What does Corn sugar add, besides ABV points?

[IndyBlueprints]

I am going to try an Ommegang Abbey clone recipe found on BYO.

One the the fermentables is 2.66 pounds of corn sugar added at the beginning of the boil. Does this add anything besides ABV points?

 

[Yooper]

No, it doesn't add anything.

And that's the idea. Malt would add color, flavor, and body. Replacing some of the malt with simple sugar means a lighter bodied beer. It's commonly done in triples and IPAs and IIPAs, to avoid a thick full body in higher ABV beers.

 

[Weezy]

Replacing some malt with sugar is the critical part there if you want to lighten the body. If you just add sugar on top of an existing recipe, you're just adding abv (alcohol) like you said.

And there's no good reason to add sugar at the beginning of the boil. Add it at flameout. It doesn't need cooked, just dissolved.

 

[IslandLizard]

I prefer to add sugar products after fermentation is about half way done, especially in higher gravity beers. The rationale is that the yeast won't binge on the (simple) sugars before they get to the more complex ones, maltose and maltotriose.

From what I understand, and my (limited) experience, there's no difference in taste from corn sugar (dextrose), regular white table sugar (sucrose), or Simplicity (Blonde Candi Syrup, "D-1"). Now raw sugars are a little different, and candi/caramel sugars (D-5 and up) much more so while adding a whole new dimension, the darker they are.