Certain words, though intrinsically innocuous, carry loaded connotations in certain contexts. Take adjunct. To be an adjunct professor is to enjoy an academic affiliation with a university without all of those pesky tenure-track responsibilities, full-time benefits, and living wages.
Similarly, within the language of brewing, the term adjunct has come to imply inferiority, as in “American adjunct lager” and “adjunct-laden macro-brew.” But, adjuncts have long held an important role in brewing, and some of today’s most sought-after beers (e.g., Pliny the Elder and Westvleteren 12) include adjuncts.
An adjunct is nothing more than a non-malt source of fermentable sugars. Thus, this broad term includes
- Belgian candi syrups of all colors
- Unmalted wheat, barley, rye, oats, maize, and other grains
- Honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, and other sugars
- Fruit, pumpkins, and other natural ingredients