Brewing sugar in the boil

[Brog]

Received "brewing beers like those you buy" by Dave Line for Christmas, it shows adding brewing sugar etc into the boil in certain recipes. I know this is an old book. My wife found in a second hand bookshop, but are these methods outdated or still viable, using todays home brew equipment and products. Would really like to try some that have now disappeared.
Many thanks for any input/ advice.

[DaveyT]

It's a good book. I get the impression it was written at a time when there wasn't a lot else to draw information from so, in light of that, it's worth taking your hat off to. I've tried the Kronenburg recipe and it was excellent.
In terms of adding sugar, I swear by it. There are lots of different kinds out there, though. If you use liquid sugar, like golden syrup, raise the amount by 25% to account for the water content. I'm currently using a lot of palm sugar. I'll use up to 10% without any worries. There are sugars available from your LHBS too but I've never bought those. Sugar will increase your ABV without increasing the body of the beer which is good if you want a beer that light and easier to drink.
Are you using brewing software? BeerSmith or Beer Alchemy? You can calculate Dave Line's recipes in those to give you a better idea as to how they'll turn out.

[BenB]

Adding sugar and caramel are commercial brewing's dirty secret. Especially in the U.K. in the second half of the 19 and the 20th century. It can be quite difficult to clone some beers if you're getting all Bavarian about it... Equally I think a lot of homebrew twang was excessive sugar. ...

[IPA]

In it's time this was a ground breaking book and there are still a couple of recipes in it that are worth brewing. You will probably need to adjust the ingredients to hit the right OG and bitterness but that is easily done. Just download BEER ENGINE by Graham Wheeler it's free. One word of advice is ignore the saccharine additions and alter your mash temperatures if you want to increase sweetness.

[Kyle_T]

I use both brewers invert and caramel in some of my beers, if you are trying to make a particular clone beer, it makes all the difference.

I dissolve the sugar in a few litres of wort in the last 20 minutes of the boil and add back in with the chiller and protofloc.

[Hanglow]

How much of the caramel colouring can you add until you can taste it out of interest? I've yet to use it as I've always assumed the amounts used wouldn't affect the flavour but I could well be wrong


I almost always use sugars in my beers, if it's good enough for the likes of Harveys and Bathams to still do so then its good enough for anyone

[Jocky]

Read a dozen different articles on sugar in brewing and you get a dozen different opinions on what does what. I've come to the following conclusions, whether right or wrong:

1. Avoid beet sugar - stick to cane sugar. In some cases, particularly unrefined sugar, beet has a weird tang to it that can appear in your brew.
2. Pale beers generally deserve white sugar, whereas brown or darker beers really need raw cane (demerara) or brewers invert, both of which may contribute a subtle flavour. Invert is more fermentable than demerara.
3. 'Brewers sugar' is just dextrose (aka corn sugar), which is very fermentable, but I've not seen any difference between using it and refined cane sugar (sucrose).

[Kyle_T]

How much of the caramel colouring can you add until you can taste it out of interest?

I've used up to 80ml in one sitting and couldn't taste it.

Read a dozen different articles on sugar in brewing and you get a dozen different opinions on what does what. I've come to the following conclusions, whether right or wrong:

1. Avoid beet sugar - stick to cane sugar. In some cases, particularly unrefined sugar, beet has a weird tang to it that can appear in your brew.
2. Pale beers generally deserve white sugar, whereas brown or darker beers really need raw cane (demerara) or brewers invert, both of which may contribute a subtle flavour. Invert is more fermentable than demerara.
3. 'Brewers sugar' is just dextrose (aka corn sugar), which is very fermentable, but I've not seen any difference between using it and refined cane sugar (sucrose).

1. Yes.
2. Kind of, Golden Syrup has a very low EBC rating and is perfectly suited for Pale Ales, just remember that a single 454g tin will give you roughly 340g of fermentable sugars and equals a rough Brewers Invert No. 1, Brewers Invert No. 3 will contribute colour, fermentables, flavour and a small amount of residual sweetness.
3. There is no significant difference in practice of using dextrose or sucrose.

[Hanglow]

I think Ed posts on here sometimes, one of his recent blog posts was quite interesting
http://edsbeer.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/b ... ugars.html

[BrannigansLove]

Read a dozen different articles on sugar in brewing and you get a dozen different opinions on what does what. I've come to the following conclusions, whether right or wrong:

1. Avoid beet sugar - stick to cane sugar. In some cases, particularly unrefined sugar, beet has a weird tang to it that can appear in your brew.
2. Pale beers generally deserve white sugar, whereas brown or darker beers really need raw cane (demerara) or brewers invert, both of which may contribute a subtle flavour. Invert is more fermentable than demerara.
3. 'Brewers sugar' is just dextrose (aka corn sugar), which is very fermentable, but I've not seen any difference between using it and refined cane sugar (sucrose).

I've never used beet sugar, but everything I've read says that's what they use in Belgium.

[Hanglow]

I think the belgian stuff is refined first though, even the darker syrups are refined first then made. These are of course fine to use . edit - should say they do taste different to british sugars so might not be appropriate for the OP

I imagine the unrefined beet sugar is the stuff to avoid

[Fastline]

And for anyone who didn't know "Refined Cane sugar" (Sucrose) is your normal everyday White Granulated table sugar

[Jocky]

And for anyone who didn't know "Refined Cane sugar" (Sucrose) is your normal everyday White Granulated table sugar

Not always. In the UK the 'British Sugar' brand Silver Spoon is refined beet sugar:



If it says it's british sugar then it's not going to be cane sugar - we can only grow beet in the UK.

I believe that for white refined sugar it probably doesn't matter between cane and beet and it's only unrefined beet sugar that tastes funny, but to be honest I've never had the inclination to test that theory.

[Brog]

Wow! Many thanks for everyone's input, every day's a school day!! Ta

[Fastline]

Tate + Lyle says fairtrade CANE sugar so presumably imported? or naughty Labeling?

http://www.tasteandsmile.com/product/gr ... itionModal