Beer Syrup
Beer syrup, more precisely brewing syrup, is a concentrated liquid carbohydrate preparation dosed into the brewhouse as an adjunct alongside or in place of part of the malt grist. It is not a single defined chemical but a class of starch derived syrups whose sugar spectrum has been tailored to what brewer's yeast will ferment and to the residual body the finished beer requires.
Two families are traded under the name. Malt derived syrups are made by concentrating wort produced from malted barley and carry the maltose rich profile and the colour and flavour of malt. Starch derived syrups, the larger volume, are made by enzymatic hydrolysis of maize, wheat, rice or cassava starch to a defined dextrose equivalent, and are largely colourless and flavour neutral, which is why they are used to raise gravity without adding malt character.
The defining specification is the sugar spectrum: the balance of glucose, maltose, maltotriose and higher unfermentable dextrins determines apparent attenuation, alcohol yield and residual sweetness. High maltose syrups ferment cleanly and are the brewing standard; high glucose syrups ferment faster but can produce a thinner beer. The product is a clear to pale amber viscous liquid at 75 to 82 percent dry solids, fully miscible with water and with wort, and microbiologically stable at that solids level. It is held warm in heated tanks, because it becomes difficult to pump when cold and can crystallise at high glucose content.
We source bulk Beer Syrup from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Hebei. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Nutraceutical
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Clear to pale amber viscous syrup, free of sediment |
| Odour and Taste | Clean sweet, free of fermented or burnt notes |
| Dry Solids | 78.0 to 82.0 percent |
| Dextrose Equivalent | 40 to 50 |
| Maltose (on dry solids) | Not less than 50.0 percent |
| Glucose (on dry solids) | Not more than 10.0 percent |
| Fermentability | Not less than 75 percent |
| pH (30 percent solution) | 4.5 to 5.5 |
| Colour | Not more than 30 EBC units |
| Sulphated Ash | Not more than 0.3 percent |
| Sulphur Dioxide | Not more than 20 mg/kg |
| Lead | Not more than 0.1 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | Not more than 0.1 mg/kg |
| Total Plate Count | Not more than 200 cfu/g |
| Yeast and Mould | Not more than 10 cfu/g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Grades are defined by dry solids content, by dextrose equivalent and by the fermentable sugar spectrum. High maltose brewing syrup, with maltose dominant and a controlled maltotriose level, is the standard brewhouse adjunct. High conversion and high glucose syrups are used where rapid and complete attenuation is wanted, for instance in high gravity brewing and in the production of low carbohydrate beer. Syrups with a deliberately raised dextrin content are used where residual body is required. Fermentability is normally quoted as a percentage alongside the sugar spectrum, and it is the figure brewers actually formulate on.
Beyond the carbohydrate profile, lots are specified on colour in European Brewery Convention or similar units, on pH, on free amino nitrogen where the syrup is expected to contribute to yeast nutrition, on sulphur dioxide, and on total viable count and yeast and mould. A contaminated syrup introduces spoilage organisms downstream of the kettle boil if it is added late. Caramel coloured grades are traded for dark beers. Gluten free declarations are available on starch derived syrups from non gluten cereals, and organic and non genetically modified certification is offered where the feedstock supports it.
Applications
- Brewhouse adjunct dosed into the kettle to raise wort gravity without additional mash tun capacity
- High gravity brewing, where syrup allows a stronger wort than the mash system alone could produce
- Priming and secondary fermentation, where a measured fermentable charge conditions the beer in tank or bottle
- Low carbohydrate and light beer production, using highly fermentable grades to drive attenuation
- Colour and flavour adjustment in dark and speciality beers, using caramelised or malt derived grades
- Cider, ready to drink and flavoured malt beverage production as a fermentable sugar source
- Distilling, where syrup supplements the mash bill in grain and neutral spirit production
- Bakery and confectionery, where the same syrup classes serve as humectants and fermentable sugars
- Industrial fermentation media, supplying a defined and inexpensive carbohydrate source
- Vinegar production, where fermentable sugar is required upstream of the acetic fermentation
China Manufacturers of Beer Syrup
Top Beer Syrup manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Brewing syrups are foods rather than additives and carry no E number. In the United States glucose and maltose syrups produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of starch are generally recognised as safe, and the enzymes used are permitted processing aids or affirmed food substances. Use in beer is additionally governed by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which regulates the materials that may be used in the production of malt beverages and the labelling of the finished product, and the use of adjuncts affects how the beverage may be designated.
In the European Union glucose and maltose syrups fall under the directive relating to certain sugars intended for human consumption, which sets compositional criteria and reserved names for glucose syrup and dried glucose syrup, and malt extract is covered by general food law. Enzymes used in their manufacture are processing aids subject to the food enzymes framework. National brewing traditions impose the more restrictive constraints in practice: the German purity requirement historically limits the ingredients permitted in beer designated under that tradition, so syrup adjuncts cannot be used in beer sold under it. Most other member states permit adjuncts subject to labelling. Cereals containing gluten must be declared where the syrup is derived from them, though highly refined glucose syrups from wheat are exempt from that allergen declaration. Codex maintains a standard for sugars that includes glucose syrup specifications.
Manufacturing Process
The starch derived route begins with a starch slurry from wet milled maize or from wheat, rice or cassava starch. The slurry is adjusted for pH and calcium and passed through a jet cooker, where steam injection gelatinises the starch, and a thermostable alpha amylase is dosed to liquefy it, cutting the long chains into shorter dextrins and dropping the viscosity. Liquefied starch is held and then cooled to the saccharification temperature, where a second enzyme system sets the final sugar spectrum: fungal alpha amylase and pullulanase give a high maltose profile, glucoamylase gives a high glucose profile, and the ratio and the holding time determine where the syrup lands. When the target dextrose equivalent is reached the enzymes are inactivated by heat or pH shift.
The saccharified liquor is filtered to remove protein and fat residues, then decolourised over activated carbon and demineralised on cation and anion exchange resin beds, which strip ash, colour precursors and off flavour compounds. Purified liquor is concentrated in a multiple effect or falling film evaporator under vacuum to the target dry solids, typically 75 to 82 percent, then cooled, filtered again and pumped to heated storage. The malt derived route replaces the front end: malted barley is milled, mashed to convert its starch using its own enzymes, and the sweet wort is lautered off the spent grain. It then joins the same evaporation and storage train without the demineralisation step, since the malt character is the point of the product. Finished syrup is loaded into heated road tankers or filled into drums and intermediate bulk containers.
