How to Use Adjuncts to Brew Beer

Adjuncts improve beer's flavor.

Adjuncts is a term used by brewers to designate grains or other ingredients added to beer above and beyond the malted grain that is its main ingredient. Some adjuncts play a positive role in well-crafted beers by enhancing the flavor or mouthfeel, others simply speed fermentation in mass-market beers by providing additional fuel for the yeasts. Sugary adjuncts are added when grains are boiled to make the initial mash; starchy adjuncts are added to the mash itself where the enzymes and yeasts will ferment them. Does this Spark an idea?

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Honey, maple or other sweeteners
Malted wheat or malted rye
Corn or rice

Instructions

- 1
  
  Add honey, maple or other sweeteners to the grain as it's boiled for mash. The sugars in these sweeteners will be available to the yeasts immediately, speeding fermentation and adding their unique flavors to the brew.
- 2
  
  Add malted wheat or malted rye directly to the mash. Like barley malt, they contain enzymes that break down starches and convert them to sugars for the yeast to use.
- 3
  
  Cook corn and rice separately before adding them to the mash, because they lack enzymes of their own and must be fully cooked, or gelatinized, before they ferment properly. Cool them to the same temperature as the mash before adding.
- 4
  
  Incorporate other non-malted grains directly into the mash in small quantities. The enzymes produced by the malted grains will convert those to sugars, too, making them available to the yeasts.
- 5
  
  Use wheat to give beer a dryer finish, rye to give it a hint of spice or oats to make it feel richer and creamier in the mouth. Sugars in the boiling kettle can increase the alcohol level of the finished beer.