Results of table sugar

[Wayne (Captain Yobbo)]

I have conducted a series of experiments over the past few months in a few brews using table sugar..... Now before people make spew faces[sick].... I have had great results I have not gone over 300g I have used my mates to test a similar recipe from a while back that used dex and one that I used table sugar.... I personally cannot detect any cidery flavours in the beers with table sugar now when doing these tests side by side with mates testing them I have asked which one tastes better they have indicated the beers made with table sugar and then I had told them I used table sugar instead of dextrose. So in this experiment I have learnt a way to save some money and also still make great beer.... The local home brew shop here sells 1kg bags of dex for $9 I refuse to pay that any more I have sourced a supermarket that sells the coopers dex for $4.90 however now that I have found that table sugar in small doses works well and does not ruin my beers at a $1 a kilo you can't go wrong. I am open to criticism however if you are keen to try it yourself you can but I wouldn't go over the 300g mark. Before I did this I consulted this forum and asked if it was ok to use it some people suggested just try small amounts and work out where my taste tolerance was I first tried 200g in one batch and 300 g in another and am rapt with the beers I made. So if you want to cut costs a tad the use of white table sugar works fine.

[Mainiac]

Are you also using dextrose in the same batches? You say you are using 300g of sugar but is that all you are adding? Of course I do not know your recipes but that doesn't seem like nuch.

[Wayne (Captain Yobbo)]

No dextrose except the kits I made with dex instead of table sugar. Pale ale kit + LDM ranging from 1 batch was 500g LDM another was 1KG and then 300g table sugar each batch I had only discovered one of the batches last week had it aging in a cupboard and forgot about it I do also have hop additions as well in the recipe's

[Otto Von Blotto]

$9 a kilo for Dex??????? WTF?! That's insane. I don't blame you for not wanting to pay that to be honest. My local shop sells it at $3 a kg, although I've only ever used it for priming (except on a couple of recipes that called for it) so it lasts a fair while.

[Scottie]

I have conducted a series of experiments over the past few months in a few brews using table sugar..... .....the use of white table sugar works fine.

Hey Wayne

 

Here's a link to an article on sugars and brewing.

Supports the results of your experiment

[Guest]

Hi Wayno.

 

I too am quite happy to use sugar in place of dextrose, as long as it is only in smallish amounts. With most of my brewing these days I rarely use dextrose/sugar, but when I do it's usually in amounts no more than 100gms to reach a chosen ABV%. I find if I'm needing more than 100gms of dex/sugar, then I'll add more LDM rather than dex/sugar.

 

Anthony.

[Otto Von Blotto]

That seems to be the consensus on sugar/dextrose. In small amounts up to 300g or so, it's no problem, and going higher than that seems to affect the flavour and body in a negative way. It looks like your experiments have supported that consensus. Although, the two brews I did use it in I used 500g and 1kg respectively and they turned out fine, so I guess there are exceptions depending on the recipe you're making.

[Nick]

i have never used sugar in my brews as the consensus has been that it can spoil the beer by adding unwanted flavours, but i like using it as a primer when i bottle. i am not bulk priming yet so i add the correct amount to each bottle. i have found that sugar produces a nice white creamy head with good retention. Dex and carbonation drops dont seem to give me such a good result

[Wayne (Captain Yobbo)]

I usually use mostly DME myself but for that little tiny bit more alcohol boost I use sugar or dex no more than 300g is the rule I have found I am yet to try a larger amount of sugar. But its been ages since I made a kit and kilo of dex recipe and I had one I had aging for nearly a year I tried it last Friday I had to tip it out it was god awful. I am glad I have learnt ages ago not to go crazy with sugars like dex or sugar as higher amounts ruin head retention dry the beer right out and give it that god awful twang..... Small amounts up to 300g works well for an ABV boost and has minimal impact on dryness. I do agree using malt is far superior and makes a hell of a better beer but a small amount of sugar will not hurt to boost ABV. After the home brew store slugging $9 a kilo I had to find another way to boost my ABV I have used honey in the past too with great success. All in all small amounts of sugar will not impart off flavours a very slight dryness yes but that is about it. Also I was shocked my mates liked the beers with table sugar I thought they would pick the brews that had Dex well they proved me wrong there. These mates are not mega swillers either they like LCPA, Coopers, James Squire and a few more. So I trust their taste buds and also they are the mates that seem to cream themselves over some of my very hoppy beers [innocent] [innocent] I found with home brewing experimenting is the key you never know till you try it and there is an old saying don't knock it till you have tried it. Seems to be a fair statement however some experiments can go wrong and you learn by that. I just thought I would share my experience with this experiment and help others save a little bit of cash.

Scottie

Hey Wayne

 

Here's a link to an article on sugars and brewing.

Supports the results of your experiment

 

Scottie that was one of the links I looked at months ago when I was investigating the use of table sugar.[cool]

 

All good hope others have learnt something from this and I am glad to see others do use table sugar in small amounts.

 

Cheers Wayne

[Wayne (Captain Yobbo)]

I have got a kilo of dex I bought for $4.90 at the local IGA a lot cheaper than the brew shop that is for my upcoming toucan stout as the recipe requires that amount of dex but that is going to be the first time I add a kilo of sugar to any brew in a long time. I am hoping it turns out like Coopers Best Extra Stout.

[Otto Von Blotto]

I'm not sure how close it ends up to the Best Extra, but that's only because it's been a while since I've had a Best Extra. Maybe I should pick up a 6 pack and do a side by side comparison when I do my 4 months taste testing of the Toucan. Either way it's a bloody nice stout!

[Muddy Waters]

I reckon it holds it own next to the Best Extra! Maybe even better!!

 

On a side note I noticed on the Dan Murphy website earlier that they are selling Coopers home brew products now.

[Wayne (Captain Yobbo)]

I am giving it a go I will do tasting notes once I have brewed it and tasted it after about a month in the bottle Cheers.

 

PS Muddy I might see if the local dan murphy's sells home brew products here cheers for that.

[Muddy Waters]

At least the dex is cheaper for you there...only $2.99 per kg

[AdamH1525226084]

On a side note I noticed on the Dan Murphy website earlier that they are selling Coopers home brew products now.

 

Interesting. They are part of woolies too now and are also really trying to attract craft brew drinkers I've noticed. They have Dark Ale available in boxes again too [w00t] [w00t]

[Wayne (Captain Yobbo)]

At least the dex is cheaper for you there...only $2.99 per kg

 

That will be handy for future reference [cool]

 

However I am against the big chains as they are making it hard for farmers to make a living and importing produce instead Dan Murphys is a Woolworths company but what can you do only use them for some things and support small shops.