during racking. If added during boiling, syrups and sugars can be used to extend brewhouse capacity or to improve beer stability. Syrups and sugars that are added directly to the kettle to supplement fermentable carbohydrates effectively extend the capacity of the brewhouse to produce more fermentable wort. Syrups and sugars can improve beer stability by diluting the nonstarch constituents of the wort, such as proteins and polyphenols, that contribute to haze. There is also better extract recovery with syrups than malt, because there is no loss of extract due to the mashing and wort separation stages. Syrups and sugars can be added as primings to the beer and may be used for sweetening, body, and color, as well as to provide fermentable carbohydrate for secondary fermentation and conditioning in the cask (25).
Syrups
The two major syrups used in brewing are sucrose- and starch-based. The sucrose-based syrups have been refined from natural sources such as sugar cane or beets. The starch-based syrups are produced from cereals by hydrolysis using acid, exogenous enzymes, or a combination of the two to produce a range of syrups with different fermentabilities. In recent years, there has been a great development in the range of starch-based syrups produced from corn and wheat. In the U.S., these adjuncts are produced exclusively from yellow corn; while in Europe, they are produced from corn and wheat. The starch-based syrups are commonly referred to as "glucose" syrups. This name is misleading, however, since the syrups contain a large range of sugars, depending on the method of manufacture – dextrose, maltose, maltotriose, maltotetraose, and larger dextrins (25).
Sugars
Dextrose: Dextrose is also known as corn sugar and is available in the trade in the purified form as a spray dry or as a crystalline powder. Dextrose sugar is added directly to the brew kettle during boiling.
Sucrose: Various grades of sucrose are used in the brewing industry. Few brewers today use raw sugar; most prefer the more consistent products of the sugar refiner. Granulated sugar, the normal end product of the refining process, may be added directly to the kettle, but usually is dissolved in a solution before being added.
Malto-dextrin: Malto-dextrin is the most complex fraction of the products of starch conversion. It is tasteless, gummy, and hard to dissolve. It is often said to add body (palate fullness) to beer, increase wort viscosity, and add smoothness to the palate of low-malt beers. However, it is easy to increase the dextrin content of grain beers by changing the mash schedule or using dextrin malt. Malto-dextrin is of interest mainly as a supplement to extract brews.
Caramel: Caramel is used in brewing as a flavor and/or coloring agent. For example, many milds and sweet stouts contain caramel for both flavor and color. Caramel may be used either in the kettle or in primings to make minor adjustments to the color of the beer, but the choice of malt grist and the grade of adjuncts added to the kettle will determine the fundamental color of the beer.
Invert Sugar: Invert sugar is a mixture of dextrose (also called glucose) and fructose syrup.
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