Enjoying a Hamm’s. Yes, a Hamm’s. Haven’t had a Hamm’s in many years. Saw recently at a local grocery store and had to purchase a 6 pack with 16 oz cans.
As a homebrewer, I’m reading the bottom of the 6-pack holder, hoping for brewing clues. I see “Ingredients: Water, Barley Malt Corn Syrup (Maltose), yeast, hops.”.
Under ingredients I see “Corn syrup is used as part of the brewing process only. Hamm’s never used high fructose corn syrup.”.
Interesting. Corn syrup is maltose. I didn’t know. I’ve brewed with maize flakes.
Searching online and I find “Maltose syrup is a natural sweetener made by breaking down starches like rice or tapioca. It contains a high concentration of maltose, a sugar made of two glucose molecules. This gives it a mild sweetness, making it an excellent choice for baking, brewing, and confectionery.”
“Maltose syrup has a gentle, balanced sweetness—not too overpowering, not too dull. It’s perfect for foods where you want a hint of sweetness without it taking over the flavor. That’s why it’s a favorite in baking, brewing, and confectionery.
On the other hand, Corn-based syrups are much sweeter.”
Also, interesting as I’ve brewed with rice flakes.
Perhaps, this explains why I enjoyed the cream ale brewed with maize flakes vs the cream ale brewed with flaked rice?
I’m not a biochemist, but I’ve read a lot about fermentation, and that qualifies me as an Internet Expert™.
Corn syrup is going to contain a mix of glucose, fructose, and maltose. High-fructose corn syrup, as the name implies, contains the same but with a higher percentage of fructose.
Wikipedia says Barley Malt (Corn) Syrup is “65 percent maltose, 30 percent complex carbohydrates, and 3 percent storage protein”.
You say the label reads, “Corn syrup is used as part of the brewing process only.” To me that sounds like they’re saying the corn syrup is used during the fermentation, and all three of these sugars are maltose is easily fermented by brewers yeast. So I wouldn’t expect there to be very much of any of them it in the finished beer. The sugars that survive are going to be longer chain polysaccharides. For ex, some strains of Sacc. are unable to ferment to maltotriose (three glucoses chained together vs. maltose’s chain of two glucoses).
The label’s comment about HFCS sounds like Hamm’s attempt to preemptively counter the fear mongering about HFCS.
All of which is to say, I think you like the corn beer better because rice and corn taste different[citation needed] and contribute different flavors to beer. Not because they contribute different sugars, because the sugars aren’t there by the time you’re drinking it.
When visiting my daughter in Pittsburgh, I always pick up a 30 pack of Hamms. It may sit in the beer fridge for months until they’re all gone but when the taps run dry I can always pull a tab of Hamms!! It really is a tasty beer IMHO!! And since I’m at it…..I like Yuengling Lager too!!
Corn syrup is almost entirely glucose (aka dextrose). It is derived from starches in corn, hence the name. “Barley malt corn syrup” is a nonsense term, as is referring to corn syrup as maltose.
Brewing yeast don’t care if it’s glucose, fructose, HFCS, sucrose, or maltose. The yeast metabolize all these equally well.
And there is no harm to the beer in using HFCS. Any labeling to the contrary is just marketing folk capitalizing on misinformation.
I think your comment is related to one of the secrets of seltzers. To make them profitable, you ferment HFCS, filter it, then dilute the alcohol. Some of reasons why a lot of our favorite craft breweries aren’t making them has to do with the wording of the law and the licence they own, sugar based fermentation products is not the same as beer. Beer requires that 51% of your sugars come from malted barley. You could make it work if you have a winery or a distillery license - but there is a whole other boss level of paperwork and red tape that have discouraged small breweries. Ultimately, jumping through all those hoops just for a fad just isn’t worth it.
But, I think the law pushed it along as a fad. If it would have been easier for craft breweries to make them, they could really use their creativity to make something new. The law, and traditional beer making inspirations has encouraged it’s decline - but it has not gone away. The younger generations want candy inspired drinks.
I find that bit confusing, too. There’s barley malt syrup. And there’s corn syrup. But what is barley malt corn syrup? I eventually settled on assuming that they mean the former because barley malt syrup’s majority constituent is maltose.
My understanding, and I may be wrong, is that amylose enzymes produce mostly maltose. So if a hydrated starch is in the mash, the amylose enzyme (beta and alpha) will produce a very similar sugar profile regardless of where the starch was sourced. Obviously the flavor and specific compounds produce during saccharification will vary depending on the source of starch, but it will likely be very similar to barley even if the source is corn or rice..
Alpha and beta amylase together do indeed produce mainly maltose.
The enzymes don’t care where the starch originated, because starch is starch. It’s all the same to the enzymes. The main difference in starches between grains is in how tightly packed the starches are in the endosperm. The more tightly packed they are, the higher the temp (gelatinization temp) needed to relax and unravel them so that the enzymes can access them.
Fun fact: brewers have been taught that the temp optima for the amylase enzymes is ~150F. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. These enzymes evolved to provide the plant embryo with glucose as it germinates and grows. In the history of life on Earth, plants have never germinated at 150F. These enzymes evolved to function optimally at far more moderate temps, e.g. 75F. The fact that they still function at all at a temp as high as 160F is a miracle, and very convenient for us brewers!
Sounds to me like they use a different kind of corn syrup… rather than high fructose corn syrup they are selecting high MALTOSE corn syrup. In this way, they keep the beer light and refreshing without increasing attenuation or decreasing FG versus an all-malt beer. Net result: Hamm’s might be just a fraction of a hair sweeter than most other American pilsner options.
I like Hamm’s. It’s a great beer for the price. I mean, you just can’t beat the price. If I want something cheap and refreshing, I have absolutely no problem picking up a case of Hamm’s. I have some in the fridge right now in fact. Drank one a couple weeks ago when I was thirsty.
