Adjuncts

The following is about the brewing term; adjunct is also a term used in linguistics.

Adjuncts are ingredients used in brewing beer which supplement the main starch source (such as malted barley), often with the intention of cutting costs, but sometimes to create an additional feature, such as better foam retention. An adjunct is also an ingredient, other than hops, used for flavouring.

Adjunct definition

Ingredients which are standard for certain beers, such as wheat in a wheat beer, may be termed adjuncts when used in beers which could be made without them - such as adding wheat to a pale ale for the purpose of creating a lasting head. The sense here is that the ingredient is additional and strictly unnecessary, though it may be beneficial and attractive. Under the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot purity law it would be considered that an adjunct is any beer ingredient other than water, barley and hops; this, however, is an extreme view and is not standard. The term adjunct is often used to refer to corn and rice, the two adjuncts commonly used by pale lager brewing companies as substitutes for barley malt. This use of ingredients as substitutes for the main starch source, usually to lower the cost of production, is where the term adjunct is most often used.

Adjunct uses

Adjusting colour.

Adding body.

Creating a foamy head.

Substituting barley starch.

Additional flavouring.

Starch adjuncts

Rice

Rice is sometimes used in the production of pale lagers. Rice does not affect the flavour of beer to any significant extent, but may be used to lighten the body and the mouthfeel, or increase alcohol content, or add a little sweetness. Because rice is cheaper than barley, it is mainly used as a cost-saving measure.

Examples of beers with rice

Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser. Anheuser-Busch is the largest North American buyer of U.S. rice (1).
Black Diamond's Wild Rice
Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale

Maize/Corn

Corn is commonly used in the production of American-style light lagers, particularly Malt Liquor. Corn is generally used in brewing as corn syrup, and as such is highly fermentable. Like rice, corn is cheaper than barley, so it is used as a cost-saving measure.

Wheat

Wheat used in German and American wheat beers. Wheat lightens the body and provides a tart flavour. Wheat beers are often served with fruit syrups and/or slices of lemon in Germany.

Rye

Rye is used in roggenbiers from Germany and in rye beers from America. Rye is notoriously difficult to brew with, so most rye beers only include a small amount of rye. Rye provides a spicy flavour to beer and dramatically increases head formation.

Oats

Oats are used in Oatmeal Stouts, oats provide a silky mouthfeel and a mild flavour.

Sugars and Honey

Sweeteners such as maple syrup, honey, and molasses are common. In honey beer the honey supplies only a portion of the sugars converted during fermentation and is used primarily for flavour. Candy sugar is a common ingredient in strong Belgian ales, where it increases the beer's strength while keeping the body fairly light; dark varieties of candy sugar also affect the colour and flavour of the beer.

Flavouring adjuncts

Fruit

Various fruits have been used as flavouring agents throughout the history of brewing. The most famous examples are the fruit lambics of Belgium, but the practice has spread, particularly with the advent of the craft beer movement in the United States. Framboise (raspberry), peche (peach), and kriek (cherry) are the most common fruit lambics, but adventurous lambic brewers have used everything from bananas to blackcurrant. Raspberries have also become popular in the non-lambic brewing world, and several breweries offer raspberry stouts or raspberry wheat ales. The Boston Beer Company makes an ale with cranberries.

Vegetables

Pumpkin is really the only vegetable commonly used to brew beer, and pumpkin beers are available from several North American breweries in the autumn. However, there is also at least one commercially brewed beer which is brewed with hot chili peppers.

Spices

A number of traditional beer styles are brewed with spices. For example, Belgian witbier is brewed with coriander, Finnish sahti is brewed with juniper berries, and traditional beers in Brittany are brewed with honey and spices. Also, some strong winter beers are flavoured with nutmeg and/or cinnamon, while ginger is a popular flavouring for a range of beers. Many commercially available pumpkin ales are made with pumpkin pie spices without any actual pumpkin.

Spices may be added to the wort during the boil or spices or spice extract may be added at any time during fermentation depending on desired results.

Spices used in brewing include:

Examples of spiced beers

Anchor Our Special Ale (or Anchor Christmas Ale)
Great Lakes Christmas Ale
Harpoon Winter Warmer
Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig
Cervoise Lancelot
Traquair Jacobite Ale
Biere du Maquis Torra Ambrée à la Myrte
Hoegaarden
Lammin Sahti

Other flavouring adjuncts

Other, less common flavour adjuncts include chocolate, coffee, milk, and even oysters.

External links

Beer-brewing.Com

Brewing

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