Syrups are adjuncts used in brewing. They are usually added directly to boiling wort in the kettle but can be used during the final stages of brewing, for example, during racking or in the bright beer tank prior to canning and/or bottling. The major syrups used in brewing are either sucrose or starch based. See sucrose. Starch-based syrups are produced from cereals (for example, corn and wheat) by hydrolysis of the starch using acid, exogenous enzymes, or a combination of the two to produce a range of syrups with different fermentabilities. Currently, maltodextrin is the most popular and complex of the products of starch conversion. See maltodextrins. Enzymatic starch conversion is used extensively with syrups produced with sugar composition similar to wort—10%–15% glucose, 2% fructose, 2% sucrose, 50%– 60% maltose, 10%–15% maltotriose, and 20%–30% unfermentable dextrins, giving approximately 70%– 80% fermentability. Specialist syrups with high levels of dextrins are now available for the production of beer with enhanced body (mouthfeel) and high levels of maltose (70%) and maltotriose (15%) for increased fermentability. These latter syrups are used during high-gravity brewing. Belgian brewers and those looking to emulate the flavors of certain Belgian beer styles use a sucrose syrup referred to as “candi sugar.” This syrup is very fermentable and often highly caramelized; it is used to give both color and flavor to the beer without adding body.

Graham G. Stewart