Corn sugar = corn syrup? and other sugar questions.

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Knittycat

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So...does it? I'd have to order the corn sugar online, but my grocery store carries corn syrup. Is it still just dextrose? What amounts should/could it be used in?

Other sugars

Anybody used honey? (I'm sure many of you have) Would using honey for carbing be okay? I like honey and the flavors it can add, but will it carb?

How about molasses? What kind of tastes can this add? I know it's not got a lot of '...ose' in it comparatively, but it has some.

Ever noticed any difference between beet sugar and cane sugar?

What other sweeteners have y'all used? Were they a shining success or an utter disaster?
 
Ok, search function, duh. So corn syrup isn't a direct replacement for corn sugar, but it is usable. What about the other questions though :D
 
Simple question first . . . no difference between beet sugar and cane sugar.

Honey - you can use it, but I wouldn't. It is highly fermentable, so you wouldn't get much flavor at all if used for carbing, but you can if you use a good bit of it in (or at the end of) your boil. I have no experience with honey, but I have read a few things, and apparently those who like the flavor of honey in their beer generally recommend not boiling it but sanitizing it another way. I understand it has delicate nuances that can be ruined by vigorous boil. But I may be wrong.

I have used molasses, and it definitely adds flavor to your beer. I would say it's best used in beers that can benefit from what it can offer, like a pumpkin ale or gingerbread cookie ale, etc. Not an IPA though.

I usually use corn sugar for priming when I don't keg.
 
Used table (cane) sugar to carb this time and it came out great. Can't tell the difference between cheep cane sugar and corn sugar when used to carb. Amount to use will be different though.
 
Honey - you can use it, but I wouldn't. It is highly fermentable, so you wouldn't get much flavor at all if used for carbing, but you can if you use a good bit of it in (or at the end of) your boil. I have no experience with honey, but I have read a few things, and apparently those who like the flavor of honey in their beer generally recommend not boiling it but sanitizing it another way. I understand it has delicate nuances that can be ruined by vigorous boil. But I may be wrong.

How does adding honey at the end of the boil add more flavor than adding honey to carb? If it's that fermentable wouldn't it ferment away regardless of when you add it?
 
You're adding between .25 and .4 lbs of sugar to a beer that may have 6 or 7 lbs of fermentable sugars. You probably won't notice the difference between corn and cane.
 
The sugar content of honey is somewhat variable. Papazian gives a procedure for mixing up a sample and testing with a hydrometer, to determine how much honey equals how much corn or table sugar. But it's a lot of trouble for little benefit.

If you are stuck for ingredients and looking to bottle, just use table sugar. No worries. Go to tastybrew.com and check out the bottle priming calculator for amounts.

As I think you have noticed, Karo corn syrup contains other stuff (like salt) that you don't really want in your beer. A lot of store-bought items also contain potassium sorbate, a yeast killer.

The problem I have found with molasses is that the flavor is extremely bitter and woody once the sugar has been eaten by the yeast. Not to my liking.

Cheers!
 
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