Corn Syrup Vs Rice

Which costs more to by in bulk and what are the pros and cons of using one over the other? Also, what brand of corn syrup would one use? Where do buy?

Just so you know, corn syrup is basically just glucose. You won't get any corn flavor.

As for what the pros and cons are, it would depend on what you are trying to achieve. What's your goal?

A cost effective adjunct

Corn syrup is a liquid, so it will be easier to use. It should also be a bit cheaper. Even the big guys don't use straight corn syrup. They use a dextrose/maltose blend.

If you want booze with no flavor just use dextrose (corn sugar).

If you want a non-flavoring adjunct to boost the ABV and lighten up the flavor...plain table sugar up to 10% of the grain bill is the most cost effective and consistent.

I use it now in my C of 3 C's recipe and it works very well. Placed third in lite lagers last week at a competition.

BierMuncher said:

If you want a non-flavoring adjunct to boost the ABV and lighten up the flavor...plain table sugar up to 10% of the grain bill is the most cost effective and consistent.

I use it now in my C of 3 C's recipe and it works very well. Placed third in lite lagers last week at a competition.

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+1 All of my reading and listening indicates that table sugar, or corn sugar is fine and is often used by the pro homebrewers at up to 15-20%, depending on the beer style.

Table sugar? Nope, I'm a purist.

I use Corn Sugar.

I always was under the impression table sugar was a simple sugar and corn syrup was a blend of dextrose/maltose blend. The later part better and to never use table sugar. This is very interesting now people are saying they have used table sugar in their recipes.. Does anyone know a good brand if i wanted to use corn syrup along with two row barely as part of my recipe

Table sugar has its place in many beer recipes, especially Belgians. It lightens the body to make the beer, in the words of the monks, 'more digestible'. There is also a tradition of using simple sugars in English brewing.

flyangler18 said:

Table sugar has its place in many beer recipes, especially Belgians. It lightens the body to make the beer, in the words of the monks, 'more digestible'. There is also a tradition of using simple sugars in English brewing.

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In strictest terms, simple sugars are monosaccharides, which have one sugar unit, but in terms of the basic sugars used as brewing adjuncts I'll also include disaccharides, which are two simple sugars linked together and often ferment nearly as quickly and cleanly. The common ones are below:

Corn Sugar = Dextrose = Glucose = monosaccharide
Maltose = Glucose+Glucose = linked disaccharide
Table sugar = Sucrose = Glucose+Fructose = linked disaccharide
Lactose = Glucose+Galactose = linked disaccharide, non-fermentable by yeast
Invert sugar = Glucose and Fructose = mixed monosaccharides made by breaking up table sugar with an acid and heat

Some other equivalents:

Brewing grade corn syrup = mostly glucose (kitchen grade might have flavorings and additives you don't want to brew with)
High-fructose corn syrup = invert sugar (corn syrup processed by enzymes to turn half of the glucose into fructose)
Brewing grade rice syrup = mostly glucose and maltose
Candi sugar = invert sugar, partially caramelized for flavor
Honey = invert sugar, though obviously with its own natural flavors
Brown/raw sugar = sucrose, with the natural cane flavoring (brown is white sugar + molasses, raw is cane sugar before the molasses is extracted)
Maple syrup = mostly sucrose

All of these but lactose can be fermented quickly and completely by yeast. Highly purified varieties will lend no real flavor to the end product if used properly, interchangably boosting ABV without affecting body. Less refined sugars will lend their flavors to the end result, so will be more detectable. Corn vs. rice should matter less when you use syrups or sugars than it would if you were mashing the grains with your malt, I would think - you're buying a more refined product and a lot of the unique flavors were removed along the way.

Perfect, why isnt this the first thing they put in any how to brew book

So one could use a recipe of 85%-80% barley and just 15-20% table sugar and create a great lager?

Shamrock28 said:

So one could use a recipe of 85%-80% barley and just 15-20% table sugar and create a great lager?

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At least a passable one, at least if you're doing an extract brew. If you're mashing, the mixture of six-grain and corn(for soft creamy flavors) or rice(for dry and crisp finishes) is what makes a light American lager. But when you add plain refined sugars rather than flavored ones, amount of adjunct seems to matter more than the source. If you use over that 15-20% of the grain bill, then you'll get too little body for your alcohol content and cidery flavors from malnourished yeast. There are Belgian styles that use more, but I understand they'd be a reasonably strong all-malt beer even without the sugar.
Now, don't take this as gospel - I'm a newbie brewer with a little biochemistry background and a lot of recent research here and in books. But this is what I understand from said research.

What about 90% barley and 10% table sugar....

Youd recommend using rice as an adjunct then corn syrup?

To the OP:

What style of beer are you trying to make? There are different ways to achieve a light bodied, crisp and clean beer.

Lite American lager

Here's a starting point:

BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines - Category 01

I'd avoid sugars completely, and use flaked rice or flaked corn to lighten the body.

Know that this is an extremely difficult style to brew, as there is zero room for off-flavors and brewing flaws.

Good luck!