How much cane sugar is safe?

[BarberSurgeon]

I'm reading that cane sugar is can produce too many off-flavors when used as an adjunct due to the way the yeast digest it, despite its characteristic of being highly fermentable. Most sources say it becomes a problem when too much is used, but how much is too much?

I'm building a recipe to brew for a friend, and I thought I might use cane sugar to bolster the alcohol in a mostly neutral way. Based on my Beer Smith calculations, I would have an ideal brew with 6.3% of my fermentables coming from .2 lbs of sugar (2 gal batch). Would this amount be safe to use without creating a cidery off-flavor?

 

[heywatchthis]

Yes...I've used up to 2 lbs in 5 gallons with no negative implications

 

[headbanger]

Generally speaking you'll be fine if you keep it below 20%... Get above that and you'll start getting "cidery" flavors.

 

[badmajon]

I just put a pound of Turbinado into my 5 gal IPA batch, OG 1.060. We'll see how it tastes soon! I read that around 10% is a good number to shoot for.

 

[permo]

I just used 4 pounds in a 10 gallon batch of IIPA and it is the best IIPA I have made. The key will be controlling the temperature of the fermentation. i don't think sugar is the culprit for many of the off flavors that it is blamed for.

 

[beergolf]

i don't think sugar is the culprit for many of the off flavors that it is blamed for.

+1. I do a lot of Belgian brews and often use up to 20% of the fermentables as sugar. Makes great beer.

 

[ncbrewer]

All these posts make me wonder if there is any reason to use corn sugar for conditioning. Do you think cane sugar would work just as well, provided the quantity is adjusted as needed?

 

[permo]

All these posts make me wonder if there is any reason to use corn sugar for conditioning. Do you think cane sugar would work just as well, provided the quantity is adjusted as needed?

Yes sir, it works just fine.

 

[PseudoChef]

Generally speaking you'll be fine if you keep it below 20%... Get above that and you'll start getting "cidery" flavors.

No, you won't.

 

[CortexBomb]

You can use a pretty significant amount of sugar without any problems. Belgian beers are one example of a style that uses a hell of a lot of sugar (i.e.: up to 30%) (read Brew Like a Monk, from the yeast's perspective the candy sugar that they usually use is digested identically to standard cane sugar) and still seem to turn out fine.

There's also really no need to use corn sugar for priming. I used to use it, but then started using standard sugar when I didn't have any on hand and I've not seen any off-tastes or issues.

One thing to be aware of though, sugar thins a beer's body out. That can be a good thing if that's what you're going for...for example, Belgian Strong Ale style beers need at least a couple of pounds of sugar in a 5 gallon batch to make the body thinner and more champagne-like whereas thicker style like Imperial Stout or Barleywine are better without so they can stay "chewy." I generally opt to use sugar in my recipes when it's a style that is a higher in alcohol (see IIPA, &c.) where I don't want it to drink like molasses. I'd be reluctant to use it in a lighter style unless you really want to thin it out, as it could easily give it a "Lite Beer" consistency...which I guess would be OK if that's what you're going for...but in general I don't think it would be a positive.

 

[jfr1111]

No, it's not.

+1. Almost all of my beers contain sugar and I have never had any beer taste like cider. Cider ferments completly, you'd need a very high percentage of sugar and very high attenuation to get that same cidery feeling in beer.

 

[BarberSurgeon]

Thanks for the responses! Always learning so much here. :rockin:

I'd be reluctant to use it in a lighter style unless you really want to thin it out, as it could easily give it a "Lite Beer" consistency...which I guess would be OK if that's what you're going for...but in general I don't think it would be a positive.

In this case, that's exactly what I'm going for. It's a horrendous beer in description -- light bar beer with candy mint flavor, but my friend is covering the costs of the whole operation.

 

[jfr1111]

Thanks for the responses! Always learning so much here. :rockin:




In this case, that's exactly what I'm going for. It's a horrendous beer in description -- light bar beer with candy mint flavor, but my friend is covering the costs of the whole operation.

Is your friend also paying for labour or just the ingredients, becuse I might tack on a "will taste horrible and have me waste my time" fee on this if I were you.

 

[BarberSurgeon]

I think I'm getting a few quality beers from him, but as this will also be my first all-grain brew, I'm writing it off as a learning experience.