Can you use cane sugar to sweeten apfelwein?

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St. Jon's Wort

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Thinking about trying EdWort's apfelwein recipe for my wife. Was wondering if you could use table sugar along with the corn sugar? I figured since about 5% of the cane sugar is fermentable, not only would it sweeten it but raise the ABV as well.

What do you guys think?


Cheers everyone!
 
Not sure about that, but what we do is just make it with the normal recipe. Then I drink it like that, and my wife adds a little bit of apple juice to the glass when pouring to sweeten it up a bit (and cut down the alcohol too).

Might work for you.
 
Ed said he used corn sugar because it dissolves so much easier. I would agree, but you can use table sugar but I think the sweetness would be barely noticeable. Other suggestions are to use apple juice concentrate, splenda or lactose for sweetening.
 
I use Splenda and honestly can't detect any twang. You could kill off the yeast with campden then back sweeten with anything. You just can't carb in bottles if you like it bubbly.
 
I use cane sugar in my wines to sweeten without problems- however, you have to use sorbate and campden to stop any refermentation first. If you just add sugar without stabilizing, then you'll just boost your ABV and restart fermentation. Of course, once you stabilize, you can't bottle carbonate.

I think your figure of sugar being 5% fermentable is wrong. The sugar basically completely ferments. That's why it ferments to dry.
 
Yooper Chick said:
I use cane sugar in my wines to sweeten without problems- however, you have to use sorbate and campden to stop any refermentation first. If you just add Of course, once you stabilize, you can't bottle carbonate.

I think your figure of sugar being 5% fermentable is wrong. The sugar basically completely ferments. That's why it ferments to dry.
Click to expand...

Oh..... I could have sworn I read somewhere that cane was only 5% fermentable and that is why your supposed to use corn sugar/dextrose during primary fermentation because if you did use cane then the beer would end up having a hard/sweet taste like cider because the fructose wouldn't ferment?

Cheers everyone!
 
No, that's not it. While it's true that large amounts of sugar (corn or cane) will/can impart a cidery taste to your beer, it's not because it's nonfermentable.

I use regular grocery store sugar in all of my wines, and I make dry wines. Fructose is fruit sugar, like that found in blackberries. Table sugar is sucrose (from sugar cane), Dextrose is corn sugar. (Sucrose is glucose + fructose.) Basically what that means is that fructose and dextrose are simple sugars while sucrose is a complex sugar. They all still ferment pretty completely, as the sugar is fermentable. The difference is not in fermentability but in taste.

I'm no chemist, but that's the jist of it.
 
Yooper Chick said:
No, that's not it. While it's true that large amounts of sugar (corn or cane) will/can impart a cidery taste to your beer, it's not because it's nonfermentable.

I use regular grocery store sugar in all of my wines, and I make dry wines. Fructose is fruit sugar, like that found in blackberries. Table sugar is sucrose (from sugar cane), Dextrose is corn sugar. (Sucrose is glucose + fructose.) Basically what that means is that fructose and dextrose are simple sugars while sucrose is a complex sugar. They all still ferment pretty completely, as the sugar is fermentable. The difference is not in fermentability but in taste.

I'm no chemist, but that's the jist of it.
Click to expand...


So, can I use regular table sugar in my brew? Sounds to me from what you're saying like they (corn, cane, fruit sugars) are all about the same?
 
Well, yes and no. Cane sugar in beer can impart a cidery taste, I understand, although I have no direct knowledge of that! But in cider, well, since the sugar ferments completely out you don't taste it (and even so, if it was a bit cidery, well, it's cider!).

So for wine, use regular table sugar. For cider, dextrose or regular table sugar. For beer, stay clear of large amounts of either!
 
corn sugar is glucose (aka dextrose) which the yeast can ferment directly. maltose (what you get from grain/malt extract) is broken up into glucose. sucrose has to get broken up into glucose and fructose.

I believe that fructose ferments differently, though I don't know much about what difference this makes, but it seems clear that table sugar (which gives some fructose) is not the same as maltose or dextrose (glucose only). Whatever the differences, I am guessing there is some reasoning behind sticking to glucose (malt, corn sugar) and not fructose (cane sugar).

I'd be interested in learning more about it if anyone who knows more would like to chime in :)
 
If you want residual sweetness, you might try a yeast strain that doesn't ferment to dryness. I know most english ales yeasts are less dry and there are some champagne yeast strains that don't ferment to dryness. This will only leavesome residual sweetness however, so sample it when it's done fermenting (or have the wife sample it if making it to her tastes) and either stop fermentation and add sugar or add an unfermentable sugar like splenda or lactose if you need more and want to carb.
 

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