Corn Sugar vs Table Sugar flavor (7lbs worth)

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Dionysos911

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Hi all, tried searching but could only find this topic discussed in amounts of a pound here or there when added to something else.

Anyway, I really want to make a ginger beer based on what appears to be original recipes from back in the day. Fresh ginger root, lemon juice, cream of tartar and about 7lbs of sugar topped with some 1118 yeast. Since there is so much sugar it will likely greatly affect the flavor and I was wondering how each corn sugar or table sugar would taste after it's all said and done.

Thanks in advance for your input.
 
not trying to sound like an ass... but this is the cider forum... this may be better directed at the more appropriate people, i.e. the beer forum? otherwise sorry, i cant really answer your question.
 
Hi all, tried searching but could only find this topic discussed in amounts of a pound here or there when added to something else.

Anyway, I really want to make a ginger beer based on what appears to be original recipes from back in the day. Fresh ginger root, lemon juice, cream of tartar and about 7lbs of sugar topped with some 1118 yeast. Since there is so much sugar it will likely greatly affect the flavor and I was wondering how each corn sugar or table sugar would taste after it's all said and done.

Thanks in advance for your input.
 
Sorry man, but I would not ferment 7lbs of straight sugar and expect it to taste nice. It will more than likely taste extremely cidery (in a bad way) and leave you cursing why you wasted a good pack of yeast.

I think the key here is keeping your sugar to less than 20% of the total fermentables to avoid the prison-hooch taste. Though, I guess it could depend on how thoroughly you will be fermenting this, if you are going for a fg somewhere around 1.025 or 0.999; or if this is going to be a ginger beer made with pale malt or some other concoction.
 
also with that much sugar you may want to think about adding a dose of yeast nutrient so the yeasties don't starve.
 
yes but yeast, like people, cant live on sugar alone. they need other things to be healthy and happy like DAP and FAN.
 
think about it with mead you need to add yeast nutrient. honey is nearly all sugar and yeast need the extra goodies.
 
I think I have some yeast nutrient I can toss in. Sugar would be the only fermentable since it is a true ginger beer with no grain of any kind.
 
Dionysos911 said:
I think I have some yeast nutrient I can toss in. Sugar would be the only fermentable since it is a true ginger beer with no grain of any kind.
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How how of an ABV do you want? Are you going to ferment out all 7 pounds of sugar, or have it more like a ginger soda?

(Honey and sucrose are two different ballgames in fermentation- sucrose ferments very well without a problem. A little yeast nutrient won't hurt, but isn't necessary).
 
CandleWineProject said:
Or when you say "ginger beer", are you referring to soda pop? It is the forum right below this one.
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Well it's not really a soda pop since it'll have a significant amount of alcohol in it. Mostly it's an experiment to try to make a ginger beverage, be it considered a beer, cider, or soda.
 
YooperBrew said:
How how of an ABV do you want? Are you going to ferment out all 7 pounds of sugar, or have it more like a ginger soda?

(Honey and sucrose are two different ballgames in fermentation- sucrose ferments very well without a problem. A little yeast nutrient won't hurt, but isn't necessary).
Click to expand...

I plan to ferment all 7lbs then back sweeten to taste. Mostly trying to figure if it is worth the cost to buy corn sugar or if table sugar will work ok without tasting horrible.
 
Dionysos911 said:
Well it's not really a soda pop since it'll have a significant amount of alcohol in it. Mostly it's an experiment to try to make a ginger beverage, be it considered a beer, cider, or soda.
Click to expand...

Eh, you might talk to the mead forum then. Us cider people aren't really sure what to do with this request. I bet the mead people will. *tad bit drunk now*
 
Dionysos911 said:
I plan to ferment all 7lbs then back sweeten to taste. Mostly trying to figure if it is worth the cost to buy corn sugar or if table sugar will work ok without tasting horrible.
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My bet is it will not taste good, whether you use corn sugar or table sugar. The reason is simple- the sugar ferments out to make alcohol. If you have very little in the way of ingredients for flavor and body, it'll just be ginger flavored "hot" liquid.

You could try adding some golden raisins for flavor and body, and some white grape juice. When that ferments, it would leave some richness and body behind. I'd also add a squeeze of lemon or a teaspoon of acid blend.

Fermented, plain sugar water just doesn't taste very good. The sugar is there simply to provide fuel for the yeast to make alcohol.
 
When I was doing some reading a week ago I found this post informative, maybe you can apply it to your ginger beer:

Adolphus79 said:
I've made Apfelwein every which way til Sunday...

The original recipe, with Dextrose (corn sugar) will ferment out completely, leaving a subtly tart and sweet product. This also clears the fastest, due to the complete fermentability of the Dextrose.

Cane sugar (table sugar) will ferment out very well also, but will leave the finished product slightly sweeter, and will take slightly longer to clear.

Dark brown sugar will ferment out quite dry, and will finish with a darker, more tart product due to the extra molasses. This takes about twice as long to clear as the Dextrose.

Honey depends on how much and when you add it, if you add 3 pounds at the beginning, it will ferment out very well, with a somewhat dry finished product. If you step it (add a little at a time), then there is a chance you can bump the ABV up quite a bit, and leave it very sweet. Honey takes the longest of them all to ferment and clear, your looking at at least a few months for this.
Click to expand...

It was found in this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/cider-plus-sugar-42039/index2.html
 
CandleWineProject said:
Eh, you might talk to the mead forum then. Us cider people aren't really sure what to do with this request. I bet the mead people will. *tad bit drunk now*
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This sounds like a wine since the OP is looking for something alcoholic. I don't think its mead. I believe mead is made from honey and not sugar.
 
Although the OP calls this a ginger beer, it is more of a cider. Cane sugar is fine, but Yooper is right in saying it needs something to provide other flavors. A pound of golden raisins, extra light DME or a can or two of white grape juice would be helpful.

But, if you want to follow an old recipe exactly, why not? I made some hop wine per an old recipe, nasty stuff, but I think the problem was using a modern hop, which made it really bitter.
 
Mcduff said:
This sounds like a wine since the OP is looking for something alcoholic. I don't think its mead. I believe mead is made from honey and not sugar.
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True, but the mead people tend to work more with spices than the wine folks seem to. Yes, it is a different sweetener...

Point still stands - post either on the wine or mead forum, because us cider people are absolutely no help. We can't even point the OP in the right direction!
 
YooperBrew said:
You could try adding some golden raisins for flavor and body, and some white grape juice. When that ferments, it would leave some richness and body behind. I'd also add a squeeze of lemon or a teaspoon of acid blend.
I think he said in the OP that he was adding lemon juice and cream of tartar.


I like the raisins / grape juice idea. I think it would fit well.
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I make hard ginger beer a lot (have ten gallons fermenting at the moment, actually) and I use 7.5 lbs of corn sugar for a five gallon batch (typical SG is around 1.065). Your ginger beer should be fine.

My batches have come out to around 7% ABV, so I'm not sure if this falls under wine or cider, but regardless the stuff tastes great despite all the sugar. I used this recipe, but just added 1118 and let it ferment dry.
 
EricBlair said:
I make hard ginger beer a lot (have ten gallons fermenting at the moment, actually) and I use 7.5 lbs of corn sugar for a five gallon batch (typical SG is around 1.065). Your ginger beer should be fine.

My batches have come out to around 7% ABV, so I'm not sure if this falls under wine or cider, but regardless the stuff tastes great despite all the sugar. I used this recipe, but just added 1118 and let it ferment dry.
Click to expand...

That sounds exactly like my intent, except perhaps a little back sweetening. Glad to hear this recipe works out!
 

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