Corn Sugar

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2/12/2011 -- Is corn syrup the same as corn sugar and can this be used the same as?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: Some people have used corn syrup in place of corn sugar with mixed results. While the two have many things in common, they are in fact different compounds. Corn sugar is specifically dextrose, while corn syrup includes other non-sugar carbohydrates that can impact the body and flavor of beers depending on the amount used and the recipe.

8/6/2008 -- When it says 1 pound = 1% alcohol, how many gallons of water does it take take to make one percent alcohol with one pound of corn sugar?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: 1 to 1.5 pounds of corn sugar in 5 gallons of liquid will produce approximately 1% alcohol. However, I have tried the straight "corn sugar+water" method with beer yeast (trying to make a Zima clone) and found it to taste pretty disgusting.

11/22/2007 -- How much Corn Syrup equals 2 Pounds of Sugar?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: There is not a direct correlation between corn syrup and corn sugar as they are not the same substance. Corn sugar is an isolated dextrose sugar while corn syrup has other compounds included in it's structure. Many of these compounds are non-fermentables such as malto-dextrine. The brand and weight of the corn syrup will also affect the relationship by some degree. However, my sources agree that a rule of thumb to follow is to use approximately 1/3 more corn syrup by weight than corn sugar when adding to beer recipes.

5/22/2007 -- What is the best type of sugar to put into the wort?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: Corn sugar is better than table sugar, as table sugar tends to give the finished beer a cidery after taste. Honey is also a good sugar.

4/29/2007 -- I purchased a Muntons Gold Continental Pilsner kit. It does not contain a priming sugar. I can not find any corn sugar in my area but I have read where honey can be used instead. How much honey would I use to prime 5 gallons of beer? Would I disolve it in hot water just like the corn sugar? Does the type of honey make a difference...clover, orange blossom...?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: Yes, honey can be used and is in fact a great priming agent. It results in a creamier head with more head retention.

The type of honey really doesn't matter as you don't use enough for it to affect the flavor of the finished beer. However, I have a friend in Iowa who matches his honey to his batch (clover or wildflower for a wheat, buckwheat for a braggot, etc.) You can always experiment with it if you have an inclination to do so.

I recommend using 3/4 cup, dissolved in hot water and added to the bottling bucket just like you would with corn sugar. Honey will give you slightly more carbonation than corn sugar (thus the smaller amount), but it will take a little longer to carbonate properly since honey is a complex sugar. I would give it 1-1/2 times the conditioning time that you would for the same batch with corn sugar.

9/7/2006 -- What is corn sugar made of and where is it made?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: Corn sugar, or dextrose, is a sugar derivative made from the starch leeched from corn. Corn starch is a complex starch made up mostly of glucose. By breaking down the starch into its component parts, simple sugars can be derived. Dextrose is used in a variety of foods, including cookies, ice cream and sports drinks such as Gatorade. It also shows up in prepared foods that are supposed to come out crispy, such as french fries, fish sticks, and potato puffs. The corn sugar we sell is the powdered form.

Most of the manufacturers of corn sugar are the same companies that manufacture corn syrup or malt powders. We get ours from International Food Products in Kansas City.

8/22/2006 -- I was given a Muntons Pilsner kit and it calls for adding 2.2 pounds of sugar. I am new to brewing and want to know what kind of sugar to use and if I can use corn sugar.

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: Yes, not only can you use corn sugar, but we encourage it. Using table sugar (cane or beet) tends to give a cidery taste to the finished beer, and using fructose or lactose will tend to sour it. Corn sugar will add the appropriate amount of fermentable to get the correct alcohol rating without altering flavor or body. You could also use 2.2 pounds of malt extract to give a richer, fuller bodied flavor if you prefer.

8/20/2006 -- This is my 1st attempt at homebrewing. I got the EDME red ale in two 4lb cans. Do I need some sort of sugar to add with the kit?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: Each can of the Edme is balanced to produce 2.5 to 3 gallons of beer with no additional ingredients required. Most brewers will add three pounds of malt extract or corn sugar in order to produce a 5-gallon batch. With two cans of Edme Red Ale, you can do one of two things. You could either brew them together to make a 6-gallon batch, or you could brew them separately with additional malt extract added to each to make two 5-gallon batches.

For red ales, my recommendation for additional malt would be 3-pounds of the liquid amber. Corn sugar will make for slightly less body in the finished product, but is also less expensive as an additive.

5/15/2006 -- I have brewed a batch of your Honey Nut Cheerio recipe and am ready to bottle it. It does not come with bottling sugar, nor is any listed on the recipe. How much do you recommend? I usually use 3/4 cup. Also, if I use honey, how do I prepare it? I assume it should be boiled with some water first, as we do with bottling sugar?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: Because of the honey option, we specifically do not have added priming sugar for the Honey Nut Cheerio. However, we should probably include priming instructions in the recipe. Thanks for bringing that shortfall to my attention, as I'm certain you're not the only one to run into the same issue.

That being said, if I were to use corn sugar, I would probably go with a full cup. However, as you mentioned, priming with honey actually enhances the flavor and head retention of honey-based beers more than any other. So, I would recommend using honey. Since honey is a little more volatile than sugar (due to the fructose content), I recommend using a little less - usually between 2/3 and 3/4 cup. I prepare it by steeping in a quart of hot water (just under boiling point) until completely dissolved, then pouring it into the bottling bucket and siphoning the beer in on top of it. The conditioning period will run about 1.5 times longer than it would for corn sugar... about 2 to 3 weeks or so to build up good carbonation.

Another option is to use dry malt extract, dissolved in boiling water the same way you would prep corn sugar. Since DME is only 70% to 80% efficient, I generally go a little more than I would with corn sugar... about 1-1/4 to 1-1/3 cup in a quart of water.

5/3/2006 -- Priming 5 gallons of beer with honey instead of corn sugar for better head sounds great, but how much honey would I use?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: A good rule of thumb when priming is 1-1/3 cup DME = 1 cup sugar = 3/4 cup honey. You can use that conversion and adjust your honey amount for whatever priming agent your recipe calls for. I generally recommend between 2/3 cup and 3/4 cup honey for most beers.

4/17/2006 -- When selecting a priming agent, why does honey give a better head retention than malt or corn sugar?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: There are a couple reasons. First, honey is made up of complex sugars that take the yeast a longer time to break down. As a result, the carbonation profcess is slower resulting in a more thoroughly absorbed CO2. Second, honey contains a large concentration of acids and proteins that are missing or available in smaller amounts from other priming agents. The protein content in particular provides more body when used as a fermentable, and consequently more body in the head when used to prime with. Finally, stir sugar or dry malt extract into water and see how thick it gets... then look at honey - the high viscosity translates directly to the quality of the head in the finished product.

3/27/2006 -- What is the ratio of yeast energizer to an amount of sugar mush, for making rum?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: A good rule for a basic 5 gallon batch of alcohol base is to use 12 pounds of sugar dissolved in 5-1/4 gallons of water with 2 ounces of nutrients.

While table sugar works fine, for rum use molasses instead, diluted to a SG of 1.06 - 1.07 If you use more than 50/50 molasses/sugar you'll get a heavy rum. "Fancy" (high grade) molasses will give a better flavor, and has more fermentable sugars than... say... blackstrap molasses. You can also use brown sugar instead of molasses.

3/19/2006 -- I received a Mr.Beer brewing kit as a gift and was wondering if I could use any type of sugar for bottling or if I need a special type. The sugar is the only thing that didn't come with the kit and they don't offer any on there web sight. I haven't found any in yours with the exception of your drops.

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: We highly recommend using corn sugar rather than table sugar as a priming agent. Table sugar is high in fruit sugars (fructose) and often lends a slightly cidery taste to beers. Corn sugar is cheap and easy for the yeast to convert into carbon dioxide. A Mr. Beer kit would need about 1/3-cup boiled down in about a pint of water to prime the 2-1/4 gallon batch.

You can find it in the "Honey and Sugar" section in one-pound (2K1) and three-pound (2K3) bags.

1/20/2006 -- I need a recipe for making a 6 gal carboy of Blueberry Mead.

How much Honey to Blueberries & does that stay the same if we use Raspberries, Blackberries, or Pears?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: When using fresh berries, I usually use a ratio of three to one. In other words, I would use three pounds of fresh berries to one gallon of finished mead. The amount of honey would depend on whether you prefer a light, dry, or sweet mead. With berries, some of the fermentable comes from the natural sugars in the fruit. Therefore, I would start with 2 pounds of honey per gallon of mead, and add honey as needed in the secondary fermentation. If you prefer a sweet mead, you would want to start with 2-1/2 to 3 pounds honey per gallon. The same would be true with any berry.

With pears, your pectin content is high. I would start with about 10 pounds of pears, possibly as high as 12 if they are small or hard, since you will get less juice. Definitely start pears with 2-1/2 pounds of honey per gallon. Also, use pectic enzyme to keep haze from forming in the finished mead.

In any melomel, I prefer to chop/mash my fruit and let the pre-boiled water sit on it for 5 to 7 days. Then siphon the juice off of the dregs, and add the honey water to bring the volume up to your batch size. You will also get a better product if you freeze and thaw the fruit twice before mashing.

10/24/2005 -- What does "overprimed" mean?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: Priming is the addition of fermentable sugar (sugar, malt, or honey) to a finished beer prior to bottling or kegging. Residual yeast in the beer will feed on the sugar and put off small amounts of carbon dioxide. Since the bottle or keg is sealed, the carbon dioxide will be forced back into the solution, carbonating the beer.

We say that a beer is overprimed if too much sugar is added, or if the beer is bottled while it is still fermenting, resulting in an explosive event.

9/2/2005 -- Can you tell me how much and what type of sugar I need to make Pepsi Cola?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: Cola extracts can be blended with any basic sugar and water to make cola. Table sugar (beet or sugar cane) work best. Corn sugar is an acceptable substitute. You would need one pound of sugar for each gallon of cola.

3/24/2005 -- Does the flavored honey change the taste of beers significantly? How about meads?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: I'll answer these in reverse order:

Yes, the flavored honeys make a significant difference in meads. in fact, if you can pair up a flavored honey with a complemetary fruit juice, the results are a richer flavor with a better/stronger aftertaste.

As for beers, it depends on the strength of the beer and the style of honey. For instance, an orange blossom honey in an amber ale provides a very strong and quite pleasant citrus flavor to the beer. However, a star thistle honey in a porter wouldn't allow the spicy qualities of the honey to really stand out significantly.

1/21/2004 -- I heard that corn sugar is best to prime with. My first batch will be 2.5 gallons. If I am using sixteen 16oz glass bottles, what is the water to sugar ratio for each bottle? Also what is the water to sugar ratio for the 2.5 gallons?

Response From The Home Brew Store Dot Com: Corn sugar is not necessarily the best priming agent, but it is the most common and least expensive. Other options are honey, dry malt extract, and forced gas. "Best" really depends on what you're looking for in head consistency and retention.

That said, a 2.5 gallon batch would use about half a cup of corn sugar dissolved in a quart of boiled water. Put the priming solution into a sterile bottling bucket and siphon the beer out of the fermenter into the bottling bucket, leaving the sediment behind and making sure the fluids mix thoroughly.

If you want to do it "by the bottle" for 16oz bottles, use a level 1/4 teaspoon of corn sugar in each bottle. Just put it in the bottle dry and fill the bottle with the beer. It will eventually dissolve in the beer and allow it to carbonate. Be advised that with this method, it is possible to get beer that is over or under carbonated due to inconsistencies in the amount of sugar. One other option is "carbonation drops". These are little pellets of candied sugar designed to be dropped one-per-bottle, and dissolve over a day or two. They have a consistent amount of sugar in each drop to make things easier on the brewer.

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