Anyone ever brewed with corn syrup, agave maybe?

Just seeing what kind of wacky syrups and adjuncts some of you have used.. Anyone mess with agave nectar or corn syrups? Maple syrup, honeys? Even molasses... and maybe the results?

Just about everything you mentioned except agave.

I just used 50 year old honey in my barleywine. It was black as sin, and full of flavor.

The top half was liquid, but the bottom was crystalize. I used about 1.5 pounds in the beer.

Where does one find 50 year old honey?

Very old bees.

maddprofessor said:

Where does one find 50 year old honey?

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One of my closest friends and brew buddies gets it. His father was a hobby bee keeper and had more honey than he knew what to do with, so he'd hide it around his property. Everytime my friend heads down to visit his mother in Ohio (dad's been dead for over 30 + years), he finds sealed jars of this stuff, all over the place. He can literally reach up in a rafter in the basement or attic, and pull out a jar of it. The stuff is so dark and so rich tasting. He adds it to some of his beers and it imparts a unique flavor.

HokieBrewer said:

Very old bees.

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Better answer than mine.

I tried fermenting agave nectar (which is not the same as agave syrup) by itself. Let me tell you, it took a lot of yeast nutrients to get it to go. It was like fermenting honey to make mead, but much more difficult because it is almost completely fructose and brewing yeast is not designed to efficiently ferment pure fructose. Even honey has more nutrients and less fructose. I've been trying to get it to ferment down for two weeks.

However, if you were trying to make a braggot or add it to a beer to add sweetness, like a honey brown, it should be fine since you'll have plenty of nutrients and the maltose from the grains.

FYI -- agave nectar is the liquid pressed out of the agave root. It is filtered to clear and sterilize it. It tastes a lot like honey, and you usually find it in the store with honey. Agave syrup takes the nectar and refines it down to a neutral sweetener like corn syrup.

I was just wondering. I just did my first gluten free brew using sorghum and brown rice syrup and was curious as to other stuff out there. Im adventurous to the idea of brewing with stuff that sounds outside of the box.