why use sugar

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farmer brown

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Hey all,
I have a basic question regarding sugar.
What would be the difference in using more sugar and less malt compared to 100% malt and no added sugar (apart from priming) in the final beer? Some recipes call for adding extra sugar but why not just use more malt?

Thanks
 
It all depends on the style - if you want a cleaner, crisper flavour, sugar can help in small quantities. Malt does give additional maltiness (I know, obvious) that sometimes isn't required by the recipe.

Too much sugar can lead to a thin watery pint though.
 
Sugar is a flavour dilutent. It adds no body or flavour to the beer so you will end up with a thinner beer. It is suitable in very malty high gravity beers where adding more malt would make it too sweet and heavy or in some lager styles where you want a cleaner crisp beer.
 
Ok thanks.. Im just reading about Belgium style ales and it seems they use a lot of sugar? I always this was a method of cutting corners and as they are renowned for their great ales, I didnt understand why they would do this but it makes sense now, its not to be looked down on really.. Its more about controlling the moth feel and sweetness.

Would you advice using Belgian candi sugar over cane sugar? Or is this personal taste?

Thanks again!
 
CAndy sugar but you can make it yourself there has been a few threads over the years about it on here.
 
...and if you can't be bothered making your own candi Rob at The Malt Miller sells it in vacpac pouches.

I used it for a Brewferm Grand Cru but got the mix of colours wrong so I now have a much-darker-than-it-should-be-but-utterly-delicious Grand Cru! :thumb:
 
Ill have a go at making it as its quite expensive + its good to experiment :thumb:

Thanks again for the help.. Much appreciated!
 
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