Adjuncts facts for kids
In the world of brewing, adjuncts are extra ingredients used to make beer. Think of them as helpers! They are usually grains that haven't been malted (like corn, rice, rye, oats, barley, and wheat). These grains are added along with the main ingredients, like malted barley.
Why use them? Sometimes, it's to save money. Other times, it's to make the beer special. Adjuncts can help the foam last longer, add new flavours, or even change the texture of the beer. Both solid ingredients and liquid syrups can be used as adjuncts.
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What are Adjuncts?
Sometimes, an ingredient that's normal for one type of beer might be called an adjunct in another. For example, wheat is key in a wheat beer. But if you add wheat to a pale ale just to make the foam last longer, it's an adjunct. It's "extra" but can make the beer better.
Long ago, in 16th-century Germany, there was a rule called the Reinheitsgebot (Rye-n-heits-ge-bot). This "purity law" said beer should only have water, barley, hops, and yeast. Back then, anything else was seen as an adjunct. But today, this idea is old-fashioned.
The word "adjunct" is often used for ingredients like corn, rice, oats, unmalted barley, and rye. It mostly refers to ingredients that replace some of the main starch source in beer.
Types of Adjuncts
Adjuncts come in different forms: solids and liquid syrups.
- Solid adjuncts are usually grains. Some need to be changed into simpler sugars before the yeast can use them. These are often flakes, grits, flour, or pure starch. They are added early in the brewing process, in a big tank called a mash tun, to turn their starch into simple sugars. Some grains, like sorghum, need to be cooked first in a special "cereal cooker" because their starch needs more heat to become soft and gooey. Other solid adjuncts are already sugars, like granulated sugar or glucose chips. These can be added later.
- Liquid adjuncts are usually syrups, like corn syrup or sugar syrup. They are added directly to the "wort kettle," a big pot where the sugary liquid (called "wort") is boiled. Using liquid adjuncts can help a brewery make more beer because it reduces the work for other tanks like the mash tun and "lauter tun." Liquid adjuncts can also be added after the main brewing process. This is called "primings sugars" and it helps the beer get a little sweetness or helps with a second fermentation in the bottle or cask.
Grains Used as Adjuncts
Barley that isn't malted can be used. It adds carbohydrates and proteins. However, it can make the beer cloudy and thick because of sticky substances called beta-glucans. Roasted barley is also used to give beer a darker colour.
Cassava is a root vegetable used in Africa. It's added as a wet paste or pure starch.
Corn is very common in American-style light beers, like malt liquor. It's often used as corn syrup because it's easy for yeast to ferment. Corn is cheaper than barley, so it helps save costs.
Oats are used in oatmeal stouts. These beers don't usually taste strongly of oats. Instead, oats make the beer feel smooth and full in your mouth because of their proteins, fats, and sticky gums.
Rice is sometimes used in light beers, like Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser. Rice can make the beer lighter in body and feel, increase its alcohol content, or add a touch of sweetness.
Rye is found in German roggenbiers and American rye beers. Rye can be tricky to brew with, so most rye beers only use a small amount. Rye gives beer a spicy taste and helps create a lot of foam.
Sorghum is used in Africa as a local ingredient. It helps breweries save money on imported malt and supports local farms. Sorghum needs to be cooked first because its starch needs high heat to become soft. It has been used for hundreds of years in traditional African beers like Umqombothi.
Wheat is used in German and American wheat beers, and in some Belgian and English ales. Wheat makes the beer lighter, helps the foam last, and adds a slightly tart flavour. Wheat beers are often served with fruit or lemon slices.
Sugar Adjuncts
Sugar adjuncts mainly add carbohydrates. If too much sugar is used, the yeast might not grow well, which can make the fermentation slow.
Some common sugar adjuncts in craft beers and homebrews include maple syrup, honey, and molasses.
Candi sugar is popular in strong Belgian ales. It makes the beer stronger but keeps it light. Darker candi sugars also add colour and flavour.
Caramel syrup is used to add colour to beer. It's not sweet and doesn't add much fermentable sugar. It's used to adjust the beer's final colour.
Grain syrups (like corn syrup) are made from maize, wheat, rice, or sorghum. They are usually added during the boiling process. These syrups can be made to have different sugar profiles, usually 70% to 100% fermentable by yeast.
Honey is the main ingredient in mead (a honey wine). In beer, it can add flavour, though it also provides some sugar for fermentation.
Sucrose is regular table sugar, which can come from sugar-cane or sugar-beet.
Flavourings
Many traditional beer styles use spices. For example, Belgian witbier uses coriander. Finnish sahti uses juniper berries. Some winter beers might have nutmeg or cinnamon, and ginger is also a popular flavouring. Interestingly, some pumpkin ales use pumpkin pie spices but no actual pumpkin!
Spices can be added while the sugary liquid (wort) is boiling, or later during fermentation, depending on the desired taste.
Some spices used in brewing include:
- Allspice
- Anise
- Cinnamon
- Clove
- Coriander
- Ginger
- Hot pepper
- Juniper berries
- Licorice
- Nutmeg
- Orange or Lemon peel
- Spruce needles or twigs (used in spruce beer)
- Wormwood
- Yarrow
Other less common flavourings include chocolate, coffee, milk, and even oysters!
Fruit or Vegetable Beer
Beer can also be brewed with fruit or vegetable adjuncts or flavourings.
- Fruit flavouring and adjuncts
Fruits have been used in beer for hundreds of years, especially in Belgian lambic beers. Cherry, raspberry, and peach are common additions to this style. Modern breweries might just add fruit-flavoured extracts to the finished beer instead of fermenting with actual fruit.
- Vegetable flavouring and adjunct
Pumpkin-flavoured beers are popular in North America during autumn.
Chile peppers are sometimes used to flavour pale lagers, giving them a spicy kick.
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