BJCP 31B · Alternative Fermentables Beer
Alternative Sugar Beer
A base style with honey, molasses, maple syrup, panela or another sugar that leaves its flavor. The sugar should come through without throwing off the base.
This is a specialty category, so it has no numbers of its own. Gravity, bitterness, color and alcohol are those of the base style you choose, plus whatever the special ingredient or process adds.
What Alternative Sugar Beer is like
A beer in which a sugar with its own flavor, such as honey or molasses, adds recognizable character to a base style. Just using sugar to raise the alcohol isn't enough: you have to be able to taste it.
Appearance
That of the base; dark sugars can darken it.
Aroma
That of the base plus the added sugar: floral with honey, licorice or roast with molasses, caramel or woody with maple.
Flavor
The base style with the flavor of the sugar. Since these sugars ferment almost completely, they usually leave the beer drier and a bit stronger, not sweeter.
Mouthfeel
Body a bit lighter than the base because of the higher fermentability. There may be a little more warmth.
Where Alternative Sugar Beer comes from
Sugars have always been used in beer, and in many styles they're part of the recipe. This category is for cases where the sugar is the star.
Ingredients
A base style and one or more sugars such as honey, molasses, maple syrup, sweet sorghum, panela, coconut sugar or treacle. Candi sugar in Belgian beers or invert sugar in British beers doesn't count when it's a normal part of the style.
Brew it yourself
How to brew Alternative Sugar Beer at home
To keep the honey aroma, add it once primary fermentation has calmed down, and don't boil it. Keep in mind that these sugars ferment almost completely and raise the alcohol. You have to state the base and the sugar; judges look for it to come through without leaving the beer thin or overly boozy.
Food pairing
Honey-glazed ham, barbecued pork and pancakes.
Glassware: Teku glass, a tasting glass that works with almost any style.
Frequently asked questions
What food pairs well with Alternative Sugar Beer?
Honey-glazed ham, barbecued pork and pancakes.
Which styles are similar?
If you like it, also try Specialty Fruit Beer, Specialty Spice Beer and Alternative Grain Beer.
If you like Alternative Sugar Beer, try these
Classification and statistics: official Alternative Sugar Beer guidelines from the BJCP, 2021 edition. Original text by Hacer Cerveza Casera.