Craft Adjunct

To the point of the OP's question:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/lists/style/38/

 

Larry,

Thanks for that link! It was a very, very interesting read!!

I took note of a few items in particular:

“The most common definition is any source of starch that is not malted,…” I suppose this could be considered a source of confusion. Perhaps this is why many folks only consider things like corn grits, flaked maize, flaked rice, flaked barley, flaked oats, … as being adjuncts.

“Most of the precursors to stale flavors in beer are derived from malted barley, so diluting the malt with a non-malt adjunct may reduce stale flavors.” This is the first time I have read this. Pretty fascinating. It would seem that using adjuncts in brewing has the potential benefit of improving beer stability.

I also found the discussion on malted wheat and malted rye interesting. I must confess that I have personally never heretofore considered them to be adjuncts but since they are substitutes for barley malt I suppose it is fair to characterize these as adjuncts.

Cheers!

Jack

 

The short answer is yes.

The long(er) answer: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/craft-adjunct.384974/page-2#post-4502207

Cheers!

 

The term adjunct has to be separated from "additions" or "substitutions" , it's a word which people have seen and assumed it simply means a fermentable other than barley.Hence the term has been applied loosely by many writers.
The meaning I use is "grain which is capable of producing fermentable extracts in wort but does not possess the enzymes necessary to effect conversion of starch into fermentable sugars"
If it's a simple source of sugars added to the wort then it's merely an additive or substitute.Brewers would not have introduced "adjunct" into brewerspeak to describe such materials.
They offer advantages, such as to dilute protein haze , aiding mash tun runoff, improving head retention etc.

 

Hey, White Castle is AWESOME! A Stroh's and a sack of Slyders (sic) at 4 a.m.? Can't be beat.

 

Did you read the article that @LeRose linked?

The linked article's co-author was Steve Parkes: "Steve Parkes holds a degree in Brewing Science from the prestigious brewing school at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland." So you are in error here. A brewer (Steve Parkes) would indeed describe an ingredient like sugars as an adjunct.

Cheers!

 

You're very welcome. There's never a shortage of things to learn, and I do have a penchant for collecting things. While the article gets a little deep for the current discussion, I thought it might keep the discussion from veering way off track. Coffee (which was mentioned), for example - not an adjunct. It's only contributing flavor. I reckon there's some gray(ish) areas if you consider things like fruit additions - certainly fruit can/does contribute fermentable sugars. so I'm guessing they would be like "kettle" adjuncts (Candi sugar) or maybe even a third category of adjuncts added post-boil or in the aging process. That's kind of been my arbitrary dividing line when thinking about adjuncts vs. flavorings - what is being supplemented, what is being substituted, and what is contributed.

Unfortunately, I think a CAP or other "simple" brew will remain somewhat unappreciated in the current climate, which therefore limits the motivation for a brewer to make the style. Can they - yes, why not? Will they - probably not so much. There's been some "swing" in the pendulum, certainly, but beer still seems to be mostly about "more". And I like "more" just as much as the next guy, but sometimes it is just too much. I think a good portion of the "problem" is the very BA definition you posted - it more or less sets the expectations very low and leads to the "fizzy yellow water" concept. It doesn't say it outright, but the baseline is there for people to make their own extrapolations and AAL becomes a synonym for flavorless, mass-produced "swill".

All that said, a brewer like Notch quite proudly hangs their hat on producing "session" beers. I don't know if any of them use adjuncts, but they did brew a corn beer called The Mule with corn and American malt. They have at least embraced the concept of beers with low ABV and more flavor. Don't intend that to be a "threadjack", just saying that there is at least an example of a brewer refining "simpler" beers and not totally enamored with "more".

I'm still working on that other article...too much going on here!

 

Larry, I have been 'preaching' for years on BA that the CAP style is a beer worthy of being commercially produced. Needless to say but my personal advocacy here has not be successful. Straub 1872 Lager is a very nice CAP beer but even Straub is unwilling to make a year-round commitment to this beer brand. My thought is that for craft breweries the CAP beer style is waaaay to close the the contemporary AAL beer style and therefore would be an extremely challenging beer to sell to the craft beer community.

Everything I know about Notch Brewing is from my readings since they only distribute their beers in MA. I greatly respect everything I have read about the mission of Notch Brewing!!

Cheers to @ChrisLohring !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I'm sure a good cook can make an awesome slider.

AAL =/= BMC

 

I can't speak for @TongoRad , but your previous metaphor of:

... is ascribing value to the 'style of' or 'ingredients used' in beer. Is a beer that utilizes corn inherently inferior because of it? Is an AAL inherently inferior to a porter?

 

@JackHorzempa , have you tried the Saaz Anniversary Batch Pre-Prohibition Pilsner released by Thirsty Dog and the Society of Akron Area Zymurgists homebrew club? I thought of you when I grabbed one. Unfortunately, it was released in 750s. I don't know if it was a CAP or if it used corn, but it was delicious. I'd like to know more about that beer. Try one if you see it.

 

To me, yes, and that's based on my preference and subsequent value determination. But that's probably reading into this too far. The OPs premise as I understood it was why don't craft beers make something to compete with what is typically regarded to be a lesser offering.

 

You might be interested in knowing that Colonial American brewed Porters would have heavily relied on adjuncts:

“One difference in American brewing procedures from the outset was the use of adjuncts. Because of the unreliability of grain crop harvests and frequent failures, brewers at the time had to rely on corn, molasses, pumpkins, peas, and squash in addition to malt. The use of adjuncts would have a profound effect on porter production in America for more than two centuries.”

https://www.morebeer.com/articles/american_porters

Cheers!

 

Adjunct use in American (and non-Bavarian German) beers was 100% intentional. That's what people wanted.
It isn't some giant cost-cutting move, a ruse, or byproduct of prohibition.

 

Great Lakes Dortmund Lager is excellent!

 

See White Manna in Hackensack, NJ for just that.

 

No I have not had that beer and I have never seen Thirsty Dog on the shelves of my local beer stores.

I did a web search but I learned nothing about the details of this beer; I have no idea whether it is a 'true' CAP.

Cheers!

 

http://flyingdogbrewery.com/introducing-numero-uno-summer-cerveza/

This came out last year and in addition to agave syrup and lime 30% of the malt bill was flaked maize. So 3 adjuncts added

+1 for carton canyon but op will not find it in Ohio too easily lol

 

I saw that one coming.

 

Did you drink this beer? If so, what are your thoughts?

When I read the description the first thought that occurred to me was Bud Lime:

"Flaked maize makes up one third of the malt bill and highlights the distinctive corn and cracker flavor traditionally found in Mexican lagers. Agave is added at the end of the boil and the lime peel post-fermentation to impart a distinct, zesty character and a crisp, clean finish. Your new Summer Cerveza clocks in at 4.9% ABV."