JacktardBrewmeister
The Mad Zymurgist
Soooooooooooooooo, I have been playing around with Agave Nectar and Coconut Sugar in place of turbinado, brown (unless flavor desired), honey, and syrups. I brewed 3 beers over the holiday and each one stood out as cleaner and bolder. The sugars were initially used to enhance the abv of the beer and not add too much of an additional flavor and so far that is a plus result. Now, with that said, I sat down with a chemist friend of mine who actually read through a lot of the packages and junk I have laying about my brewing era like yeast nutrients, irish moss, whirlflock tablets, and other hubbitybud, and he tested some of it at his work with a few growlers of beer wort I gave him and some yeast. (he really wanted to test it so I made a few gallons more wort for him to fiddle with).
The results were, interesting. (keep in mind that he obviously measured everything and had a control group, he seems most interested in watching how the yeast reacts to different blends of ingredients towards a standard blond ale and stout I made). Yeasts used were Fermentis Safbrew T-58, Safale US-05, and Nottingham.
The Boring
Agave Nectar blended better with the wort than honey and produced a lower reading on the hydrometer after the yeast ate it all over the honey (5 weeks fermentation). (I am using common tongue instead of the technical terms for the sake of simplicity and my sanity). The honey sometimes settled on the bottom of the beaker and burned (in which he tried the experiment again to prevent it from burning) but it seemed a little harder to work with. Honey and Nectar, the yeast seemed to prefer the agave nectar over the honey and I await more information after he analyzes the yeast cells with the control group. The only issue with agave nectar is that it is not as sugary as honey and, in turn, less sugar for the yeast to eat. Taste was not noticeable except when he did it alongside maple syrup. After the yeast had fermented on the control we tasted it and then added the honey, nectar, and maple syrup to see which one stuck out the most. The nectar had the least amount of added flavor, then the honey, followed by the maple syrup. Obviously the maple syrup proved the most robust of the three syrup-like ingredients, but the neat thing about Agave nectar is that is was not too intrusive and in California it is cheaper than honey and pours easily right out of the bottle. Easier to work with and Sam's and Costco both have them in two bottle packs for about 8 bucks which is equivalent to the honey they have at about 12 bucks, so almost half the price.
The Exciting
Coconut sugar was tested as well. He compared the nutrients in coconut sugar to that of turbanado sugar, wyeast yeast nutrient, brown sugar, and some other old ass brand of yeast nutrient I got in a kit when I first started brewing. Upon investigation (and just reading the back of the packages for some info) the coconut sugar can raise your ABV just as good as turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw), and it comes with (he says) about the same amount and types of nutrients found in wyeast nutrient. The only observation he could find/point out is that the wyeast nutrient effects the yeast differently than the coconut sugar. The Wyeast nutrient was not fully broken down during the fermentation process and left a lot of residual residue mixed in to the yeast clump (as he called it) at the bottom of the beaker. The coconut sugar's nutrients were fully absorbed into the yeast cells as they fed (he was explaining that because coconut sugar is a natural ingredient it was consumed more easily by the yeast cells, whereas the Wyeast Nutrient consumed partial nutrients and rejected some of the chemical makeup that creates Wyeast Nutrient). His theory via observation is that because the yeast consumes the coconut sugar in it's entirety (not literally, but what it does consume to create alcohol is consumed with it's nutrients), it in turn gets all the nutrients found within it and discards nothing extra. The stuff left behind by the Wyeast nutrient were things like phosphorus and trace amounts of sulfur and carbon registered as well. Coconut sugar has nitrogen, phosphorus and no sulfur, which was the residue left behind by the yeast nutrient from Wyeast. Also, the quantity of nutrient being introduced to the sample was much greater as you add a pound of sugar vs a 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient. He introduced the sugar during a 15 minute boil as well as following the instructions on the Wyeast nutrient (much like he did with the syrup, honey, and nectar). Keep in mind that a lot of coconut sugars are also all natural (couldn't find shifty non-organic though my chemist friend hates when people use the term organic with food. As all food is organic under a microscope). He pointed out that there are also MUCH more nutrients to be found in coconut sugar on top of what comes with Wyeast nutrient and that these may be factors that result in happier yeast (as he puts it... which he has me saying it now). But 100% coconut sugar is not bleached, has not had any preservatives or chemicals added to it, so just to be a stickler he wanted me to make sure I mention that as well.
Now the disclaimer: He took pre-made wort and introduced the sugars at the back end of the boil. So he took each wort (of the same beer) and brought it to a boil and added the ingredients in portions designed for his beaker sizes that he was using and let them cook for about 15 minutes. Then he allowed the beakers to reach room temperature and then pitched the yeast and tested each sample twice a week. So that gives you a rough idea of the process. As me being a musician by trade and not a scientist I am left to understand that he measured and did everything as I instructed he would need to do (and he has brewed with me several times so he is not foreign to beer yeasts and wort and how to handle it all). Yet, taking wort and bringing it back to a boil is probably not best for making beer. He was just observing how the yeast reacted to the different sugars alongside my control that used no extra nutrients or sugars, just what came from the grain itself.
Hopefully this puts a little insight into future brew plans for you all in the future. I, myself, have used coconut sugar in my Belgian triples and quads for years and it has become a staple of many of my lighter beers to add in a pound of coconut sugar per 5 gallons of wort as well as my beastly ones. With more experimental beer recipes I tend to not use it and experiment only once a decent beer is produced. Usually, with coconut sugar, I get a better tasting beer when I add it and I tend to use it more often than my Wyeast nutrient vials which I have trouble getting rid of. Anywho, it was fun getting those results in and he is, hopefully, going to show me some of the video his lab took of the yeast cells behavior when I go to his lab to talk with him and his minions... I mean assistants, about the testing done. The whole lab thought it would be a fun little project so everyone took 10 minutes or so out of their day to run the experiment. He wants to try the experiment again in the future to see if the results are repeat before he considers anything solved.
The results were, interesting. (keep in mind that he obviously measured everything and had a control group, he seems most interested in watching how the yeast reacts to different blends of ingredients towards a standard blond ale and stout I made). Yeasts used were Fermentis Safbrew T-58, Safale US-05, and Nottingham.
The Boring
Agave Nectar blended better with the wort than honey and produced a lower reading on the hydrometer after the yeast ate it all over the honey (5 weeks fermentation). (I am using common tongue instead of the technical terms for the sake of simplicity and my sanity). The honey sometimes settled on the bottom of the beaker and burned (in which he tried the experiment again to prevent it from burning) but it seemed a little harder to work with. Honey and Nectar, the yeast seemed to prefer the agave nectar over the honey and I await more information after he analyzes the yeast cells with the control group. The only issue with agave nectar is that it is not as sugary as honey and, in turn, less sugar for the yeast to eat. Taste was not noticeable except when he did it alongside maple syrup. After the yeast had fermented on the control we tasted it and then added the honey, nectar, and maple syrup to see which one stuck out the most. The nectar had the least amount of added flavor, then the honey, followed by the maple syrup. Obviously the maple syrup proved the most robust of the three syrup-like ingredients, but the neat thing about Agave nectar is that is was not too intrusive and in California it is cheaper than honey and pours easily right out of the bottle. Easier to work with and Sam's and Costco both have them in two bottle packs for about 8 bucks which is equivalent to the honey they have at about 12 bucks, so almost half the price.
The Exciting
Coconut sugar was tested as well. He compared the nutrients in coconut sugar to that of turbanado sugar, wyeast yeast nutrient, brown sugar, and some other old ass brand of yeast nutrient I got in a kit when I first started brewing. Upon investigation (and just reading the back of the packages for some info) the coconut sugar can raise your ABV just as good as turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw), and it comes with (he says) about the same amount and types of nutrients found in wyeast nutrient. The only observation he could find/point out is that the wyeast nutrient effects the yeast differently than the coconut sugar. The Wyeast nutrient was not fully broken down during the fermentation process and left a lot of residual residue mixed in to the yeast clump (as he called it) at the bottom of the beaker. The coconut sugar's nutrients were fully absorbed into the yeast cells as they fed (he was explaining that because coconut sugar is a natural ingredient it was consumed more easily by the yeast cells, whereas the Wyeast Nutrient consumed partial nutrients and rejected some of the chemical makeup that creates Wyeast Nutrient). His theory via observation is that because the yeast consumes the coconut sugar in it's entirety (not literally, but what it does consume to create alcohol is consumed with it's nutrients), it in turn gets all the nutrients found within it and discards nothing extra. The stuff left behind by the Wyeast nutrient were things like phosphorus and trace amounts of sulfur and carbon registered as well. Coconut sugar has nitrogen, phosphorus and no sulfur, which was the residue left behind by the yeast nutrient from Wyeast. Also, the quantity of nutrient being introduced to the sample was much greater as you add a pound of sugar vs a 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient. He introduced the sugar during a 15 minute boil as well as following the instructions on the Wyeast nutrient (much like he did with the syrup, honey, and nectar). Keep in mind that a lot of coconut sugars are also all natural (couldn't find shifty non-organic though my chemist friend hates when people use the term organic with food. As all food is organic under a microscope). He pointed out that there are also MUCH more nutrients to be found in coconut sugar on top of what comes with Wyeast nutrient and that these may be factors that result in happier yeast (as he puts it... which he has me saying it now). But 100% coconut sugar is not bleached, has not had any preservatives or chemicals added to it, so just to be a stickler he wanted me to make sure I mention that as well.
Now the disclaimer: He took pre-made wort and introduced the sugars at the back end of the boil. So he took each wort (of the same beer) and brought it to a boil and added the ingredients in portions designed for his beaker sizes that he was using and let them cook for about 15 minutes. Then he allowed the beakers to reach room temperature and then pitched the yeast and tested each sample twice a week. So that gives you a rough idea of the process. As me being a musician by trade and not a scientist I am left to understand that he measured and did everything as I instructed he would need to do (and he has brewed with me several times so he is not foreign to beer yeasts and wort and how to handle it all). Yet, taking wort and bringing it back to a boil is probably not best for making beer. He was just observing how the yeast reacted to the different sugars alongside my control that used no extra nutrients or sugars, just what came from the grain itself.
Hopefully this puts a little insight into future brew plans for you all in the future. I, myself, have used coconut sugar in my Belgian triples and quads for years and it has become a staple of many of my lighter beers to add in a pound of coconut sugar per 5 gallons of wort as well as my beastly ones. With more experimental beer recipes I tend to not use it and experiment only once a decent beer is produced. Usually, with coconut sugar, I get a better tasting beer when I add it and I tend to use it more often than my Wyeast nutrient vials which I have trouble getting rid of. Anywho, it was fun getting those results in and he is, hopefully, going to show me some of the video his lab took of the yeast cells behavior when I go to his lab to talk with him and his minions... I mean assistants, about the testing done. The whole lab thought it would be a fun little project so everyone took 10 minutes or so out of their day to run the experiment. He wants to try the experiment again in the future to see if the results are repeat before he considers anything solved.
