Honey vs Corn Sugar

[joey11bball]

So Ive been searching on ways to boost alcohol content in my next batch a pretty much found that the best options are corn sugar and honey. Ive read that they both dont add much of a flavor but just add a dryness and boost the alcohol content. Does anyone have an opinion on which one is better? Also how much should be used to boost ABV say 1%?

 

[bgough]

I use corn sugar in all of my IPA's. I only use between .5-.75 oz, but I like the results I get.

Can't comment on honey because I've never used it.

 

[joey11bball]

I use corn sugar in all of my IPA's. I only use between .5-.75 oz, but I like the results I get.

Can't comment on honey because I've never used it.

Thanks bgough have you ever figured out approximately how much alcohol boost you get from the .5-.75 oz of corn sugar

 

[ajf]

I think there is a typo in there somewhere. 0.75 oz corn sugar in a 5g batch would raise the gravity by ~0.0004

-a.

 

[joey11bball]

He must of meant .75 lbs

 

[joey11bball]

ajf,
How much would 1 lb of corn sugar add to the OG?
Or whats the equation to figure that out?

 

[ajf]

1 lb corn sugar in 1 gal wort will raise the gravity by 0.042.
In 5 gal wort, it would be 0.042 / 5 = 0.0084

-a.

 

[bkov]

1 pound sugar raises it about 1percent, or slightly less

 

[joey11bball]

Thanks guys would honey do something similar?

 

[ILuvIPA]

I'm interested in this as well. Once you calculate the amt of corn sugar to raise AVB a specific amount what happens to taste/mouthfeel? Say your raise an IPA 1/2% with corn sugar. . .what changes other than ABV? What say gents?

(hope this is not a hijack, seems like the OP would want to know this?)

 

[ajf]

Honey would do exactly the same, but I believe it takes longer to ferment. (I don't know this however, because I've never tried it, and I don't know what effect it would have on the flavor.)

As for flavor and mouthfeel, it should not add any noticeable flavor (unless you add an excessive amount), and will ferment out completely resulting in a drier beer with increased ABV.
If I use sugar, I like to keep it down to about 7.5% or less (by weight) of the total grain bill.

-a.

 

[hoppymonkey]

I use honey frequently. clover/orange blossom honey doesn't much to the flavor except to dry/thin out the beer a little. Wild honey definitely adds floral/honey flavors to it. Just add it to the wort for the last 15 minutes and stir well. It ferments very quickly.

 

[SeamusMac]

Depending on the beer, you may find that raising the ABV with corn sugar lends 'cidery' flavours to your beer. I won't use corn sugar in lagers or sparingly-hopped pale ales as the aforementioned flavours really come through. For these applications I like to use honey because it really doesn't add any flavour at all and ferments as entirely as the corn sugar. With IPAs or estery wheat beers you can't really tell that corn sugar is being used, but opt for the honey if you can afford it.

 

[Retrofit]

Depending on the beer, you may find that raising the ABV with corn sugar lends 'cidery' flavours to your beer. I won't use corn sugar in lagers or sparingly-hopped pale ales as the aforementioned flavours really come through. For these applications I like to use honey because it really doesn't add any flavour at all and ferments as entirely as the corn sugar. With IPAs or estery wheat beers you can't really tell that corn sugar is being used, but opt for the honey if you can afford it.

I've done both so it's not theory for me. Basically SeamusMac is right. Corn Sugar is going to lend a cidery flavor, honey will lend a dryness. In primary both are going to nearly fully convert and no flavor should be apparent beyond the mouthfeel element of cidery v dryness.

The issue with honey is honey can vary. It will likely take longer for the honey to ferment. I once made a 13% ish alchohol beer with honey and it basically the beer didnt' have any interest in stopping its fermentation. After maybe 4 weeks of steady fermenting I just bottled it. I couldn't wait any longer! LOVED IT and it was over primed because it was STILL FERMENTING.

Again supporting SeamusMac, in an IPA or wheat I'd use honey over corn sugar. For *my* tastes buds, I can taste of corn sugar (in high amounts) and I never use it. I don't even prime with it. Just not my thing.

Retrofit, founder of Brewer's Against Corn Sugar

 

[Bob]

And here's Bob, stalwart supporter of Ain't Nothin' Wrong With Corn Sugar.



Corn sugar gets a bad rap. When used in excess it can lend a cidery flavor and make the beer detrimentally thin. This is especially noticeable in the "kit-in-a-can" recipes which instruct the brewer to double the malt with dextrose.

Now, I say it can lend a cidery flavor because the potential is relative to the style being brewed. Let's use a middling example, say, 10% of the grist being dextrose. In Imperial Stout that's not going to impart a damn bit of flavor detectable under the broad spectrum of roasted malts. Same with IPA, just covered up with hops. In Light American Lager, it will probably be noticeable.

There's nothing wrong with sugar. Ask the Belgians. They often use sugars of various types for up to 20% or more of the total gravity contribution. Again, however, those are beers with strong flavor characteristics which may cover the sugar-induced flavors; Belgian yeast is chock full of distinctive flavors.

In an IPA, at proportions that don't exceed 10% of the total gravity contribution, I'd use dextrose. It's cheaper, easier to use, ferments more quickly and has no flavor impact potential.

There. The Other Side.

Bob

 

[malkore]

Honey has less fermentable sugar per pound as compared to corn sugar (due to the water content, and the fact its not standardized).

a pound of average honey will yield 1.031 to 1.035 gravity in 1 gallon of water.

 

[Retrofit]

I'd like to add that Bob is 100% right. I actually use a lot of sugar in my beer, either to up alcohol or to change the flavor of the beer. I've used Agave,
Belgium Sugar, Carbonated tablets (often as a 'control' in an experiment), Honey of various types, maple syrup, and molassas. Sugar can pull off some interesting 'tricks'. I just don't use corn sugar. Not my thing. AND Bob is still 100% right. Corn sugar is more or less neutral in flavor, highly fermentable, consistent in results, and CHEAP. And... I still don't use it.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

The concensus seems to be that you have to have over 20% non-Maltose sugars to get a noticeable "cidery" taste. I have gone up to about 22% corn sugar, corn syrup and table sugar without noticing it.

It's a rare brew where I add much (or any) sugar now, but the corn sugar is there if I need it.