4

Can I use glucose in place of brewing sugar, at any stage in the brewing process?

(This is my first ever attempt at brewing so I'm a little clueless I'm afraid)

I'm currently making a beer kit and had a 1KG bag of brewers sugar to fill my bucket. That's been bubbling away for a few days now and I've just realised I need more sugar for the keg. I went to a local beer making shop to pick up what I thought would be a standard product for a beer making place to have, however the rather batty lady who served me said in the 45 years she's run the shop she's never once had it in stock as it's not needed and apparently no one has ever asked for it before. Instead she gave me a bag of glucose - it was only a couple quid so I took a punt.

Is she right and that it doesn't matter, or shall I pick up some brewers sugar online? I've read topics about different forms of sugar and I just can't find the answer to this specific question.

Improve this question
0

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4

The short answer is Yes, I think you're fine.

I'm assuming that by "brewer's sugar" you mean Corn Sugar, which is the most common type of sugar used in brewing, usually used as priming sugar (for carbonation). After reading your post a few times, I'm thinking what she gave you actually IS corn sugar. See this excerpt from this article:

"Corn sugar/syrup: Probably the most common of the sugars we'll be discussing, corn sugar is made up almost entirely of glucose/dextrose. It will ferment completely, contributing more alcohol content than a similar amount of malt extract, and will lighten the body and flavor of the brew. Corn sugar will also ferment very rapidly, and will thus shorten the time your beer will need to spend fermenting. The most common use of corn sugar is as a priming sugar during the bottling process. For more details, see Homebrewing 104: Bottling and Carbonation. If you're using corn syrup, make sure it is pure corn syrup, and doesn't have any flavorings or preservatives added (as storebought corn syrup often does)."

Is this bag of glucose just a bag of white powdery stuff that looks like the original brewer's sugar you were given?

Unfortunately, it seems to be a common thing among owners of homebrew supply stores to be rude or condescending to people who don't know what their talking about.

Improve this answer
5
  • Thanks for comment - yes its just a bag of white powder very similar to the original one I received in the kit. I'd say this one is finer though, its sort of like bicarbonate of soda texture. I don't know if it is corn sugar or if the original was corn sugar - I'm positive the bag the original came in said 'brewers sugar' on it so assumed it was just some sort of special mix. It is a bit of a difficult hobby to get detailed information out of people. I guess part of the fun is figuring things out but trial and error is frustrating with such a time-consuming hobby!
    – Jamie
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 23:36
  • 2
    cool. Well I'd say you're good to go ahead and use this exactly as you would have used the brewer's sugar. As far as finding more detailed information - stick around this website. There are some great people here willing to help for free. Also, if you don't already have it, I would absolutely recommend reading Charlie Papazian's "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing". It's an incredibly informative and fun book that starts assuming you know absolutely nothing, and gets very in depth.
    – Ben Strombeck
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 23:50
  • Thanks very much for your help/thoughts. I will give this stuff a go and see how I get on, if I remember I will come back to let you know the results, cheers, Jamie
    – Jamie
    Commented Feb 12, 2015 at 12:42
  • In Brazil, the priming is made using table sugar (saccharose) boiled, to become a inverted sugar (glucose + fructose).
    – Luciano
    Commented Feb 12, 2015 at 13:57
  • John Palmer's How to Brew is another good book. The 1st edition is available for free online. howtobrew.com/intro.html
    – FishesCycle
    Commented Feb 12, 2015 at 15:41

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.