Why Sugar for DIPA Recipes?

[Hwk-I-St8]

I've noticed that a huge percentage of DIPA recipes that I've seen just use some corn sugar to bump up the gravity instead of using a larger grain bill.

What's the reasoning behind that?

 

[TreborDeSinagro]

Because you want a high abv and you want it to finish dry.

 

[thehaze]

You can also use more grains if your can and mash lower, to get the same thing.

But sugar i easier and cheaper and will also dry out the beer, if that is something you want.

Personally, I do not want dry beers and I do not brew them.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I was worried that a high ABV and really dry might be a bit harsh and boozy. My instinct is to let the natural attenuation do its job, let it finish a bit higher and use more hops to balance. Perhaps that gets a bit cloying though....

That being said, I see very highly regarded breweries post recipes that don't follow that approach and I'm sure they know a hell of a lot more about brewing than I do.

 

[TreborDeSinagro]

Think how high abv and drinkable a quad is - simple sugars.

 

[Yooper]

I was worried that a high ABV and really dry might be a bit harsh and boozy. My instinct is to let the natural attenuation do its job, let it finish a bit higher and use more hops to balance. Perhaps that gets a bit cloying though....

That being said, I see very highly regarded breweries post recipes that don't follow that approach and I'm sure they know a hell of a lot more about brewing than I do.

In something like an IIPA, a full malt recipe might be too "thick" and cloying so the simple sugars, which are fully fermentable, means a crisper finish with the same balance of ABV/IBUs. Think of a similar beer recipe- a barley wine. It's rich, malty, full, and still heavily hopped, but totally different than an IIPA in mouthfeel and maltiness. An IIPA still has a malt backbone, to stand up to the heavy hopping, but in a thinner bodied and more quaffable finish.