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Corn Sugar as Extract Sub

kedro38

Brewer
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Feb 1, 2013
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Location
Northwest Arkansas
I just lost about a gallon of American Ale wort due to stupidity.  I remember something I read about adding/replacing extract with corn sugar for various reasons but have never done it.  In a couple days I am adding honey and was thinking about boiling a gallon of water, add the honey, then increase the gravity of the boil by using corn sugar. 

The main reason I like this idea is because I have corn sugar but no extract and this recipe calls for honey and hops to be added during fermentation.  I prefer increasing the volume back five gallons instead figuring out what I want to do with the honey and hops.  There also is not a brew store within an hour of me and I really don't want to pay for shipping on just DME... so basically I’m just wondering others thoughts and experiences are with corn sugar as an extract replacement.
 
I've used honey a couple times, although per Maine's instructions I do it at flameout, not done it during the ferment. No more than about 12oz, although I am using a lighter grade (wildflower, not clover) this weekend, so I've upped it to a pound. Point being, it jacks the ABV up, so I would use it rather than the corn sugar. Not seen anyone speak of using corn sugar that way..... but, I'm still new so, I would defer to the guys that have been doin' this for some time.
 
I’m really just curious about adding corn sugar and the affect.  From what I have read it can be used to lighten the body and flavor of the beer when it is used to replace extract.  If about 20% of the fermentable sugar is corn sugar a cidery flavor become present… or at least that is what it says in The Complete Joy of Home Brewing.  I'm guessing I would be around 10-12.5% mark depending on much the honey raises the gravity.

The other use that is mentioned in the book is to increase the alcohol content of the beer.  I did this once to trying it out and it worked but never felt the need to do it again.
 
Ended up finding a shop closer that had some DME so I decided not to experiment more than I needed to and just used DME.  Anyway... after adding the gallon to the fermented I noticed that two layers of sediment formed and thought it was interesting.
 

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