corn syrup

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dumbj

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hey all. i am new, and am about to make my first batch of home brew. ive read alot and am confident so far, except for i have 1 question. i live in a very rural part of canada and i dont have easy access to most ingredients. id like to make my first batch of bere with corn sugar like is sugested, but that just isnt an option for a few weeks. my local grocery/gas store does carry alotta corn SYRUP tho, like the BeeHive brand. can this be used as a better substitute than the normal white cane sugar, and if so, does any1 know the proportion the substitute. thanx alot for the time and the forum. :)
 
IMO, you should not use corn syrup to brew with. If you are just getting started, be patient and do your first batch the right way with proper ingredients. Whatever you brew with corn syrup will not taste like a good craft brew.

Just my $.02.

There is a homebrewshop just an internet away from you and most of them ship items in a very short time.
 
If you have the malt then you can brew with regular table sugar if you must. Just beware that your brew might not be as good tasting as if you made it with fresh ingredients such as dry malt extract in place of sugar or even steeping grains.
What part of Canada are you?
 
The problem with grocery store corn syrup is the additives, like vanillin. If you can find one without anything extra, you could use it.
 
hey all, just wanted to say thanks. im going to go ahead and brew 1 batch with regular white sugar, ill put the next off until i can get to some corn sugar. that going to be this weeks project, so wish me luck.
 
Check the ingredients on corn syrup bottles- light stuff ususlly has vanilla added, but not the dark syrup.

If you have to use table suger, boil it with a little lemon juice first, the yeasties will appreciate that you have broken the sucrose into glucose and fructose for their dining pleasure.
 
casebrew said:
If you have to use table suger, boil it with a little lemon juice first, the yeasties will appreciate that you have broken the sucrose into glucose and fructose for their dining pleasure.

Alton? Alton?
 
casebrew said:
Check the ingredients on corn syrup bottles- light stuff ususlly has vanilla added, but not the dark syrup.QUOTE]

Home brewing does not have to be a science, it is supposed to be a pleasure. Corn syrup is fine to use. You might like the extra flavor of the vanilla? Look at all the specialty extracts and yeasts used to produce just the right bouquet of flavors for some people's special beers. Well remember, those are their special beers but don't have to be special for you. Recipes are usually written to fit the ingredients on hand at brew time and changed when something is missing.

Since you are new, you want to be careful about contamination - wash everything and keep the pets away. Bacteria and molds alter the flavor a lot faster than vanilla!

Cost is another reasonable factor. Corn syrup is mega cheap (huge market, mass distribution) compared to internet ordered corn sugar (specialty market, specialty shipping).

Take your time and have fun!
 
I kind of agree with Johnoswald's comments . . . kind of.

Here is the problem with using things like commercial corn sugar. A lot of beginning homebrewers use this line of logic - "I am not sure that I will like this hobby or that I can make great beer, so I am going to try a batch on the cheap. If it is good, I will then purchase more equipment, better ingredients, etc." Using this logic, they think that using a lot of table sugar, corn syrup, etc. will save them some $$$ but give them a good introduction to the craft.

Too often, however, what happens is that this first "penny-pincher ale" is downright undrinkable and these new homebrewers assume that homebrewed beer will always taste like this.

I have met so many people who have a flawed understanding of what homebrewed beer should taste like. Most of these are guys who claim that they tried homebrewing once, and it tasted fizzy and cidery. After I talk more about it with them, I almost always find out that their only homebrewing experience was with a can of malt and the directions that came with the can - usually calling for multiple pounds of table sugar - and a 2 gallon brew pot.

My point is this - if you really want to learn how to brew, you should brew to a set of style guidelines to see how great homebrewed beer can be. After this, experimentation with commercial corn syrup may be fun, but you'll know the flavor profile that it creates because you'll know what all-malt beer tastes like.

Just my $.02
 
I'm new at this, but I'm trying to do things the right way initially. No corn syrup, gotta know what the beer is SUPPOSED to taste like before doing any major substitutions. Prolly going to be an extract brewer for a while (can't see ******* out the money for AG equipment for a while), but I still don't want to fool around too much until I get the basic process down and know that I'm doing it right. Case of "gotta know the rules before you can break them."

EDIT: Wait a minute, am I not allowed to say "f o r k i n g"?
 
casebrew said:
Check the ingredients on corn syrup bottles- light stuff ususlly has vanilla added, but not the dark syrup.

If you have to use table suger, boil it with a little lemon juice first, the yeasties will appreciate that you have broken the sucrose into glucose and fructose for their dining pleasure.

How much lemon juice should be added for ideal results?
 
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