Essentially, an adjunct is any form of sugar other than malted barley used in the creation of wort. Adjuncts are used by both commercial and home brewers to adjust and/or control original gravity, color, body, nitrogen content, head retention, flavor, and clarity of the finished product.
Adjuncts are frequently added by larger commercial breweries in the United States and Great Britain to lower the cost of production. The Belgians use them to provide flavors that malt alone can’t give to the finished product. The use of adjuncts was, until recently, prohibited in Germany due to the strict conditions and restrictions of the Reinheitsgebot (the Beer Purity Law of 1516) which stated that only malted barley, water, hops and yeast could be used in the creation of any beer to be sold in Germany. The exception to the Reinheitsgebot was that wheat, malted or unmalted, could be used in the creation of Weizenbiers and Weissbiers. Most, if not all, commercial German breweries still brew according to the tenets of the Beer Purity Law.
Most American craft brewers, be they commercial microbrewers or home hobbyists, do not use inexpensive adjuncts such as rice, maize (corn), beet or cane sugar for the simple reason that the finished product is simply not as flavorful when these products are employed in the brewing procedure. All-malt beer is the hallmark of the craft brewing industry, and many small commercial brewers actually state the contents of the beer on the label. The megabreweries, on the other hand, routinely employ rice, corn or other adjuncts for two primary reasons – 1. To significantly lower the cost of production and 2. To lighten the flavor, color and body of the finished product.
Malted barley is available to the homebrewer in two forms. Most homebrewers make their first batches using Malt Extract, either in syrup or dried form. The majority of the unhopped malt extracts on the market today are 100%
barley malt, without adjuncts, or a barley/wheat blend. Hopped malt extract kits are also usually malt only, with the addition of bittering hops. As homebrewers develop interest and skills in the hobby, many begin to add specialty grains such as crystal and chocolate malts to fine tune the flavors of the finished product. Many brewers eventually progress to “all-grain” brewing, foregoing the use of malt extract and obtaining the sugars for their beers using only grain malts, employing a process called “mashing” to convert naturally occuring starch in the malted barley to sugar that yeast can consume during fermentation.
Unlike the large commercial breweries, when the homebrewer uses adjuncts in his/her beer, the primary purpose is usually not to reduce the cost of production, but rather to gain a measure of control over the properties of the finished product. By using small amounts of particular adjuncts, the homebrewer can fine tune a recipe to match a favorite commercial beer or get it perfect for his/her palate.
Brief Descriptions of commonly available adjuncts are given below:
Barley Syrup: A mixture of corn, wheat malt, and barley malt extracts used as a cheap substitute for pure malt. Highly fermentable, but not possessing a particularly nice flavor. Its use should be kept to a minimum in all beers, and is not recommended for high quality craft brews.
Brewer’s Sugar (aka Corn Sugar or Dextrose): The most commonly used adjunct, many malt extract manufacturers recommend the use of Corn Sugar on their labels. Fermentability is very nearly 100%. Highlander recommends the use of this adjunct ONLY for priming /conditioning. Since Corn Sugar lends a cidery character and lack of body / mouthfeel to beers, we recommend replacing any corn sugar called for in a recipe or manufacturers’ directions wuith a similar amount of Dried Malt Extract. For very light, American big-brewery golden lagers, replace corn sugar with Rice Syrup.
Candi Sugar: A crystallised sugar derived from sugar beets. Color ranges from Clear to Very Dark. Used to produce unique flavor profiles, primarily in Belgian Style Beers.
Demerara Sugar: A pleasantly flavored, deep brown sugar often used in the production of English Bitter and Mild Ale. Use sparingly – not more than 15% of sugar content.
Flaked Grains: Unmalted grain is soaked until it is spongy, and then squashed flat between rollers. The characteristics of flaked barley, maize, rye, oats and wheat are given below.
Flaked Barley: Flaked barley greatly aids in head retention, and add creaminess and body to the finished product without adding sweetness. Must be mashed.
Flaked Maize: Contributes fermentable sugar and therefore alcohol, but adds little or no color, flavor or body to the finished product. Useful in making American Light and other extremely light-colored beers. Has negligible enzyme content, and must be mashed with an enzyme rich malt (such as Pale Malt)
Flaked Oats: Used in brewing Oatmeal Stouts. Adds a fullbodied flavor and chewy, almost oily texture. A protein rest must be done to avoid a haze in lighter colored beers. Must be mashed.
Flaked Rye: Lends dry, crisp character and strong, unique flavor that is quite unusual and inappropriate in most beer styles. Several craft breweries, H.C. Berger and Redhook among them, produce Rye Ales that feature this distinct character. Beers made using flaked rye should be highly hopped to avoid the flavor of the rye becoming too dominant. Enzyme content negligible, so must be mashed with an enzyme rich malt
Flaked Wheat: Greatly increases head retention of finished product. Contributes some creamy character and body. Enzyme content negligible, so must be mashed with an enzyme rich malt.
Honey: Popular among craft breweries for producing specially flavored beers, honey lends a characteristic that can only be described as “honeylike, without the sweetness.” The sugars in honey are not as easily fermented as those in malt, therefore the addition of honey slows increases fermentation time. Honey is used as the base of sugars in Mead.
Molasses: A richly flavored syrup made from sorghum. Varies in color from Light to Medium to Blackstrap. Coase flavors will be apparent in the finished product if Molasses is used as more than 15-20% of the fermentable content.
Rice Syrup: Used by American big breweries to produce light golden lagers. Adds alcohol content, but little or no flavor or body. Should not exceed 15% or so of the total fermentable content of the wort.
Roasted Barley: Unmalted barley gradually roasted to a rich, dark brown, almost black. Adds red color when used in small amounts (1-2 oz. in five gallons) Adds coffee-like bitterness, roasted aromatics, and dark color when used in larger amounts (4 oz. or more in 5 gallons.) An essential ingredient in Dry Stout (a la Guinness.)
Torrefied Wheat: Unmalted wheat is puffed like breakfast cereal or popcorn, exploding the endosperm and gelatinizing the starches. Great for improving head retention, and often used by British breweries for that purpose. Should be mashed in the presence of a high enzyme malt, and should not exceed 5-10% of the total fermentable content.
Treacle: A thick, strongly flavored syrup, less coarse than but not dissimilar to Blackstrap Molasses,a natural byproduct of the refinement of sugar cane into table sugar. Used by some British breweries in the production of Porters and Stouts.
Wheat Malt: Used in the creation of Wheat Beer (aka Weizen, Weiss, Wit) in amounts varying from 30 to 70% (the balance of the fermentable content generally coming from barley malt.) When used in amounts not exceeding 10%, heightens head retention and thirst quenching quality of barley malt based beers without wheaty flavors becoming noticeable.