So if the Pros dont use sugar, what do they use?

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CROM

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I'm curious, the palmer book I bought talks about all the different kinds of sugar, and also says how commercial brewers dont use all that much sugar (I might have read it wrong) what do they use?

Id switch to using Malt extract instead of Sugar but I cant see that saving me any money at all...

can some one help me out here?

*edit. P.s.*
up here where I am, (Hamilton, Ontario Canada) the LME kits ( i.e ...coopers, Muntons) go for about $19 bucks... been thinking about driving down to the states for some things, is the price any different in certain states? can I buy it in Wal-Mart down there?
 
If you want to make prison hooch, all you need is bread yeast and table sugar. I believe that it will get you drunk, although I can't speak from experience.

If you want to make beer, you need malt extract. Whether it be extract that you buy in liquid or dry form (yes, it's pricier than sugar but it tastes like BEER when fermented) or if you make the 'extract' yourself by going all-grain, you need maltose to make beer, along with ale or lager yeast and hops of course.

If you mean you want an extra boost of alcohol beyond that you would get from malt extract, then yes using 10%-15% dextrose (corn sugar) or sucrose (table sugar) of the total amount of sugars will give you that.
 
Most folks have a local homebrew shop where they can buy malt extract or grain or they go online.

You might be best ordering online from sites like northern brewer, austin homebrew supply, morebeer, etc.

I doubt Walmart would have malt extract, but you never know.

In BC they have some homebrew shops but I think they do everything for you and you pick up your beer or wine a few weeks after ordering. Does Ontario not have shops like that?
 
Many breweries will force carbonate and many will use yeast to carbonate (requires fermentable sugar)

It's hard to tell without getting an exact quote (you should get one.) Does he mean most breweries don't use table sugar? Don't switch away from corn sugar though. I think you're getting the wrong idea from what you are reading...
 
The pros use grain cause it's the cheapest way to make a quality product. They extract the sugars from the grain and ferment those sugars to make beer.

Some Belgian brewers use simple sugar to thin the beer and make a higher alcohol beer with a light, dry finish. But most brewers in the US and the world over use grain.
 
So if I switch to making beer from grain instead of these malt extract kits I dont need to add sugar to ferment? just using the grain after its been processed and ready will do they same job?
 
So if I switch to making beer from grain instead of these malt extract kits I dont need to add sugar to ferment? just using the grain after its been processed and ready will do they same job?

[ He is referring to kits that require several lbs. of dextrose added with the extract and water. ]

Right. All grain is exactly like it sounds. Just grain and hops and yeast and water. If bottling, 3/4 cup of dextrose is added to the bottling bucket for carbing in bottles (other sugars can be used also)


If you want to save money, all grain is the way to go.
 
So if I switch to making beer from grain instead of these malt extract kits I dont need to add sugar to ferment? just using the grain after its been processed and ready will do they same job?

You would have to mash the grain (mashing is soaking the grain at a certain temperature for a period of time) to convert the starch to fermentable sugars. If your just starting out, I highly suggest you use all extracts to make beer, Mashing grain takes more time, equipment and experience.

buy an extract kit from morebeer.com or Austin home brew supply.com the will have all the extract and instructions you need to make great beer. Leave the grain brewing to the pro's until you understand the basics. The pros brew with grains because it's more economical. Home brewers brew with extract because it's easier and more convenient
 
I don't bottle, Gnome, but this statement caught me. What properties of table sugar do you prefer?

I should not talk for Gnome but price is a big consideration. Sugar is super cheap compared with DME. And at that stage in the process I think you are just looking for the most fermentable thing you can find. Sugar is very easy to ferment and make CO2
 
I should not talk for Gnome but price is a big consideration. Sugar is super cheap compared with DME. And at that stage in the process I think you are just looking for the most fermentable thing you can find. Sugar is very easy to ferment and make CO2


I don't think that's the case here. Gnomey is a serious brewer and goes for quality product. Besides, we're talking only about bottle carbing, not making beer. I'm expecting to hear something about that high fermentation qualities giving him a superior product in some way.
 
If your starting out, do a partial mash. I feel that extract brews extremely limit what you can do in a brew. Its not that much more difficult and you have much more control over the quality of the product. Even with PM, AG is not that far off. You don't need that much more equipment and you can make better beer.

As far as sugar. I only used sugar when bottling in order to carbonate the bottles. Kegging is much easier than bottling and requires less clean up and sanitizer.

Read deathbrewers Easy Partial Mashing with pictures to gain information of the process and if you need help formulating a recipe PM (personal message) me. I'll tell you what you need.
 
I don't think that's the case here. Gnomey is a serious brewer and goes for quality product. Besides, we're talking only about bottle carbing, not making beer. I'm expecting to hear something about that high fermentation qualities giving him a superior product in some way.

LOL! You flatter me. While table sugar is certainly cheap, the main reason I use it is easy availability. All my house ale is geared toward simple ingredients, and if I can use grocery store items I do. We all have our little quirks, and mine is to be as independant from the LHBS as possible. If everything was working perfectly for me, then with propogating and washing yeast, growing hops, home roasting the specialty grains, making starters from stored wort etc, then all I need the LHBS for is sacks of grain and a couple of packs of yeast per year (That's in the ideal world of course, I'll never be able to grow enough hops)

I have never noticed any extra benefit from corn sugar or DME, so I stick with the table sugar. I keep meaning to use some of the wort that I freeze to make starters with for carbonation, but I really need to remember to organize myself better as there always seems to be some reason that makes it too much trouble.....That would be my preferred method though. I just need to get my act together on that one. :eek:
 
Is there any taste difference in corn and table sugar? I forgot to get corn sugar on my last trip to the brew shop. Also any difference in the bottle conditioning time frame?
 
Is there any taste difference in corn and table sugar? I forgot to get corn sugar on my last trip to the brew shop. Also any difference in the bottle conditioning time frame?

I don't think there is a detectable taste difference. time frame is no different, but you do need to use a little more.
 
I don't think there is a detectable taste difference. time frame is no different, but you do need to use a little more.

Actually, I think you need to use a little less cane sugar than corn sugar. This carbonation calculator has the Fermentability of cane sugar as 100% and corn sugar as 95%.

Being 100% fermentable, I would think cane sugar would be considered superior to corn sugar for bottling since it adds no flavor at all.
 
If you want to make prison hooch, all you need is bread yeast and table sugar. I believe that it will get you drunk, although I can't speak from experience.

Sir the term we use here in Florida is Buck, and you have to use your teeth to strain out the stuff.

Orange Buck
Clean out yo ****ter, get a couple oranges from the mess, and shank that mfen guard if he gets in yo bidnass, and sum sugar and sum bread that be gotten dat green **** on it. mix it all up and let it sit for a couple days. Den dat **** will get U FUGGedup, trade some for sigarets or a new *****.
 
Id switch to using Malt extract instead of Sugar but I cant see that saving me any money at all...

IMO, if you're looking for something to save you some money and aren't too concerned, stick with the extract kit+corn sugar. If on the other hand, you find that your brew has a unexplainably one-dimentional flavour, replace the sugar with either another LME or even better DME. You'll know why when you do. My first batch was a hopped LME+corn sugar and I wasn't happy with it, so I went to extract with steeping grains, and there was a noticable change in flavour...I'm AG now but that's another topic all together.

Bottom line, do with what you have and can afford and know that you made that beer!
 
Sir the term we use here in Florida is Buck, and you have to use your teeth to strain out the stuff.

Orange Buck
Clean out yo ****ter, get a couple oranges from the mess, and shank that mfen guard if he gets in yo bidnass, and sum sugar and sum bread that be gotten dat green **** on it. mix it all up and let it sit for a couple days. Den dat **** will get U FUGGedup, trade some for sigarets or a new *****.

That thar is sum funny ****.
 
We all have our little quirks, and mine is to be as independant from the LHBS as possible. If everything was working perfectly for me, then with propogating and washing yeast, growing hops, home roasting the specialty grains, making starters from stored wort etc, then all I need the LHBS for is sacks of grain and a couple of packs of yeast per year (That's in the ideal world of course, I'll never be able to grow enough hops)

Sounds like a serious brewer to me. I stand by what I said. :mug:
 
Ive done about 6 LME kits now, and Ive been reading and watching videos on all grain... Im getting a house in about 2 months and thats when I want to start....(Im not doing all grain in a small apartment)...

I just never understood how much of the mash is fermentable with all grain and how much to use... because the books never really say... from videos and kits its all about the 5-6 cups of sugar for the malt extracts
 
Well I'm doing a 6 gallon ( 23 liter ) batch right now. I mashed 11 pounds of grain to get about 7 1/2 gallons of pre boil wort at a gravity of 1040. I'm expecting a OG of 1049 and that to ferment out to 1010 of quality beer.

Cheep, well ya, but the beer is also what counts. Quality in quality out.
 
(Im not doing all grain in a small apartment)

There is really no reason not to. I just started doing small 2.5 gallon all grain batches in my kitchen. All I use is a stock pot, a small cooler MLT and the stove.

If you only want to do 5 gallon batches, yeah that's a bit trickier when space is limited.
 
Ive done about 6 LME kits now, and Ive been reading and watching videos on all grain... Im getting a house in about 2 months and thats when I want to start....(Im not doing all grain in a small apartment)...

I just never understood how much of the mash is fermentable with all grain and how much to use... because the books never really say... from videos and kits its all about the 5-6 cups of sugar for the malt extracts

There is nothing wrong with extract. Some of the best beer in the world can be made with extract. But using 5-6 cups of sugar + a can of extract, is not what I'd recommend. Try getting a full extract ingredient kit from Austin Homebrew or Morebeer.com. You will see a huge difference in the quality of your beer.

The only reason the pro's don't use extract is because it's more expensive and when your brewing a 1,000 gallons at a time those costs add up.
 
*edit. P.s.*
up here where I am, (Hamilton, Ontario Canada) the LME kits ( i.e ...coopers, Muntons) go for about $19 bucks... been thinking about driving down to the states for some things, is the price any different in certain states? can I buy it in Wal-Mart down there?


Go to Brew Time on Upper James St. They charge about $1.85 per pound for fresh bulk LME.
 
hamiton huh? just jump on the 403, take it to the 410 down to brampton and go to the guys house from homebrew-supplies.com he doesnt have a shop front but u can arrange pick ups with him and in hamilton your not far off. hes got the largest selection ive seen close to you.

PS im originally from Brampton
 
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