apple juice instead of white sugar?

[brownrice]

I usually have to add top-up water, so if I'm making a recipe that calls for sugar (double IPA, belgian tripel...) is there any reason to avoid using chilled apple juice?

I don't expect it to retain any of the flavor, but certainly wouldn't mind if it did.

 

[j1n]

i say go for it and see how you like the results. if its an ipa i doubt it will retain any flavor since the hops will prob over power it.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I double-dog dare you.

 

[Roadliner]

I TRIPLE-dog-dare you!

 

[NoelMueller]

I'm gonna be that one guy with the word of warning:

The tiniest proportions of apple juice seems to COMPLETELY steer the flavor profile of your brew in the direction of tart/sour/dry cider taste (not a sweet 'apple cider' taste).

I've added as little as 1 gallon of apple juice to a 5 gallon batch, and the whole thing came out tasting like apple cider.

In other words, if you're gonna do it, do not expect it to taste like beer.

 

[brownrice]

I'm gonna be that one guy with the word of warning:

The tiniest proportions of apple juice seems to COMPLETELY steer the flavor profile of your brew in the direction of tart/sour/dry cider taste (not a sweet 'apple cider' taste).

I've added as little as 1 gallon of apple juice to a 5 gallon batch, and the whole thing came out tasting like apple cider.

In other words, if you're gonna do it, do not expect it to taste like beer.

Thanks for the tip, and I'm glad you added the proportions you used. Certainly I don't expect it to retain any apple flavor or especially sweetness (there was a time when we all were noobs...)

anyway I agree, not advisable for an imperial stout or barleywine. i suppose it would seriously affect the character of a tripel, so i'll research that a bit more before committing. my other options are honey or jaggery (which i liked in theory more than practice).

I guess the biggest benefit of AJ is that i don't have a wort chiller, so it helps immensely that i can add 1 gal @ 35*F to the wort and speed up brew-day.

 

[NoelMueller]

I actually go to my local 7-11 and grab 2 gallons of refrigerated water (bottom shelf of the refrigerated beverage section) on brew day. Or you could grab 2 gallons of water and just put them in the fridge overnight, if you can prepare a day ahead.

What we all love about IPAs/beer in general is a nice bready/malty essence, some clean hop bitterness, some floral or fruity hop flavor and aroma.. but trust me, apple juice throws the "beer-ness" WAY off. More than you would expect. I'm curious to see if anyone else disagrees, but i've tried several apple cider/beer hybrids recently, and the apple flavor always ends up covering up any hop or malt flavors.